A love story like no other! Arie Luyendyk Jr. and Lauren Burnham are beating the reality TV odds.
Luyendyk Jr. and Burnham met while filming season 22 of The Bachelor, which aired in 2018. Though he initially picked Becca Kufrin to be his final rose recipient, he later broke off their engagement to explore his connection with the former technology salesperson.
Now, they are one of the couples from the popular franchise who are still going strong. The former race car driver proposed to Burnham during his season’s After the Final Rose special, and they tied the knot in 2019 at the Haiku Mill in Maui, Hawaii.
Their wedding was officiated by longtime Bachelor host Chris Harrison, who revealed he got “emotional” during the magical day. “The same thing is said over and over, and that is they’re perfect together, they fit together, they complement each other,” he said shortly after the ceremony to Us Weekly exclusively. “Pretty much everybody [is] saying the same thing in a different way.”
While raving about his love story with Burnham, Luyendyk Jr. explained how he knew she was The One. “I just kind of fell in love with her before I really knew who she was,” he told GQ in 2018. “I know that sounds kind of crazy, but I think there is that type of love out there where you just are blown away from the moment you meet somebody. That’s kind of how it was with her.”
The Bachelor Nation couple, who moved to Phoenix, Arizona, together before their winter nuptials, welcomed a daughter named Alessi Ren in May 2019. They have since explained how they have “transitioned well into being parents” to their little one.
“I always loved kids, but I wasn’t one of those people who was like, ‘I was born to be a mom,’” the Virginia native told Scottsdale Lifestyle magazine in July 2020. “But now that she’s here, I look back and feel like this is what I was meant to do — to be her mom.”
Meanwhile, the former Bachelorette contestant noted how “hard” parenting can initially be. “They just hand you your baby and they’re like, ‘Good luck,’” he told the publication at the time. “But I feel like we’ve really got it down now. It took a year, but we’re doing good! It’s the most fun chapter of my life.”
Luyendyk Jr. and Burnham announced in December 2020 that they are expecting twins. Sharing the milestone via Instagram, the Netherlands-born star wrote: “2 little miracles. Love them with all my heart already ❤️.”
From their brief breakup to starting their own family, scroll through for their romance timeline.
