Bachelor in Paradise star Serena Pitt has revealed why she and fiance Joe Amabile haven't started wedding planning yet, about four months after their June engagement.
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"Wedding planning has not begun yet," Serena, 23, confirmed to Hollywood Life. "Planning right now just entails us moving in together."
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And "moving in together" apparently doesn't entail the Toronto, Canada native moving into Joe's place in Chicago, IL.
"Joe's lease is up in April in Chicago," Serena said.
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"We're going to try and find a place together, which will be very exciting, and then start talking wedding plans a couple months after that, probably."
Joe and Serena haven't settled on where they'd like to live together, but they at least have their choices narrowed down to a promising few.
"We're between doing 50/50 Chicago or Toronto or 50/50 New York for living," Serena explained.
"So maybe where we end up living might determine [where the wedding is], but we want to make sure all of our friends and family can be present. Finding a place to live together is first [priority], and then we'll walk down the aisle eventually!"
Joe, 34, and Serena are apparently trying not to let the distance between them affect their healthy relationship, even though it's more difficult to travel than usual amid the coronavirus pandemic.
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"We're making it work, for sure, but we wish we could be together all the time," Serena admitted.
"Right now, we're newly engaged, but that's a short term problem. We're doing the best we can to see each other when we're free and all of that."
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And Serena said she has no doubt her engagement to Joe will last and eventually become a marriage.
"I think we just felt like a fantastic team together," Serena gushed.
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"He's a fantastic communicator. We just understood each other and felt very comfortable and safe and open with each other in the relationship."
Serena suggested she and Joe established a strong relationship foundation while filming Bachelor in Paradise.
Serena, for instance, never let the fact Joe's ex-girlfriend of nearly two years, Kendall Long, was on the beach get in the way of her connection with the former grocery store owner. Serena kept her eye on the prize, avoided jealousy, and trusted Joe as Kendall sought closure.
"Having that partnership with him and working through all the things that we did on the beach really gave me the confidence to be like, 'Wow, this could be someone that I'm with for the rest of my life and we're going to tackle those challenges on together," Serena shared.
Serena told Hollywood Life there is no reason to compare what Joe had with Kendall to her relationship with him right now.
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"His last relationship is obviously different than this relationship," Serena said. "Every relationship is different, right? I think I'm just focused on what we're doing now and our relationship and moving forward with that."
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Joe got down on one knee and presented Serena with a two-carat, cushion-cut diamond engagement ring on Bachelor in Paradise's seventh-season finale.
During an October recent appearance on former The Bachelorette star Becca Kufrin's "Bachelor Happy Hour" podcast, Joe and Serena were asked if they want a short or long engagement.
"I would say mid-range," Joe replied, "kind of on the longer side."
"Yeah, we're not rushing down the aisle," Serena confirmed. "But I mean, we definitely feel confident in the fact that we want to be together."
Becca advised the couple to enjoy this moment because their lives are going to change drastically, and Serena shared, "It'll be nice to just take a breath, date, live together, and then marriage will come down the line."
Looking back on Joe's marriage proposal, Serena told Becca that she was in "complete shock" by his decision.
"The logical thing to do would be like, 'This is crazy. This is so fast, let's just do the step-by-step thing and get engaged down the line,'" Serena explained.
"I was so emotional when he got down on one knee and I was so excited to say 'yes.' I was obviously in complete shock but I knew he was the one."
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Serena called the moment "beautiful" and assured listeners that she has no regrets.
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.
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.
And Serena joked, "The most logical people on the beach followed our hearts and got engaged!"
Prior to appearing on Bachelor in Paradise 7, Joe got eliminated very early from Becca Kufrin's season of The Bachelorette and met Kendall on Season 5 of Paradise.
Despite being happy and in love, Joe and Kendall 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.
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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