So much for a recent report that The Bachelor: Officer and a Gentleman lovebirds Andy Baldwin and Tessa Horst were planning a wedding. Although they insist that they still remain a couple, Baldwin and Horst have announced that they have broken off their engagement.
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"We are very much in love and committed to our relationship," the couple said in a statement released Wednesday, according to People. "With the possibility of reassignment to a new location, we decided it was not the ideal time for Tessa to uproot herself and move out [to Hawaii] right now. Our relationship continues to deepen, and we're very hopeful about our future together."
"When the fantasy wore off and the reality set in, we both realized we weren't ready to be engaged," Baldwin elaborated to In Touch Weekly, which first reported the couple's decision to end their engagement. "We're taking things much slower."
After The Bachelor's May finale, Horst, a 26-year-old San Francisco social worker, had told reporters that she planned to relocate to Hawaii "in the coming months... the next few months." Baldwin, a 30-year-old U.S. Navy Lieutenant and undersea medical officer, is currently stationed in Pearl Harbor.
As recently as last month, Baldwin had told reporters attending one of ABC's Television Critics Association summer press tour events that Horst was due to move to Hawaii by the end of July, according to People.
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In March, Baldwin had told reporters that he had "another year at least" left on his Hawaii deployment but would then still probably look "to do another tour" there. However at the time, he also made it clear that, as a military officer, all his personal plans were subject to change. "That's another thing the women coming on the show really had to take into account was I am a Naval officer and I can get called away on deployment at any time," Baldwin told reporters at the time.
During The Bachelor's filming, Baldwin had told his suitors that he had a "little over a year" left on his current tour.
Earlier this month, In Touch had reported that their engagement had been progressing so smoothly that Baldwin and Horst had begun planning a wedding ceremony. "They are planning a wedding," a friend of the couple told In Touch in the magazine's August 6 issue.
According to In Touch, Baldwin had recently re-proposed to Horst after they both swam in a 1.2 mile race off Oahu's North Shore on July 7.
"Andy got down on one knee and gave her a traditional Hawaiian gold ring," an insider told In Touch. "On the show, Andy gave Tessa a stunning, $50,000 Chopard diamond engagement ring paid for by the network, but it wasn't as meaningful to her as this ring."
Last week, ABC announced that Brad Womack, a 34-year-old Austin, TX bar owner, will serve as the star of The Bachelor's upcoming eleventh installment, which will premiere Monday, September 24 at 9:30PM ET/PT.
About The Author: Steven Rogers