'Bachelor' Lorenzo Borghese: I decided two hours before the ceremony

Prince Lorenzo Borghese might have appeared confident in his decision to pick Jennifer Wilson over Sadie Murray during Monday night's The Bachelor: Rome finale broadcast, however according to the bachelor himself, his pick was pretty much a last minute decision.


"I decided about two hours before the final Rose Ceremony and it was obviously a very difficult decision because I had strong feelings for both Jen and Sadie," Lorenzo told reporters during a Tuesday afternoon conference call in which the newly revealed couple met with the media. "I felt a little stronger with Jen just because I thought we had more chemistry. I was trying to find faults with both of them and it was almost impossible but I knew I had to make a decision and it was just that I felt a little closer to Jen and that's why I went with what I was feeling at the time."

However despite waiting so long to decide which woman to present his final rose to, Lorenzo says he hasn't had any doubts that he made the right decision. "I'm very glad that I made my decision."

But despite Lorenzo's confidence that he made the right decision, both he and Jennifer plan to approach their new relationship cautiously. "We're still very happy and we're definitely together but we're just kinda trying to figure things out and really grow into a relationship now," Jennifer explained.

"These [The Bachelor] shows are successful because people actually do find love in the moment and what they try and find out after the show is 'Was it just a moment of love or is this really a person who I can spend the rest of my life with?,'" Lorenzo later added as he explained why, despite the fact that only two former The Bachelor couples remain together and none of the show's eight previous couples have yet to actually walk down the aisle, he considers the long-running ABC reality dating franchise "successful." "And I think that's the stage that Jen and I are at right now, we found love on the show -- we had a great time and I'm very happy I did it and got to know Jen and this is where we stand today."

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After getting to be together only once since The Bachelor: Rome finished filming in late September, the New York City cosmetics entrepreneur and Miami area schoolteacher plan to continue to conduct a long distance relationship -- at least until Jennifer's school system ends its school year next May. "I'm a schoolteacher in South Florida so I have to finish the year there with my kids but when May hits and I'm looking to possibly go back or not then at that time then me and Lorenzo will make a decision that's best for us," Jennifer explained.

"I save lots of frequent flyer miles right now, I love New York City and Lorenzo loves Miami so in that sense it's pretty easy. We couldn't live in two better cities and a lot of people make relationships work from New York to Miami is a common, easy flight. So I think it's going to be visiting each other, talking on the phone as much as you can, staying in contact -- he's going to come down and see my [school] kids -- and you know we're just going to work on it as best as we can in any long distance relationship."

As for why The Bachelor: Rome ended with Lorenzo -- who had initially told Jennifer that he wouldn't be proposing to her and dubbed the newly-created engagement ring that his mother had helped design to be a "family ring" -- eventually still putting his The Bachelor-supplied ring on Jennifer's finger, Lorenzo says there's a simple explanation for that. "I didn't have a necklace on me or a string but I mean it is a ring so you should put it on a finger and so I decided to put it on Jen's finger, and obviously before I did I wanted her to understand why I was putting it on her finger and what it meant but she's got it on her finger right now and I think that's what you do with a ring."

Both Lorenzo and Jennifer -- who despite not being engaged, has continued wearing the engagement ring on her left hand during the couple's post-finale media appearances -- also say that they don't view their nearly ten year age difference as one more issue that the couple must hurdle. "I don't think age matters, I think it's maturity level -- I think Jen is extremely mature so I haven't even really noticed an age difference, I still can run a few miles a day and keep up with the majority of 24-year-olds," the 33-year-old Lorenzo joked. "For me, it's really been no big deal, I haven't put any emphasize on it, none of my friends or family have put an emphasize on it... I think it's just more about two people making a connection and we have a connection and we're really happy," Jennifer added.

And should their relationship last and an offer be made, the pair also admit that this might not be the last that reality viewers see of them. "I would never say no to anything until I know what it really is, I think we'd both be stupid if we said 'I'm not going to do anything else ever again,'" Lorenzo -- no doubt envisioning another opportunity to promote Royal Treatment, his line of canine "bath and body" products -- told a reporter inquiring about a potential reality TV return. "I feel the same way, I think if any opportunity presented itself we'd both probably want to take it but are we looking for a reality TV wedding at this point, probably not," Jennifer added.