Jillian Harris says the more she has gotten to know Vienna Girardi, the more she has grown to like her.
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"She's a doll. I like her as a person," Harris told People on Thursday when asked about Girardi. "I saw how she brought out a better side of him."
Harris' former fifth-season The Bachelorette suitor Jake Pavelka presented his final rose and a marriage proposal to Girardi -- and she accepted both during last month's The Bachelor: On the Wings of Love finale broadcast, which filmed last fall.
However even before the finale aired Girardi was at the center of quite a bit of negative tabloid coverage, and Harris -- who had to deal with infidelity reports about her fiance Ed Swiderski -- said she offered her some friendly advice with how to deal with it.
"What happens on the Internet or on TV, or the speculations that people make does not define the outcome of our life," Harris told People.
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"You don't really fall in love until three to six months after the show ends. Luckily with Ed, we are a lot alike, we have the same values, we have the same upbringing. I really fell in love with him after the show."
Harris and Swiderski originally planned to announce their wedding date during The Bachelor: On the Wings of Love premiere in early January, but subsequently changed their mind because they were "worried about how the announcement would have affected their personal life," according to ABC.
The couple still hasn't gone public with a date.
"We are definitely in love and we definitely are going to be married," she told People. "We're hoping it will be in the next year or two. We're both excited."
The couple recently moved into a new Chicago townhouse together.
About The Author: Christopher Rocchio