Grant Ellis and Juliana Pasquarosa admittedly didn’t do the best job of disguising their relationship while The Bachelor was airing. “I had her in my phone as the wolf emoji, and she had me as ‘Wolf Pack,’” Ellis says. Viewers who watched their love story unfold will recognize this clue: On their first one-on-one date, Ellis and Pasquarosa bonded over being lone wolves, having dealt with life’s challenges alone.
Looking back, Ellis sees how these code names were risky. “I’ve caught some people staring over my shoulder when I was on my phone,” the 31-year-old day trader from New Jersey says. “I was texting at a pub one time, and there were people behind me looking.”
Luckily, the engaged couple no longer has to keep secrets. After the March 24 finale, Ellis is feeling “relieved” to have everything out in the open. “We’re in celebration mode,” says Pasquarosa, 28, a client services associate from Boston. “We’re on a high, and we’re protecting our peace and our bubble.”
Despite a controversial end to the season, where Ellis told both final women he loved them and was accused by runner-up Litia Garr of blindsiding her, Pasquarosa says she’s not letting people’s reactions get to her. “It’s good to have boundaries — you’ve got to compartmentalize the reality of us versus the reality of the show,” she says. Here, the couple talks about how they’ve navigated the experience and what comes next.
Elite Daily: What has it been like to watch this whole experience back?
Juliana Pasquerosa: It’s so unique. What a cool experience to get to see our love story grow and unfold in front of us from start to finish. It’s been awesome.
ED: Have you been watching it back together or separately?
Grant Ellis: We’ve watched a couple of episodes together, but Jules is in Boston. A lot of times I’d be watching with my grandpa or my aunt, and when my aunt watches it, she just talks the whole time. Juliana and I give each other space to digest the episode, and then we might talk about it afterwards.
ED: Did you talk about plot lines before they aired?
JP: We talked about the potentials of what could be shown, so nothing was really out of the blue that we were freaking out about. But obviously, when you see certain things, you need a minute to digest, whether that’s because of something personal or between us. But it’s a quick turnaround time where we’re back to leaning on each other and being in communication.
ED: Juliana, how has it felt to see Grant’s relationships with other people, and even down to the end, see him expressing his love for someone else?
JP: I put a lot of work into myself over the years, and I was so confident in our relationship. It’s a weird situation to watch, but it didn’t affect me in a way that changed my perception of Grant.
I remember saying to him, “Nobody else’s opinion of you is ever going to change mine. I have my own opinion based on the experience I had with you.” To this day, he is still that same man.
ED: Did you guys have conversations prior about how serious things got with other relationships, or was there anything that caught you off guard?
JP: Nothing shocked me by any means. We had those conversations right away.
ED: Grant, how are you feeling now that you’ve seen everything back?
GE: It’s definitely interesting watching it back and reliving some moments. It’s a roller coaster. I’m keeping my words very short, but it’s—
JP: You feel relieved a little bit, right?
GE: Yeah, I feel relieved.
JP: You can breathe now.
ED: How much have you guys paid attention to the fan reactions about the finale?
JP: I’ve been flooded with calls from people who love and support me, and that’s what I welcome right now. I’m always going to focus on that, and the rest is white noise.
ED: What’s something about your relationship that people haven’t seen yet?
JP: I think they saw a lot of it. They saw our goofy side, they saw our vulnerable side. The depth of our relationship is hard to put into words, but at the end of the day, that’s really our business, and I wouldn’t say I want anything else to be portrayed. They did a phenomenal job showing our love grow throughout the whole season.
ED: And now you get ownership over what you want to share. Is there anything you’re eager to let fans in on?
GE: We’re going to be private, but we’re also going to give people a look into our lives — what we’re doing and what it means to take advantage of the opportunity love gives you, which is to enjoy life, travel, spend time with family and friends, and—
JP: Eat lots of cannolis.
GE: Yeah, once everything has subsided and all the chitter chatter is done, I think people are going to see who we are and how we carry ourselves.
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
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