Bachelor in Paradise couple Joe Amabile and Serena Pitt have taken the next step in their relationship nearly seven months after their engagement aired on the summer spinoff's seventh season.
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"I've always wanted to live here. So, I'll be going back and forth from here and Chicago."
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While the pair initially thought they'd settle down in Brooklyn, NY, they said they found the perfect place in Chelsea.
"I'm definitely happy about it," Serena said. "It'll make things just easier. I mean, travel's kind of part of our lives, part of our careers and our relationship but, yeah, we love the city so it's going to be fun."
The Chicago native and Serena, whose family lives in Canada, attended the Sherri Hill NYFW Bridal and Evening Fashion Show on Friday to support fellow Bachelor in Paradise alum Hannah Godwin, who walked the runway in the show.
While viewing all the bridal couture, Serena and Joe apparently had their wedding in mind.
"That's why we're here, that's why we're here," Joe joked of wedding inspiration, adding how he and his fiancee are aiming for a 2023 ceremony.
Joe and Serena fell head over heels in love for each other on Bachelor in Paradise's seventh season after coupling up in the first few days of Paradise, and they got engaged during the finale that aired in October 2021.
Season 7 of Paradise ended with a whopping three engagements: Serena and Joe, Kenny Braasch and Mari Pepin-Solis, and Riley Christian and Maurissa Gunn. (Riley and Maurissa, however, have since split).
Joe, a former grocery store owner, believes Kenny and Mari will be the next pair to get married.
But Serena said she thinks The Bachelorette couple Nayte Olukoya and Michelle Young will be the next couple from Bachelor Nation to tie the knot.
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Serena also said she could picture Bachelor in Paradise couple Abigail Heringer and Noah Erb exchanging vows as well as fellow Season 7 couple Becca Kufrin and Thomas Jacobs once the men pop the question.
"Wedding invites, engagements -- yeah, there's a lot to happen this year," Serena noted.
Joe shared in mid-March how he and Serena were only days away from signing a lease in New York together.
"We wanted something a little more low-key in New York. We've been going back and forth splitting time between Chicago and Toronto, and it does get exhausting traveling back and forth and back and forth," Joe revealed at the time.
Joe joked that Serena had been living out of a suitcase for eight months.
"So to find somewhere mutual that we both are still close to our families and wanna be, that's how we came up with that," he added.
In terms of what the couple was looking for from their first apartment, Joe said they'd like "natural lighting" and "in-unit laundry."
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Joe gushed to Us in early December 2021 how he didn't think he and Serena will ever leave the honeymoon phase of their relationship.
"We're really riding the honeymoon phase long and hard right now," Serena said, "and it's going really good."
Joe said at the time he and Serena were planning on "moving in together soon" -- either in New York City, Toronto, or Chicago -- adding that everything "couldn't be going any better" for them.
"It really just comes down to what makes the most sense for the relationship and our lives professionally," Serena said late last year.
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And Serena gushed in early November 2021 that she and Joe make "a fantastic team together," according to Hollywood Life.
"He's a fantastic communicator," Joe added. "We just understood each other and felt very comfortable and safe and open with each other in the relationship."
Serena and Joe believe they established a strong relationship foundation while filming Bachelor in Paradise.
Serena, for instance, never let the fact Joe's ex-girlfriend of nearly two years, Kendall Long, was on the beach get in the way of her connection with the former Dancing with the Stars contestant.
Serena kept her eye on the prize, avoided jealousy, and trusted Joe as Kendall sought closure.
During an October 2021 appearance on Becca's "Bachelor Happy Hour" podcast, Joe and Serena revealed how they'd like to have a "mid-range" to "longer" engagement.
"Yeah, we're not rushing down the aisle," Serena said. "But I mean, we definitely feel confident in the fact that we want to be together."
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Looking back on Joe's marriage proposal, Serena told Becca that she was in "complete shock" by his decision.
"The logical thing to do would be like, 'This is crazy. This is so fast, let's just do the step-by-step thing and get engaged down the line,'" Serena explained.
"I was so emotional when he got down on one knee and I was so excited to say 'yes.' I was obviously in complete shock but I knew he was the one."
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Serena called the moment "beautiful" and insisted she had no regrets about allowing Joe to put a ring on her finger.
On Bachelor in Paradise's seventh-season finale, Joe gushed after getting engaged, "We followed our hearts and will just figure out the other stuff later."
And Serena joked, "The most logical people on the beach followed our hearts and got engaged!"
Prior to appearing on Bachelor in Paradise 7, Joe got eliminated very early from Becca's season of The Bachelorette and met Kendall on Season 5 of Paradise.
Despite being happy and in love, Joe and Kendall broke up because they couldn't agree on whether to live in Chicago or Kendall's home city of Los Angeles long-term.
Joe gave Los Angeles a chance during and after his stint on Dancing with the Stars and wanted to move back to Chicago to be with his friends and family, but Kendall apparently wouldn't even consider relocating and trying out a life in Chicago.
And Serena dumped Matt James on his The Bachelor season that aired in early 2021 after her hometown date.
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Bachelor in Paradise has been renewed for Season 8 but its cast and premiere date have yet to be announced.
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
