Life is good for Brandon Jones and Serene Russell! The lovebirds, who got engaged while filming Bachelor in Paradise in June, are finally able to go public with their relationship now that the show’s finale has aired. In an EXCLUSIVE interview with HollywoodLife, Brandon and Serene revealed that they’re currently living together after recently moving in with one another in San Diego.
Now that that step is out of the way, Brandon and Serene have started decorating their new place, and are “starting” to talk about wedding planning. “I think we want to do 2024,” Serene confirmed. As for whether or not they plan to televise their nuptials…never say never! “You never know. I wouldn’t knock it,” Serene admitted, while Brandon added, “I think it’d be a good idea. It’d be fun. We’ll talk about it. We’re just enjoying each other right now.”
Brandon and Serene have already met each other’s families, but their families have not met each other yet. The happily engaged couple is headed to Oklahoma City for Thanksgiving to spend the holiday with Serene’s family. “I get to show him my city and all the fun things we do there,” Serene gushed. “‘I’ve lived there my whole life so it will be really nice for him to see where I grew up. Even though it’s been a long stretch and we wouldn’t wish having to stay private for that long on anyone, we’re so excited it’s time for the holidays. We can do all the fun stuff with each other’s families.”
Serene can also now publicly wear her emerald cut, Neil Lane engagement ring, which she said she had a hand in helping Brandon pick out. “One day [on the beach] I asked for a napkin and a pen and I walk up to Brandon and slipped him a nice little note,” Serene laughed. “I was like, ‘This is what an emerald cut looks like.’ I’m not going to die if I don’t get it, but….Oh and I also really like gold, too. I drew what I wanted because I wanted him to understand. You can’t just look things up [out there]!”
Serene and Brandon also confirmed that they had plenty of “tough” and “important” conversations before getting engaged, although viewers didn’t get to see most of that on the show. “I feel like viewers missed a lot of the important stuff before we got to the ‘I love yous,” Serene admitted. “There were a lot of intentional conversations.”