Bachelor in Paradise couple Joe Amabile and Serena Pitt have revealed how Serena's family reacted to their engagement news and what their plans are for moving in together.
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Joe, a 34-year-old former grocery store owner from Chicago, IL, got down on one knee and presented Serena, a 23-year-old Canadian publicist from Toronto, with an engagement ring during Tuesday night's Season 7 finale of Bachelor in Paradise.
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"Oh my God, my family is going to kill me!" Serena said at the conclusion of the broadcast, before smiling and kissing her new fiance.
"I'm sure they're going to kill me first," Joe joked.
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Serena confirmed how her family actually reacted in a joint interview with Joe on Wednesday.
"I think shock was the first emotion, definitely shock, but I mean, we have a great relationship," Serena told Us Weekly of her parents.
"They're very loving and supportive and as much as I would say, they're still a little bit shocked by all of it -- I mean, it's just very unconventional -- [but] they're just excited to be a part of it and be able to share it now with their family and friends and get to know Joe more."
Joe revealed he's already met Serena's parents and the meeting went "great."
"I mean, they're wonderful people and very similar to my family in a way. But yeah, I mean they're obviously..."
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Serena suggested her parents weren't exactly thrilled about the news when she interjected, "They're like, 'You're engaged to a stranger!' when I called them."
"That's the difficult part, right? Because they've never met me," Joe explained. "We're slowly building the relationship."
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Joe and Serena fell head over heels in love for each other on the show after coupling up in the first few days of Paradise.
The couple also managed to stay together and remain strong once Joe's ex-girlfriend of nearly two years, Kendall Long, showed up on the beach, seemingly unsure of whether her intention was to find closure with Joe and move on or patch things up with Joe.
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Joe and Kendall said that despite being in love and happy together, they broke up because they couldn't agree on whether to live in Chicago or Kendall's home city of Los Angeles long-term.
Joe gave Los Angeles a chance during and after his stint on Dancing with the Stars and wanted to move back to Chicago to be with his friends and family, but Kendall apparently wouldn't even consider relocating and trying out a life in Chicago.
As for Joe and Serena's plans for the future, Joe revealed, "Right now, we're splitting time between Chicago and Toronto, and then we are planning on moving in together in the spring."
"We're deciding between probably three locations, either Toronto, Chicago or New York. We'll figure it out."
Serena added how the pair has "a little bit of time" before they must make a big move.
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On the show's finale, Joe gushed after getting engaged, "We followed our hearts and will just figure out the other stuff later," suggesting he and Serena had made no official decisions about post-show logistics yet.
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And Serena joked, "The most logical people on the beach followed our hearts and got engaged!"
Regardless of where they end up, Joe and Serena are convinced they'll be together and be happy.
"We're definitely excited to take that step in the relationship and, you know, we both love the East coast, but it's kind of whatever makes the most sense for us personally and professionally at the time," Serena shared.
Prior to appearing on Bachelor in Paradise, Joe got eliminated very early from Becca Kufrin's season of The Bachelorette and met Kendall on Season 5 of Paradise.
And Serena dumped Matt James on his The Bachelor season earlier this year after her hometown date.
In addition to Serena and Joe, two other couples got engaged on Bachelor in Paradise's seventh season: Kenny Braasch and Mari Pepin-Solis as well as Riley Christian and Maurissa Gunn.
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