Entertainment

Kevin & Astrid Got Engaged & Their Proposal Included The Perfect Nod To 'Paradise'

by Marenah Dobin
Paul Hebert/ABC

Bachelor in Paradise Season 5 alums Astrid Loch and Kevin Wendt are engaged! The typically low key couple recently broke the news during a People interview on Tuesday, Sept. 3. They revealed that Kevin actually popped the question on Aug. 28 in Toronto, Canada, which is where they live together.

As the couple told People, Kevin set up a sunset picnic for the two of them. He had the engagement ring in his pocket and some photographers nearby to capture the big moment. He even had a playlist going in homage to their time on Bachelor in Paradise. He made sure that the song "Tequila" by Dan + Shay was playing since they "drank a lot of tequila" when they started their relationship in Mexico.

Kevin was so caught up in the moment that he admitted to People, "I actually forgot what I said. I just remember, it was a no-brainer to marry her."

Even though Kevin worked hard on orchestrating the elements for a perfect proposal, Astrid still didn't pick up on what was happening. She confessed to People, "I was so clueless." She also remarked, "And you never get a surprise really by me, ever. I feel like I pay attention to everything, and I had absolutely no clue."

And that's exactly how Kevin wanted it to be: a true surprise. He explained, "I’m a firm believer that there’s just so little genuine surprises in the world." Because of that, he avoided asking Astrid to look at rings before the proposal.

He said, "I did my research on what Astrid liked for rings, just based on what she said about other girls’ rings or what she likes or what she doesn’t like. And I just thought I would rather take a little bit of a risk and design it myself knowing her, rather than her just pick it out and kind of be expecting it." Yes, he actually designed the ring himself and it was made by a company established by his own great-great-grandfather back in 1884.

However, that would have actually been a pretty brutal time for an engagement since Kevin revealed, "We ended up eating the Mexican food, and Astrid spent most of the time on the toilet. Ultimately he concluded, "Maybe I’ll wait until I get home." Clearly, that was the right decision.

In addition to the People interview, Kevin shared a look behind-the-scenes at his pre-proposal nerves with his Instagram followers. In a video posted to his Story, Kevin shared, "So, today is a big day. I'm pretty nervous. Today is the day I'm going to propose to Astrid. She has no idea."

In that same video, he explained why the Toronto park was actually the best choice for their engagement. He shared, "I'm taking her over to Toronto Island. I want to show her that this is her home. I love the fact that she moved here for me and I'm going to give her a view of the city that she's never seen."

The couple shared photos from the proposal on their Instagram pages and received lots of love from their fellow Bachelor franchise alums including Raven Gates, Derek Peth, Vanessa Grimaldi, Olivia Caridi, Jason Tartick, and Carly Waddell among others. Many many others.

The expectation for most Bachelor couples is a fast-tracked relationship, usually followed by a public breakup. These two did things on their own time and are creating their own Paradise away from the Bachelor cameras.