Colton Underwood and Cassie Randolph's relationship was poked and prodded during their press tour that followed The Bachelor's Season 23 finale, and Colton is apparently impressed by how his girlfriend handled the stress and pressure of it all.
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"I'm proud of you," Colton wrote Tuesday on Instagram, sharing a sweet photo of the couple hand-in-hand on a busy street as fans looked on and took pictures of them.
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"Throughout this whirlwind of a last week you have balanced so much... from spending all 5 hours on the plane working on school work to staying up late to take quizzes with the flu...you continue to work hard and deserve everything this world has to offer," Colton continued in his post.
Colton ended his The Bachelor journey by selecting Cassie when two other women, Tayshia Adams and Hannah Godwin, were still in the running for his heart.
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But when Colton spilled his heart out to Cassie and professed his love for her before the Fantasy Suite portion of their date, Cassie determined she needed to quit the show because she didn't reciprocate such strong feelings yet.
Cassie also felt she wasn't ready to accept a proposal after such a short time of dating Colton and she wanted him to leave the process with the happy ending he had wanted for himself.
Colton, however, refused to give up, and after dumping both Tayshia and Hannah G. in Portugal, he begged Cassie to simply give him a chance and date him -- with no expectations of an engagement. Cassie obliged, met Colton's family in Spain, and then slowly fell in love with Colton in the real world once filming wrapped.
Cassie was therefore slammed by fans for attempting to leave Colton, and she also had to deal with questions from the press about the sincerity of her feelings and why she was so willing to leave the man she now claims she couldn't live without.
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Shortly after The Bachelor finale aired on ABC last week, Colton first took to Instagram to express himself.
"Whatever I write will never fully articulate the feelings I have for you. You are the most incredible person whom I have ever met, you have the kindest soul and the sweetest heart," Colton wrote to Cassie.
"You changed my life for the better and made this year the best year of my life. I can't wait for our adventures ahead... I have my best friend. I have my girlfriend. I have my future fiance. I have my future wife. But most importantly I have you. Let's do this thing they call life... together... forever. I love you."
And Cassie also wrote to Colton on Instagram at the time that the had stolen her heart.
"Walking into this experience, I honestly wasn't sure that true love could come from it. It hasn't necessarily been the easiest road to get to where we are, but if that's what it took to get here, then every single twist and turn has been undeniably WORTH IT," Cassie insisted.
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"The last 4 months, just focusing on 'us' have been amazing and you have become my best friend. You have shown me the purest, strongest love that any girl could ask for. You jumped a fence, took a risk, and challenged the 'rules' to fight for us."
Cassie added that she feels "lucky" to have Colton by her side.
"I am so excited to see what is next for us in this new phase of our 'journey'... I'd jump a thousand fences for you and 'like, I know, I KNOW' that I love you more than words, point blank. ps. you still give me butterflies."
Colton is now living in Los Angeles, CA, so he can be closer to Cassie and her family. The couple plans to get engaged in the near future but are taking their time and have no timeline in place.
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski