The path to true love can be tricky. It isn’t as straight forward as most people believe. Of course, there are the lucky ones that meet their soulmates at their first attempt at finding love. Other people experience multiple disappointments before finding the perfect love.
Lauren Burnham and Arie Luyendyk are a prime example of people who have gone through trials before finding the perfect love. Arie was the bachelor in the 22nd season of NBC’s, The Bachelor. He is a pro racing driver and a real estate agent.
He followed in his father’s footsteps when it came to motor racing. His father, Arie Luyendyk Senior, is a two-time Indianapolis 500 winner. Arie Junior competes in the Indy Light Series where he has finished 2nd, 3rd, and 4th in the series. He hopes that it’s a matter of time before he claims the 1st spot.
Motor racing and the fact that he came from Indy car royalty made Arie famous even before he appeared on The Bachelor. Lauren, on the other hand, became famous because of her appearance on The Bachelor.
Therefore, people know very little about her. Keep reading to find out some truths about Lauren Burnham.
She was runner up on The Bachelor, but she ended up with the man
Lauren’s time at The Bachelor was great, but it ended in controversy. Lauren and Becca Kufrin made it to the final two of The Bachelor. It was now up to Arie to decide on who was to get the final rose.
Arie chose Becca in what was an emotional episode. Lauren had previously admitted that she loved Arie. Arie had also told Lauren that he loved her. It was confusing for Lauren since she thought that Arie would pick her.
Becca was over the moon when Arie proposed. She said yes and, they shared an intimate moment on camera. Becca got the final rose, but she didn’t hold Arie’s heart. A short time later, Arie felt that he made the wrong decision by choosing Becca over Lauren.
He ended the engagement with Becca on live television in what was the most controversial episode on the entire series. Arie felt that his heart belonged to Lauren. He had to end the engagement to see whether Lauren would take him back.
It was a heartbreaking moment for Becca but Arie felt that it was something that he had to do. At this point, the question was whether Lauren would take him back. Arie broke her heart by giving the final rose to Becca. However, he hoped that breaking up with Becca would prove that he was in love with Lauren.
So, Arie went back to Lauren. It took some time for Lauren to process what was happening. She was still dealing with the events of the final episode. Lauren had a poor record when it came to love and so, she was cautious. However, the love that they had for each other won.
Lauren was impressed by the risk that Arie took to rush back to her. It was a sign of Arie’s dedication to her. She still loved Arie and, she accepted his marriage proposal at a special airing of The Bachelor: After the Final Rose.
Lauren and Arie got married at a lovely wedding in Hawaii
The couple exchanged vows at a lovely wedding in Hawaii. The invite-only wedding featured the couples families and close friends.
Photos from the wedding show that it was a fun and intimate affair. Lauren and Arie both read out their vows and they both chocked up when reading them. Arie also got emotional as he watched his bride walking down the aisle.
Lauren’s grandparents acted as the flower girl and ring bearer. Chris Harrison, the host of The Bachelor, officiated the wedding. He had previously officiated a number of Bachelor Nation weddings. The wedding also featured some former bachelors and their wives. They came to support and celebrate the love between Lauren and Arie.
The nature of Arie’s proposal dominated the talk before the wedding. Neil Lane crafted the wedding rings for the couple. She described their love journey as a romantic novel where true love triumphed at the end.
Arie went all out with the ring he chose for Lauren. The hand-made platinum ring featured more than 200 diamonds weighing about 3.9 carats. The couple received a lot of good wishes from everyone at the wedding. It’s a love story with a perfect ending.
The couple then headed to the Island of Kauai for their honeymoon. Lauren and Arie also used the wedding to encourage guests to donate to a charity known as VOW. The charity works to empower the girl child and, to end child marriage.
Lauren is the loving mom of a little girl
Lauren was pregnant before the wedding. Her wedding gown was custom made to accommodate the baby bump. Lauren delivered a healthy baby girl on May 29, 2019.
The delivery was without incident and, Lauren expressed joy that she could finally hold her baby. Arie noted that the couple had a lot to learn about raising a child. He stated that the first nights were rough but exciting. The couple is sure that they will get through this testing period.
The couple named the girl, Alessi Ren Luyendyk. They settled on the name back in December when they got to know the child’s sex. Lauren was obsessed with naming the girl immediately after receiving the news. She started by looking at girl names on the internet.
Lauren didn’t search for long before landing on Alessia. She suggested the name to Arie who loved it, but suggested that they remove the ‘a’ at the end. Lauren loved the idea and, they settled on the name Alessi. The name defines a person who attracts the love of others in society.
The second name is a tribute to her mother, Lauren. Arie admitted that he wanted the child to have her mother’s name, just like how he shares the same name with his dad. Arie was present when Allesi came into the world. It was an extremely emotional moment for the couple.
Lauren has received some criticism on social media concerning how she is raising her child. She got the worst criticism when she posted that she was out for lunch and, she had left the baby with her grandma. People criticized her for leaving the baby’s side so soon.
Arie quickly came to her defense stating how well Lauren was doing as a mother.
Lauren was engaged twice before featuring on The Bachelor
Lauren’s love journey hasn’t been smooth. She broke off an engagement with Christopher Crane just before she starred on The Bachelor.
Christopher Crane is a pro-hockey player who plays for the Orlando Solar Bears. Lauren claimed that Christopher changed after the engagement. He didn’t show her the affection that he used to show before. He also started to get violent with Lauren.
Lauren and Crane agreed to get married on July 8, 2017. It was about a year after they got engaged. However, Lauren ended it before the wedding date.
Lauren was also engaged to her high school sweetheart before Crane. The Bachelor producer, Rob Mills, revealed this shocking detail while the show was running. However, he failed to reveal the details of the relationship. We are, therefore, left to assume that things didn’t end well with Lauren and her high school sweetheart.
The two failed engagements left a mark on Arie. She couldn’t trust boys as she used to before. It was clear to see that it took Lauren a while before she finally opened up to Arie on The Bachelor. She was on her guard at the beginning of the show.
It also took her some time to accept Arie after he failed to give her the final rose. She wasn’t sure whether Arie would treat her like her ex-fiancés did. Lauren had to be sure that Arie was for real before letting him back into her life.
Luckily, Arie is different from the other boys. The love he has for her is undying.
Lauren is multi-talented
Lauren is a beauty queen whose claim to fame was her appearance on the 22nd season of The Bachelor. Her beauty gave her the chance to appear on the show. However, there is a lot more to Lauren than meets the eye.
Lauren went to Old Dominion University, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology. She also took part in some pre-medicine courses at Central Washington University. Her exploits in medicine motivated her to volunteer as an EMT. She started in June 2013 and only stopped when she joined The Bachelor.
Lauren is also quite athletic. She has a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. Before The Bachelor, Lauren worked as a sales executive for industry giant, Vonage. Lauren has no current projects at the moment.
It’s clear that Lauren can do anything she wants to do. She has the skills and determination to succeed in any field she chooses.
At the moment, however, Alessi is her whole world.
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