00:00I lived in New York for 10 years but Toronto, I don't know. It may take the cake for food.
00:05I couldn't believe how seen I felt by Tessa on so many different levels.
00:10Why don't I flip the narrative and just like show him my commitment in one singular act?
00:14Hey, what's up? It's Frankie Chenna and I'm here with Bachelor in Paradise Canada.
00:20Winners? I like to call it winners. Tessa and Joey.
00:25Finding love is winning.
00:26Yeah, for all intents and purposes, we won the show.
00:28Yeah, exactly. I mean, game shows, you win cash.
00:32Cash, you spend cash quick and love is love is forever, right?
00:36Some shows you win people and I want a person and talked about it.
00:40As are diamonds. Diamonds are in fact forever.
00:44First and foremost, congratulations. I'm so, so, so happy for you two. Just huge congratulations.
00:52Thank you so much. We appreciate it. We're also very happy for us.
00:55Tessa, you proposed first. Tell me the thought process. When did you decide to do this?
01:02How did you pick the ring and was it nerve wracking?
01:04So Joey kind of threw a curve ball fantasy sweets night. He was like, hey, I love you,
01:10but I'm not sure if I'm in love with you. And I don't know if I want to like pursue this in the
01:13real world. And I was like, whoa, like I knew we had two options here, but leaving together
01:17was always on the table. And I kind of convinced him that night that like what we had was so special
01:23that it was worth pursuing like in a real way. And then I was like, wait, like, why don't I flip
01:27the narrative and just like show him my commitment in one singular act? So I decided to propose because
01:33I loved him and I wanted to. And I chose my own ring, which is pretty cool. It was definitely the
01:40most understated, I think, out of the options and definitely reflected, I think, my style. So
01:46didn't know that Joey would have it in a box for me, but worked out.
01:51That moment was an encapsulation of just how authentic you were as a reality TV star. So
01:56thank you for giving us that. Joey, did it catch you off guard? Did it make your proposal even better?
02:01Like, what was it like for you? You know, even that night in the fantasy suites, it felt like
02:04Tessa really kind of just found the Rosetta Stone for Joey. And she just figured out how to talk to
02:09me and kind of put my mind at ease and make me feel at home with her and realize that like, yeah,
02:15this is what am I doing? I was just like, just nervous guys always get scared, try to cut and run.
02:21But I was just like, no, there's no way I'm leaving this person ever. That's just crazy talk.
02:26So when she proposed to me, I mean, as you could see, I was just, I didn't cry at all. I had really
02:33good composure. I held myself together very well. So no, definitely just didn't, wasn't surprised at
02:40all. And definitely it was made, made, made my job easier. So what's next for you as a couple,
02:45maybe most importantly, where do you plan to live? Yeah, so we're right now living in Toronto. So I'm new
02:52to Canada. I'm now a resident of Canada. I love it here. I honestly like, I'm a big Degrassi fan from
03:00like back in the day. So I'm kind of living out my like childhood dreams of living here. But I think
03:04we're trying to find a place that's like convenient for both our families to have access to us like
03:09down the line with like getting married and having kids. So I feel like Toronto, maybe Calgary.
03:14Calgary's on the table. Not taking Alberta off the table. But for now, kind of just, you know,
03:19with our pursuits and career wise and stuff like that, I think Toronto is going to be home for a
03:24little bit anyways. Yeah. When is the wedding? Good question. Being that we're just finally getting to
03:32celebrate our engagement openly, we are going to start there and try to just, you know, celebrate
03:38our relationship that we've had over the past year being engaged. But with that being said, we're thinking
03:43maybe like fall 2024. I watch almost every single love show under the sun. And I must say, you guys
03:51seem to fall so genuinely in love so fast. Was it love at first sight? Was that an accurate depiction
03:58of the edit? Yeah, I would say like that. I don't know what to say love at first sight. Our first
04:04conversation was a little bit kind of like whatever either of us doing. But that helicopter ride, like
04:10when we went on our first date, I think that was like, I don't know, for me, I was in an awestruck
04:15moment for sure. I've never felt anything but at home with Joey. Like even when you walk into, you
04:20know, a group of strangers and their cameras and it's hot and you just like, just having a safe space
04:25in those environments just to make you feel like any sort of semblance of home is super important. So
04:30for me, yeah, our helicopter date was definitely when I knew that love was on the table. Oh yeah. I mean,
04:36even for me, I don't think, even in that moment, I couldn't believe how seen I felt by Tessa on so
04:43many different levels just on a one date in a helicopter ride and having just spoken to her
04:47for that short of a time. I was like, how does this person see me so clearly? Whatever people believe
04:51in, I believe in. So I believe in love and it was very, very fun to watch. What's something we didn't
04:56see on TV that you're wanting to share, if you're allowed to share? There was one moment that wasn't
05:02on camera. I just like Jerry and I had a very like just mundane morning scenario. And it was
05:06the first time that I saw Joey as like a person with like a cup of coffee in his hand, like sitting
05:12down and I became like a little kid who couldn't speak around her childhood crush, like freaking out.
05:18I was so nervous. I like bopped him in the head with a water bottle and it was just the most like
05:22awkward experience I think I've ever had. But I, yeah, I, it was so strange because like we were off
05:28camera and they really let us hang out off camera. We somehow like snuck it and we were sitting there.
05:33I was just like, I'm not a morning person. I need my coffee, but to wake up. So I'm sitting
05:37inside Tess and we're just hanging out of coffee and I turned just like, and I'm like, what just
05:41happened? Yeah. Do I love her more now or do I need more coffee? I don't know what's happening.
05:46But it's just, it was a really kind of cute, strange and genuine moment for us to like kind of
05:51see into each other's like, you know, comfortable sides of each other. Very cute. Okay. Well,
05:56it wouldn't be a reality to be interviewed without a little bit of drama. How's Maria?
06:02Yeah. Um, so that's a fun topic for me. Uh, I think it's most fun because Maria and I actually
06:07had like a very mature Instagram conversation, uh, almost a year and two months ago, um, where
06:14essentially I took accountability for like taking away from her experience, finding love. Like
06:19after getting engaged, I was like, holy crap. If I made someone have a harder time doing this,
06:24like I should probably address that with someone. Um, so she and I have been like, good. I think
06:29when you rewatch the show, emotions come back up, you start kind of going back in the minds of the
06:33original filming. Um, but in hindsight, rewatching, I think I know why I was so passionate about my
06:40argument because I was dealing with someone that I wanted to marry like from the start. So.
06:45Yeah. I, I don't know. I think for me, because I was not privy to any of the information, uh, and I
06:51was told different stories. So when I was able to back and just see the way in which, uh, Maria was
06:57dealing with and handling, uh, literally every situation with Tessa and things happening. Um,
07:03I wish I had known more times I would have said more. And I also just think seeing it back now that
07:07it was dealt with very, um, just immaturely and, um, from not a great space, especially from someone
07:15who says that they were my friend to speak that way to someone that they know I do have an interest
07:18in whether you think it's real or not, that's not a choice for you to make. Um, so at this point, um,
07:26there's nothing for me more to say to her. I mean, basically don't fuck with my fiance,
07:32because if you think I'm going to take anyone else's side, that's just not going to happen.
07:35I love it. I mean, the, the love is real. The emotions are real. Um, sorry to bring us back
07:41to that place one more time, but we'll move on now. Um, let's go to something lighter. Let's
07:45something lighter. Favorite place as a couple in Toronto. It can be a restaurant. It can be a
07:51landmark. Just favorite place as a couple in Toronto so far. Beach. I was just saying beach.
07:57The bottom is Spadina. It's just like a tiny little man-made beach. There's no water access,
08:01but it's just like so close to where we're living. We just hang out. We took our cat there the other
08:05day just hanging out at this fake little beach in Toronto. Funny enough, actually the closest
08:10the internet came to realizing we were engaged was because we both Instagrammed a photo at the same
08:15beach. They're like, we must be together. Like I see Jerry's shadow in Tessa's photo.
08:20Tessa, as a soon to be new Canadian, favorite restaurant in Toronto? That's a great question.
08:25Well, first of all, food in Toronto is just next level. Like I lived in New York for 10 years,
08:29but Toronto, I don't know. It may take the cake for food.
08:34Okay, good. I think my favorite food I've had thus far, Project Giggle Water in Ossington.
08:41So good. They have like, what is it like, like spring rolls, but they're actually Big Macs.
08:48It's like Big Mac spring rolls. Like it's a lot of different fusion food. It's really, really tasty.
08:53I took my brother and my sister-in-law over there like last month and they were blown away.
08:57I cannot wait to see you out and about, uh, finally revealing your relationship in Toronto.
09:02Thank you so much for this interview. I wish you both the best of luck in your next journey in life.
09:07I'm Frankie Chenna with Narcity and this was our Bachelor in Paradise Canada interview.
09:11Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you.
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