Bachelor in Paradise alum Krystal Nielson has announced she's engaged to her boyfriend and the father of her child, Miles Bowles.
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"For all the right reasons," Krystal and Miles captioned a video reel of the intimate marriage proposal in a joint Instagram posting.
Miles apparently popped the question by the beach at sunset while Krysten was wearing jeans and a plaid shirt. The couple celebrated with champagne and Krystal proudly showed off her diamond in the series of photos.
Krystal later wrote on Instagram Stories, "Thanks for all the sweet texts and messages about our engagement! Sooo much to do and I can't WAIT to get started."
Krystal and Miles started dating around April 2020 and welcomed a daughter, Andara Rose Bowles, in March 2021.
Last month, Krystal gushed about being a mother on Instagram, writing, "I never thought I'd be 'this mom'. For one, an actual mom. And two, a mom who was posted about fall transition clothes and pumpkin spiced lattes."
She continued, "But here we are. And it's f*ckin awesome. What I have realized is that a predictable life is boring, and not for me. And as much as I crave security and certainty, it's the unknown and who I become in those moments that bring me the most joy."
"So, a friendly reminder as we move into a new season of life and weather," she added, "it's safe to let go and allow life to take you for a beautiful ride. You are safe and All is Well."
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Krystal was previously married to Chris Randone, whom she met on Bachelor in Paradise's fifth season and got engaged during the 2018 finale. They got married in June 2019 and documented the event for Bachelor in Paradise's sixth season.
The pair announced their decision to separate in February 2020, just eight months after saying "I do," and then Krystal confirmed in August 2020 that she and Chris were following through with a divorce. (Chris told Us Weekly at the time he was hoping to reconcile with Krystal but learned she had moved on).
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW"It was really scary... That was really tough because I felt like going on Paradise and getting matched up with someone, there was so much love and attention and celebration around our relationship. And I was like, 'Wow, being in a relationship means I'm loved.' But by myself, I was a villain," Krystal explained on the "Talking It Out with Bachelor Nation" podcast hosted by Mike Johnson and Bryan Abasolo earlier this year.
Krystal was dubbed "the villain" of Arie Luyendyk Jr.'s season of The Bachelor, which aired in 2018, and so her stint on Paradise was essentially an opportunity to rehab her image and have a redemption story.
Once Krystal and Chris, a villain from Becca Kufrin's season of The Bachelorette, got together, they became a fan-favorite power couple.
"So deciding to separate and divorce, I was really afraid that outside of that relationship, I would be the villain again and I wouldn't be loved and I wouldn't be accepted -- and I would be [seen as] a failure," Krystal confessed.
"For a long time, we kind of battled on if we were going to split and when we were going to be ready. Because it was very scary for both of us, I would say. It was really hard."
Krystal recalled ending her marriage to Chris on Valentine's Day 2020, which was a couple of weeks before the coronavirus pandemic began and "everything shut down."
"That was really tough and I think I became really -- I didn't know what to say because I wanted to be respectful of my ex and at the same time kind of honor both of our grieving of what was," Krystal shared.
"And inviting the public in, because they were so invested in our relationship, was really challenging to navigate. I really didn't know how because I needed privacy, but yet still felt this duty to share that with all the fans of the show."
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Krystal said navigating her divorce in the public eye was "really tricky," adding, "I just felt like I really pulled back for a while because I wasn't really sure what to say."
After Krystal began dating Miles in Spring 2020, she discovered in August 2020 that she was pregnant -- a "f-cking bananas" moment.
Krystal admitted during a December 2020 appearance on the "Scheananigans with Scheana Shay" podcast that "it was scary" to find out she was pregnant because she and Miles had only been dating for about four months at that point. She was also still legally wrapped up in her marriage to Chris.
"There was a divorce that happened, there was a pandemic that happened, then I found out I was going to be a mom, so there was so much going on that I really just shut down," Krystal said.
"At the time, I stepped away from my business and there was a point when I was down to my last month of being able to pay my bills and I still had my staff running but not taking a paycheck. I was two months pregnant and there was so much stress and pressure, so I had to take a step back to reevaluate and rebuild."
Krystal admitted she felt so much "pressure" to "perform high and do things so over the top" to prove to others that she had been "living it up."
"But really, it was very frivolous and wasn't for the right reasons. As I was rebuilding my life and my family coming out of this pandemic, I just found what was important to me and where I wanted to put my time, money, and energy into," Krystal said.
When Krystal and Miles welcomed their baby girl, Chris actually reached out to his ex-wife to congratulate her.
Krystal said on "Talking It Out" that she wasn't her true self on The Bachelor and it took her a while to realize that people would still love her for her imperfections, hardships and vulnerability.
Krystal and Chris' breakup came as a shock to fans because Chris had told Us in August 2019 that Krystal had decided to stop using birth control and they wanted to start trying for a family in early 2020.
People previously reported that Chris and Krystal's personalities didn't mesh at all and they weren't on the same page about what they want out of life.
The couple reportedly wasn't ready to get married but felt "immense pressure" to give Bachelor Nation the happy ending they had been waiting for.
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
