It’s a love story, baby, just … accept the final rose. Desiree Hartsock and Chris Siegfried are one of Bachelor Nation’s rare success stories.
Hartsock first competed for Sean Lowe’s heart on season 17 of The Bachelor, which aired in 2013. After making it to the hometown dates, the bridal stylist was sent packing. While Lowe ended up marrying winner Catherine Giudici, Hartsock was named the ninth Bachelorette.
“I wanted to come back, because I know from first-hand experience the feelings are very real, and you really can form a relationship from it,” she declared on the May 2013 premiere episode. “Throughout this season, you’ll see I really wanted to make sure I was going to be the right person for them, as well, because I was really aware of that. I made sure if I’m not going to be the right person for you, let me know. It’s always a two-way street.”
During the season, Hartsock was briefly left heartbroken when Brooks Forester quit the show after making the final three.
“I’m not broken,” she insisted to host Chris Harrison after breaking down. “My heart might be, but my spirit hasn’t been broken … I want to find someone to share my life with. I do, I really do.”
The designer subsequently accepted a proposal from Siegfried during the August 2013 finale.
“I feel like I was blindsided by my feelings for Brooks, that I couldn’t see that the one thing I always needed was right in front of me,” Hartsock told Siegfried during the final rose ceremony. “You have been by my side from the very beginning … I thank you every day for never giving up. And you mean the absolute world to me. I love you. I love you so much.”
Siegfried was thrilled by the love declaration. “You make me want to be a better person, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you,” he told her before he got down on one knee. “I don’t want to make decisions for me anymore; I want to make decisions for you, and us, and our lives together.”
The twosome will celebrate 5 years of marriage in January 2020. Scroll through for their complete relationship timeline: