It's a marathon for Chris Randone and Krystal Nielson, not a sprint.
It's a marathon for Chris Randone and Krystal Nielson, not a sprint.
Bachelor Nation watched the couple's romantic engagement on Tuesdays' season five finale of Bachelor in Paradise. During the show's reunion, they revealed that they're moving in together, but as they told ET, it's just the first step in their long life together.
"It's long overdue. This long-distance thing and hiding, we've already been with each other multiple times for couples retreats, and we're just ready for this next step," Chris told ET's Lauren Zima at the reunion taping. "We're excited."
"We're so compatible with our lives. Our lifestyles, eating habits, our work, they intertwine, and when we're together, we're just so much stronger," Krystal added. "We just don't want the distance anymore. We gotta take it away."
Krystal lives in San Diego, California, while Chris is from Orlando, Florida. The two are focusing on bringing their lives together -- their moms are already "soul sisters" -- and then they'll start planning the wedding.
"We know some things we want in a wedding, but we want to do it organically though. And we're both business owners, so we know how to make these decisions and both want to [get married] when the time is right. She gets whatever she wants, so I'm 100 percent supportive of whatever," said Chris, who also teased they could tie the knot in 2019 -- or in a joint wedding with Jordan Kimball and Jenna Cooper ("That would be epic and amazing [but] that would be a group discussion type of thing," he conceded).
Krystal, meanwhile, said she's focused on just being out in public with her man, doing simple things like walking the dogs. But that doesn't mean they have any hesitations about getting married. "If there were reservations, he wouldn't have proposed," she insisted.
"We don't know everything, but we do know that we love each other and that together, we're so much better," she continued. "Getting to know Chris has allowed me to kind of heal within myself, and accept things within my past that I think I really was ashamed of. Just not having my father there and growing up with a single mom who just wasn't emotionally present, and meeting someone who shares that upbringing just makes me feel empowered and grateful for all of the struggles and all of the adversity, because it's made me the person standing here in front of Chris."
"She has an incredible soul, and I can honestly say I fell in love with the woman who she is on the inside, and that is something that I never want to leave my side," Chris sweetly expressed. "So having that ride-or-die person who has not only supported me, but gave me guidance and direction in Paradise, just shows the type of woman that she is, and that's something I don't want to lose."
Both Chris and Krystal came into Bachelor in Paradise after causing some trouble on their respective seasons of The Bachelorette and The Bachelor. While they definitely changed their reputations, the couple wasn't after redemption -- they were after love. "We just found each other, and we're happy," Krystal said.
"I mean, we are who we are. If you really got to know who we are in real life, it would make sense, but this is not about redemption," Chris added. "This is about two people falling in love with one another and just showing that if you really put the effort in Paradise or the show, good things can come."
As for what's next for the couple, that would include potentially expanding their family -- with another dog.
"There's two babies right now -- the dogs," Chris replied when asked about having kids. "Maybe there will be another dog. I think I should bring one into the mix."
And Krystal still has her mind on that gorgeous Neil Lane ring Chris proposed with. "He did great," she gushed.
"Side profile, pear-shaped, [it's] what she wanted," Chris explained.
"He's such a good listener," Krystal raved.
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