At least she can look back with a laugh! Former Bachelor contestant Lauren Luyendyk (née Burnham) reflected on her first date with now-husband Arie Luyendyk Jr. on Instagram on November 17 — and it seems as though the totally “awkward” encounter is just another funny memory for the couple.
It all started with the couple taking their daughter, Alessi, to the Grand Véfour, the restaurant where the couple had their first encounter. “So surreal taking Alessi to see the place we had our first date today,” the 27-year-old captioned a photo of herself smooching her husband, 38, on the cheek with their baby in a stroller. “Even though she was asleep. LOL.”
A fan then replied, “AWWWW CUTIES,” adding kissy face and heart emojis. “I LOVE YA SOO MUCH!!! IT’S CRAZY WHERE LIFE TAKES YOU.” Lauren clearly agreed. “Right?!? Who would’ve thought we’d be here after that incredibly awkward first date?” she wrote, adding the crying laughing emoji.
If you’re a Bachelor Nation fan, you probably remember many followers calling their dates “boring,” or complaining that it seemed as though the couple didn’t have much chemistry. Arie actually settled that score back in February 2018 in an interview with Glamour, explaining that his now-wife was a bit nervous on camera.
“In the beginning, yeah. I think she had trouble opening up in front of the camera and being herself, so that is why she got that second date in a row,” the former bachelor told the outlet. “I thought, ‘Hey, there could be something really amazing here. I need to see if I can bring that out of her and see her personality. I feel like she’s a little uncomfortable on camera, so let’s have another date.'”
Clearly, it was a whirlwind romance from there. Arie and Lauren got engaged at the end of season 22 and married on January 12, 2019, at the Haiku Mill on Maui’s north shore. So tropical! The couple welcomed their first child on May 29, to the pleasure of Bachelor fans everywhere.
The proud parents have been enjoying a little trip to Paris for a few days now, with the blonde beauty sharing a photo kissing her hubby in front of the famous Louvre Museum. “The louvres of my life,” she captioned the sweet snap. You can say that again!