Better late than never, right rose lovers?
It may have taken The Bachelor star Grant Ellis longer than most to choose between his final two women on proposal day, but in the wise words of the Supremes, you can’t hurry love. (Though the Bachelor producers certainly tried.) After agonizing over his decision up until it was time to leave for the Proposal Platform™, Grant proposed to Juliana Pasquarosa, a 28-year-old client services associate from Boston, in the season 29 finale.
Of course, first he had to break up with the other woman he said “I love you” to: Litia Garr, a 31-year-old venture capitalist from Utah. During the live After the Final Rose reunion, a blindsided Litia revealed that Grant told she was “the one” for weeks, all the way up until the night before he proposed to Juliana. “I remember saying goodbye to him and saying, ‘Oh my gosh, we’re getting engaged tomorrow!’ and he said, ‘I know, I can’t wait! I love you, I love you, I love you,'” Litia told the stunned crowd.
During a joint interview with her fiancé, Juliana told Entertainment Weekly that she and Grant talked extensively about his relationship with Litia before she watched the season back. “Nothing I saw was a surprise,” she explained. “I felt really prepared.” The couple, who are planning to move to Boston together, also talked with EW about the time crunch on proposal day, the parts of their relationship viewers didn’t get to see, and whether or not Juliana spilled the beans about their engagement on her TikTok.
Disney/Anne Marie Fox
Grant proposes to Juliana on ‘The Bachelor’
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: On a scale of tanning bed to surface of the sun, how hot was it in the Dominican Republic on proposal day?
JULIANA PASQUOROSA: So hot! It was so hot in the DR the whole time. I got burnt to a crisp and he couldn’t keep a shirt dry.
GRANT ELLIS: I was sweating through every piece of clothing that I had. If I wasn’t sweating, I was crying. [Laughs]
Grant, on that final day, you were still struggling with your decision, and you said you felt the pressure of the “time clock.” What reasons were you given for why there was such a time crunch?
GE: There’s a whole structure that goes behind this giant machine, and at the end of the day it is a show with production and there’s a time clock. You’ve got to make that decision and it has to be in a certain amount of time. That’s something that adds to the drama of it all — I don’t know how good that is for the lead, but that’s the way it is. [Laughs]
Juliana, were you waiting a long time on that final day?
You don’t know what you don’t know in the moment, so I was really just kind of waiting until it was my time. I truly felt that the waiting was a good sign because I was like, “Oh, that means I’m going to go second.” But then there were moments where I was nervous because I did feel like I had gotten ready so early in the day and I didn’t know what was happening. So, I just kind of was living in my own world trying to stay focused on the positives.
Juliana, you talked a little bit on After the Final Rose about what it was like to watch the season back, including Grant’s indecision on the final day. Before you saw the episodes, what did Grant tell you about his relationship with Litia and how things played out with her?
JP: I mean, he told me everything. Nothing that I saw was a surprise. Nothing shocked me. I felt really prepared about the fact that he had a relationship and a connection with somebody else on there, and a couple other ladies. It made it easier to watch back because I knew even seeing the relationship that you had with Latia, it is just a different relationship than we have, and that’s okay. You had to make the best decision for yourself. But nothing shook me or made me nervous. I was prepared. [Turns to Grant and elbows him playfully] You did good.
So everything Litia said on the live show, that was not new information?
JP: No.
ABC
Litia reunites with Grant on ‘The Bachelor’
Grant, what was it like for you to watch all that back, especially thinking about Juliana’s feelings in this very unique situation?
GE: It’s very emotional. I’ll continue to reiterate this, being in the position I’m in, there’s an opportunity for Latia to speak her truth and what she felt like happened. The difference between it is a lot of those things are not on camera, so there’s a lot of room for interpretation. Me being being a lead, I just have to own it, and I just have to apologize. It’s a unique situation where you’re dating multiple people and if you have feelings for somebody, you’re going to tell them how you feel or you’re going to tell them that you do see a future — because at that point in time, you do. It’s just coming down to what fits you best, and with the combination of the limited time, it is a recipe for some turmoil.
JP: If I could just say one thing, I didn’t watch last night’s [live] finale, so I don’t know what [Litia] said up there [on stage]. But I will say that she has the right to her reality, her perception is her reality. I just know that if I do choose to watch it, I’m sure nothing that she says is going to shock me, because we just had so much conversation before this even started airing. I trust him and I choose him and I think he handled himself the best that he could in that really tough situation.
When it comes to your relationship, what do you wish they had shown more of during the season?
JP: I think it would’ve been nice to see a lot more of our actual conversations. In the beginning, I think a lot of it seemed flirty and surface-level and physical attraction, which without a doubt was there. But it’s not like we didn’t have serious conversations. Leading up to Scotland, I really did have to try and figure out if I was going to be able to open up to him, and that happens through communication. There’s a story that was told and I was okay with. It just would’ve been nice that if we saw more of our genuine connection from the start.
ABC
‘The Bachelor’ stars Juliana and Grant video chat with EW
Grant, were there things about Juliana that you wish viewers got to see more?
GE: Yeah. A really strong character trait that she has is her ability to stand up for what she believes in and say things for how they are. I feel like with whatever situation was thrown at her, she took it like a champ and she stayed true to herself. I would have liked to see more of that, because that’s what I saw, and that’s what really attracted me to her.
Last season, eagle-eyed viewers pieced together that Joey and Kelsey were together based on two separate TikToks they posted from the same location. And this year, Juliana, fans thought they saw you wearing your engagement ring turned backwards in a TikTok that you posted on February. True or false?
JP: [Laughs] False! I now can wear this thing, but I did not have it in my possession until yesterday.
Wait, so the show holds your ring hostage?
JP: Yeah.
Last question. Juliana, has your dog, Charlie, met Grant’s new puppy yet — and if so, did they get along?
JP: I love this question. They did not meet and it’s going to be interesting because my dog is very particular with people and other dogs, but we’re going to just see how it goes.
Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly
