It is official! Bachelor Nation Star Luke Pele and Amanda Merz are engaged, and the ABC grad couldn’t help but reveal all the details about his romantic proposal, their wedding plans and how many children they want in the future in an exclusive interview Us weekly.
Pell popped the question to his longtime love during a trip to Italy, the two shared in a joint post via Instagram on Thursday, July 7.
“When we are in Rome…🤷🏻♀️ We are so excited to finally share the news, WE ARE ENGAGED!! 💍💍,” they captioned the sweet proposal pics, in which the TV personality got down on one knee to ask the Kentucky native to marry him.
While the engagement couldn’t have been more romantic — Pell showered his bride-to-be with an orchestra, flowers, and more — that doesn’t mean the road to the memorable moment went so smoothly.
“The language barrier in Italy was more difficult than I thought it would get in,” he said bachelorette Season 16 alum tells Usand explained that his “phone went dead and I spoke to the florist and the musicians and the photographers and tried to coordinate everything that week.”
Although all of this secret coordination took place while the pair traveled through Italy — before they even reached their final destination in Rome — Pell and the vendors “got it together at the last minute.”
The Texas native reveals he planned to propose to Mertz for months — once they booked the trip.
“In the back of my mind I thought this would be a great opportunity and a great place to do this,” he recalls Us. “And so I started putting the pieces together from there.”
As for the specifics of Mertz’ ring, Pell tackles everything from the band to the diamond himself — though he chooses to keep the carat size between himself and his partner. (“Keep that for the imagination!” he jokes Us.)
Mertz” had [an engagement ring] remember that she loved. She wanted the traditional gold and put it in a halo setting with an emerald-cut stone,” explains Pell, noting that he hired a local Nashville jeweler to help him choose the right piece of jewelry.
“She loves it!” he adds.
The duo plans to move to Scottsdale, Arizona, Pell reveals Us, declares that they will finally move in together once they head west. “We’re looking forward to getting married and getting our place out there together and moving in,” he shares.
Despite a brief split in 2020, Pell and Mertz — who formed in Nashville in 2018 by mutual friends — have been going strong ever since. The real estate agent credits this because he has “the same basic … perspective on life and family and relationships.” He finds that their faith also brings them closer together.
While Pell and Mertz’s “original plan” was “to do something simple and maybe achieve a goal [wedding]go to… Cabo [Mexico] or something like that,” the fact that they have big families and lots of friends made them change their minds.
“We tend to do it on our ranch in Texas,” the ABC graduate explains, saying it would be “a cool place” to get married. The couple “shoots for Spring 23,” Pell notes.
When it comes to kids, Pell and Mertz already seem to have their family planning under control.
“I think we want two,” he says Us the number of children they hope to have – after marriage. “I know we both want a family and we’ve both talked about it and we agree on that. We look forward to starting family planning and getting to this point.”
Check out exclusive photos of Mertz’s engagement ring below: