Today on “Happy Hour,” we’re here with the happy couple, Grant and Juliana! Grant’s journey has officially come to an end and we’re getting all the details on his love story with Juliana. We kick off the episode getting into how the two kept such a big secret all this time, including some close calls and the advice other Bachelor Nation couples gave them! Then, we dive into the finale and all the behind-the-scenes details from that beautiful engagement. What was the moment Grant knew it was Juliana? What went down after the cameras cut? What did Grant’s family think of Juliana? We’re getting all the answers and so much more! Plus, Grant reflects on his experience as the lead and everything he learned along the way. Tune in now and be sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode, including part two with our “Bachelor” lovebirds!
Hey, everyone, welcome back to ba your Happy Hour. I'm Joe and I'm Serena and we are here with the lovely happy couple Grant and Juliana. Welcome to Bachler Happy Hour. Congratulations, thank you, thank you for having us. How does it feel? How do you guys feel?
Excited?
Excited, relieved, relief, relieve you've made it through.
We've made it through.
It's just a real feeling, honestly, you know, getting to actually be together and you know, be around each other and not have to like hide it anymore.
So yeah, I was gonna asks if that does it feel better now to be open about it?
Yeah?
I think it makes a big difference.
You know, you can start to just do some normal, normal life things and not.
Worry about I'm going to see you. Hear you?
You can change our contact.
What are the contacts right now?
A wolf emji for me?
Yeah, wolf emogi. The wolf emoji is totally giving it up. If I'm one of your friends and I saw it and I see the wolf, I'm like, oh, you're Grant.
I don't know what I was thinking, but it worked. I mean it were it worked.
So what is Juliana for you? What has been the hardest part of keeping this a secret.
Probably just not being able to tell like my big family, you know, my parents know, my sister and my brother know. But I just have so many aunts and uncles and cousins that want to support me throughout this whole process, and they tried to do their best, but it's like they are so excited.
So did you have like a little script that you would give when people would ask you, so, how did it go?
I would just say, well, because there were some spoilers out there, So I think my family really tried to like act like they knew without just like even asking me, and I'd be like, don't don't believe everything you read, you know.
You know, so just kind of that, but they didn't. They didn't push too hard, which is nice, Grant.
How about for you keeping it a secret?
Ah?
Man, I think I just, you know, my close family and friends knew. But the hardest thing for me was just not being able to like be around Jules or you know, see her like once every couple of weeks. It's difficult, but you know, I mean I almost spoiled the season myself, so I just it was like it was like I was I was struggling.
I was struggling. How did you almost?
I was like, so, there was a night where she sent me It was New Year's Eve and it was and I liked one of her pictures because I thought it was like I thought it was like a post. No, I liked one of I didn't like one of her pictures. I liked one of the pictures she was in, but it was from a DJ, and I liked. His name is Mikey B And I liked his picture and I was just one too many shots I had that night.
So, oh my gosh, that's so funny. I didn't know that.
Did you guys get any advice from any other Bachelor couples on just how to kind of get through these first few months off the show when you're in hiding?
Yeah, I think so.
I spoke to Joanes and Chalk. You know, they've been really instrumental for me in this process and and us, and they just, you know, they just just be yourself and don't worry about anybody else. You know, it's your love story and focusing on that, and people are gonna the people that.
Are gonna rock with you are going to rock with you to do it or not they're not.
So I think that was the main advice, and I think that's something that we're taking.
Yeah.
I talked to Kelsey and Daisy two, and I think they were just really insightful, especially Kelsey because she had to re watch everything and even though it's like months away, you know, it still brings up questions and conversations that you have to have.
But she just, you know, really reiterated.
The fact that it's been so long since that happened, and you like, we've come so far that it's not really worth like harping on. You know, you can ask the questions and have the conversations, but it shouldn't really change your mind because we're together now.
You know.
Yeah, I think I think Kelsey is a good person for you to talk to. You, Like Juliana, you're in a situation that like, you know, only a handful of castmates go through, where you like it's your first time on reality TV and you go from like not really knowing much to like you're engaged and you know, you've never really done this before. Where most of us were cast mats for a minute, like even Grant he was, you know, on the show, and then becomes the bachelor, so he has a taste of reality TV where you really don't have that. So connecting with someone like Kelsey, I would think is pretty important.
Yeah, it was super helpful for sure.
Nice watching it back.
Was there an episode that was maybe each more challenging or did you have like a favorite episode to watch back.
I think favorite episode was definitely our date in Scotland.
You must have been like, finally, like you're watching the whole season wanting to see your love story and like you had such a late one on one.
You must have been like, yes, it's our time.
Yeah, so fun, there you go.
I think I think one hundred percent.
I think that watching our moments that we had on camera just reiterates our connection and what makes it unique and what makes it special and the depth that we have. I think it's just something that can be replicated. So it's something that's like I'm I'm excited and I'm really happy that we're together.
Yeah, She's like, yeah.
I would hope, so Grant.
She's right, all.
Right, let's bring it back to the final episode. Juliana. What was it like meeting Grant's family?
It was so nerve wracking. I think just because I can.
I'm like a nervous nelly, you know, and I'm a little awkward, and so I haven't done that in a really long time. But immediately when I walked in the room, I could feel just so much love and excitement that that kind of just like went to and I was just interested to get to really know them and have them get to know me so that he could confide in them and and see, you know, their opinions on me and if they thought that we would be a good fit, because you know, I know I lean on my family when when I'm like in a tough decision, and you did have a tough decision to make.
So it was really exciting. Uh you know, your mom was so awesome and your dad's.
Amazing, and Taylor really helped me like kind of calm down. So all around, it was awesome.
Grant, did your family behave as you expected them to or responded you expected them to?
So a little fun fact, my mom was like obsessed with Juliana. She was like.
Dreams and visions.
I'm like, Mom, like just just let's talk, you know, let's just take it one step at a time. But you know, I think that my family loved them, and they loved the energy that she she brung, and they loved everything that I saw.
They saw the same thing. So they're so they behaved.
They were in the behave Okay, nothing like shocking.
I wasn't I'd have to worry about them like anything crazy or embarrassing.
It seemed like and it seemed like your dad was really comfortable with Juliana as well. I know that was something I noticed when I was watching. I was like, this is this all is like clicking. It's making sense, which is important. You know, you want to like the family and you want them to like you because they don't, then.
You know, if they don't, you're.
Gonna have some issues down the road. Okay, how are you? How are you? Were you both feeling on your last date together?
Well, it was I don't know.
I think throughout the whole like process, I really tried to just stay kind of calm, and I think I said this last time, but my mom gave me this advice that if it's meant to be, it will be, and if not.
That's okay.
So I feel like by that time when you came over that last night, I was like I knew that it was going to be us in the end, but I was just trying not to to like think that that was the case one hundred percent because I did.
I think I did know.
Okay, yeah, because he sat down and you started just like yapping away like all these things.
You had to stop yourself because he was like, I feel like I'm proposing right now, and I was like, okay, you can keep going.
Up, you know, But.
Yeah, it was it was calming, and and then when you left.
I was like, oh, shoot, like he's going to do this with somebody else too, So you know, that thought never left the back of my mind, and I did try to protect myself from just like focusing on the fact that I thought it was me.
But ultimately, you know, I got I tried to stay positive too.
Man, where was like your confidence meter when there was four of you left? Like, where where did you think? Did you think it was you? Then?
I feel like I I feel like I knew.
I feel like I knew it was from like.
Night one, really Okay.
Yeah, I did, you know.
I think it's hard to maneuver that situation, but just our conversations were so sincere, and every single time we chatted, it was like we got to know each other on a deeper level and that.
We were really progressing.
It might have been slow because I'm you know, a little closed off, but it didn't feel like we were at any point backtracking, and it always was adding more like hope to I don't know the end result, so I think with four of us, though, it's like, wow, Okay. You know, first of all, everybody was so amazing, all the girls, and so that is a really odd situation to be in because you know, you don't ever want to compare yourself to anybody else, but it's comparison by like the nature of what circumstance we're in, right, and you know, the last four were amazing.
So I was definitely nervous as heck, but I just also still tried to be like, it's me, it's me.
I think like that mentality is sometimes helpful to just be like, yep, it's me, and until I feel like he's giving me a reason to believe it's not me, I'm just gonna go with that totally and obviously worked out in your favor because it was you.
Grant you had. You had a pretty tough time on that last day, like I would say most leads do, especially what Latia will. Obviously with Latia because she was the only person there. How, like, I guess what's the most difficult part about that? Because on one hand you're extremely happy because you're about to propose to the woman of your dreams, and on the other hand, you're breaking someone's heart.
That's that's the most difficult thing.
It's like, you know, you know what you have to do, you have to stand on business, but at the same time you have to It's difficult because you're you're letting someone down and the time is dwindling, you know, and it's like your night one, everything is fun, and then you get to that last day and your hours before and the time is dwindling down and you're knowing that you have to you know, you don't have to break someone's heart. So I think that's the most difficult thing. But ultimately, you have to think about what you want and you have to think about yourself. You have to think about what the best decision for you is going to be. And that's that's what I did, and you know, yeah, I think it worked out.
So yeah, well.
With Rose ceremonies just in general, like I think letting people down with something that you had a hard time with.
It was hard too.
And then when like being a bachelor, it's like you're you're getting to know these women. It's like you don't want to be closed off. And the more open you are, the more your feelings developed, and the more you care about certain stories.
And just people in general. You know, it doesn't even have to be a.
Love so you just care about where they're coming from. And then you have to be like, well, listen, like you see them up on the the you see them all standing there, and then like people are nervous. I remember I was nervous there too, Like I almost passed on you, and you see him nervous and then you and then they don't get the name called and it's just so it's just it's just really difficult, but you gotta do what you gotta do.
And I guess like the more the more open you are, the more the women you're dating, I'll think it's like, oh, he's he's just open with just me, like this is only me, and then.
Like that, if you're open and caring, you're it's difficult.
But then if you're closed off and you're just like you know I understand or you're like like you just it's just it's not it's hard.
It's difficult. It's difficult.
It's difficult.
What were the steps or your process to get to a position where you were like, Okay, I'm one hundred percent going into this day proposing to Juliana. I feel like locked in and calm and confident about the decision.
Yeah.
I always was confident in our connection. I think my dad coming back and really we had a conversation off camera and he just reiterated to me, you know, it's not about what what anybody else thinks.
It's about what you want. It's about what your heart needs and what your heart wants.
And I feel like his advice really helped me like get over the edge and get over the hump of knowing, and then at that point, it's just getting to the end and be like, listen, this has to be done. You know, you can't delay it. It's inevitable. So it's like, but getting to that point, you know, you know, you know what your heart wants and you know what you need. It's just getting it done, getting to the finish line and doing it.
Yeah, I feel like I'm someone that like, even if you know what you want, locking that in means accepting that you're going to hurt someone else in the process. And like in your position, there's literally no way of avoiding it, Like you know, every single week you're going to have to hurt someone on a bigger, bigger scale. Did that just add to the weight of all of it? Probably that last day.
Yeah, it adds. And an I'm the type of person.
I've been through so much conflict in my life and so much like tension and a lot of struggle that I'm I'm the type of person I don't I don't initiate confusion or unless it's necessary. So at the end, I'm like, Okay, this has it has to be done, you know, like this has to be done. It's no there's no working around it, or there's no meaning in the middle gress like this has to be this has to be done.
So it comes down to the wire at that point, you know, I would have.
Left her, would have left her like a video message, she would have got to and if she would have got to the podium, there had just been a laptop and it's just that I would have been pressed meeky. So that's got some bad news.
Oh my god, that's a terrible idea, julianaware was your thoughts and head at that last day, I.
Think it was pretty same, you know, throughout the whole thing is I did feel really confident, but I just I just knew that there was also somebody else there, right, and so I was prayered to go in there and spill my heart out. And I told him, you know, I was like, if it wasn't me, of course I would have been frustrated and upset, But at the end of the day, no matter who he picked, if he felt it was the right person, I just wanted him to be happy.
And at that point I cared so much.
About you know, you that I I just that was my main concern because I knew that I had an army of people waiting for me to come back home too. I knew I was going to be fine. I knew I could get through like another heartbreak if that was the case. But you know, I just I felt nervous for him and for Lysia and for myself, but I just tried to stay permative.
Well tired.
It's a big day, so you probably just you know, even though you're going into it feeling very confident.
It just feels like a big day.
It's so nerve wracking.
Oh my gosh, you also said, Juliana after Fantasy Sweets, because I think you were the first to go. It's like everything went great, but not like I'm sending him off and he's still dating other women and like our connection might have you know, at the time, you know, one through one hundred was one hundred, but like what happens if somebody else is one hundred and five and I don't even know and I'm sitting around for five.
You're just probably sitting.
Talk like how did you how did you stay calm during that? Like during those Yeah.
So my parents and a couple of my friends sent wrote me letters before I left, and I really, yeah, that like saved me, you know, because you're so cut off from from your safety and your comfort that, you know. They they wrote me some pretty long letters, and every day I would read them and just remind myself. And like I said earlier, my mom said, if it's meant to be, it will be, and if not, that's okay too. And I just kept trying to replay that in my head and remind myself that like, no matter what happens, I'm going to be okay. And yeah, I mean I definitely spiraled a bunch, but at the end of the day, I was like, Okay, there's nothing I can do to control the situation, right, And I just pray that if if there was anything that I could change, like in our time together, that I would do that and I would be able to give my all and give you the most information that you could make the best decision for you, and just like have peace with the things I can control and just know the difference is really all it is.
Yeah, Grant, how did you choose the engagement ring?
Let's see it? Show us on camera. I know pretty is an emerald cut?
Yes?
So pretty?
Is that what you wanted?
I have a cushion cut with a halout.
You wanted an emerald?
Yeah?
And I want a Google though. It was very.
Style.
I know her style a little, so I definitely knew that, you know, that's a ring that she would she would love.
I think I think I picked right.
It did Again, does.
It make it feel more real? The Grant? Did it make it feel more real to you? Like sitting in that room in that moment and like seeing the rings and being like, oh this is yeah, yeah.
That was like a really surreal moment.
And then putting the ring on her finger was another life was another surreal moment. You know, it's actually seeing it on her hand, but picking out rings. You know, that ring stood out to me.
So it was hard, but it wasn't really that hard, you know, it.
Wasn't I know. I know Letia had talked about more of like a harder timeline when it came to marriage and having kids. Have you two talked about a timeline for anything? Is like, where are you at now as far as getting married or are you just like we're in the honeymoon phase. We're gonna see how this goes type of thing.
Yeah.
I think our relationship is, you know, we are two people were very much in tune and we're we haven't talked hard timeline yet, but we've been you know, we know what we want ultimately and that's the end goal. But we still have to meet each other's family and like we have to. Everybody has to connect. And me, I'm going to come out there to Boston and you know, be out there for like a year maybe and then we'll see, you know, where things are you.
Know at that point that's nice to do, you know, to feel like that makes sense.
I feel like at least for the both of us, you know, family friends, normal dinners.
Traveling, getting mad at each other, getting sad, like all the things we have to go through. Not saying that, you know, that's not going to be the end goal. It's just that to jump the gun and start talking about those things while we're still really trying to digest life together in the our world, it doesn't seem I think fair to either of us.
You know, I think the most important step is figuring out the living situation because that's immediately that's where things will get can get tricky.
So you guys are going to be living in Boston, Grant, are you excited? You've never lived in Boston before?
Right, I've never lived in Boston, but I'm an East Coast person, And the good thing about this is like, I'm not tied down to Houston or I'm not tied so I have.
No issue picking up and going and.
I love the area, I love her family, and like you know, I'm gonna do with what needs to be done to make things work. So I feel like, yeah, Boston is amazing. And then I have a lot of friends out in the East Coast. We have a lot of house parties, like.
A lot of house gatherings, parties, gatherings.
At cutting back, cutting back to the show, cutting back to the finale and your engagement. Just yeah, take us back to that moment. How nervous were you, guys? How excited?
Yeah, cameras drop, you're.
Engaged, Juliana, you go first because you have to talk first, and when and when you're talking, you're also probably like he might dump me right now, like he could.
I was so nervous. I feel like you can see it in more.
Were you like looking for signs in his face? Yes?
I was.
I was just nervous.
You were nervous?
You could?
You could tell you?
Yeah? Yeah.
I couldn't even breathe. I think my whole body was shaking. My soul like.
Left my body, and I was just trying to make it through because I knew there were things I wanted to say. But then you get up there and it's almost like you black out, and I was like trying to remember the things and I'm breathed, like heavy breathing, and I'm just looking at him, and you know, you were smiling a lot, and I just felt like, okay, just take a deep breath because you know, I think, I think it's me so I can just try and get through this and not like faint and pass away. Then hopefully I'll have a ring on my finger.
Yeah, I.
Was. I was happy.
I was relieved, you know when, because the hard part, the hard part was over and now it was time to just look forward to, you know, being happy in the future.
And I think that's what I was doing. So when Juliana walked up, I like, I there was no pressure for me. I was like I would just wanted to reassure her as soon as possible.
So because she didn't like pass out, I was like, okay, like let's you know, and I think that. Yeah, it was just it was just good vibes after that, and then I was I was ready to start to just start life, you know.
Yeah, so cameras off. You guys just got engaged. What how you did?
What do you do that night?
How are you feeling?
We were so excited.
I think we just popped so many bottles.
We was, you know, some food, some wine. We had just having a good time, you know, dancing and we had a great time.
It felt so crazy, you know.
I think one of the things that I feel like we both were so excited for was when the cameras were gone, you know, and you're so in the process.
It's like all this flits.
And glam and like minimal time and serious conversations that have to happen, and then it's like, Okay, now it's done, and now we can really just like breathe and kind of like go back to the start and have like smaller conversations and just like enjoy each other's company.
And that's exactly what we.
Did, what we're still doing.
Yeah, we enjoy being around each other and there's no like it's just natural, you know. So I think that's the main thing, and I think that that sets us up for success, you know.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I remember after the engagement, like while we were on Paradise and dropping, like I felt elated, Like I remember, you're the adrenaline is going so hard.
You're like, that was the craziest thing I've ever done in my life.
I'm engaged, but like I'm so happy and in love and you're just like and like I just feel like you're intimacy, Like the connection between the two of you can just skyrocket forward so much faster because you're now moving kind of you have all this time together that you didn't have before.
It, and you know that there's you know, nobody else involved at that point, it's like finally just you two. So it's like the nervousness and kind of like the walls that maybe I still had up just to protect myself. I just felt like everything was down and I was so happy and free and just excited.
Honestly, it's almost like the start of a new relationship. You almost have to look at it like like, hey, like you know, he was on a dating app while we were dating, and now he's no longer on it.
Were engaged, and you know, the crazy thing. As much.
As much turmoil and as much as hard as the journey is, I'm really appreciative because without this, I wouldn't have met Jules, and I wouldn't have you know, I was obviously, you know, you're stressing out.
It's coming down to the wire. It's a high stake situation.
But it led to a really fast track process where we really know each other and we have a really good head start because we you know, who not a lot of people get to go on dates and talk about you know, life and and talk about common things that you went through and get to know each other the second time you talk, and it really it really forges a bond that's like, Okay, well, you know, you know this person, you know what their their core.
Values, already know what they're made up of. So yeah, I'm grateful, you know.
Grant the Oh sorry, Grant. The first time we interviewed you, were you at all expecting the kind of pressure this was going to be.
I didn't know what. I didn't know what. I literally went there. I'm like, I'm about to look for love and I'm about to myself.
You know.
I went in there so naive and you know, it's it's crazy, but it worked. So that's one of those things that.
You just don't know what.
You don't know.
Yeah, you don't know. You know what I'm saying, you don't know.
And I think the one thing about me is I'm always going to be myself, Like I don't care, I'm going to be myself and attracts the energy that you need in your life, you know.
And I feel like that's just something that I stand by.
I think that's something that Julie stands by, and that's what really attracted me to her.
It's so funny.
I feel like every or at least the last few leads have come on our podcast when they get announced, and we're like, are you nervous, and all of you say no, you all go no, I feel so excited.
I'm ready for whatever. And then we see you guys mid season.
You're different people.
This is.
Fucking hard.
I saw that there was like a meme of him like when he first.
Got announced next to him after like the women tell all and everybody was like, those are two different.
It's like it's like you're a little kid, like for the first time, about to go on a roller coaster, so excited, and then you're like you get off the roller coaster, you're like nauseous.
Like the guys, they're.
Great, Juliana, this is obviously all new for you as well as your family.
What do they think.
Of all of this?
Yeah, like when you first told him you got engaged.
Well, what's funny is my dad didn't know that that's how this ended.
And yeah, and like right before the hometown my sister said that to him. She's like, you know, you have to ask him like some hard hitting questions, and he was like, what, like, how does that work?
You know?
And he was definitely I think he was unsure about it, but he had enough like trust in me that he's like, if that's what she wants, and that's what you decide, you know. After he met you, he was like, Okay, it'll be fine. You know, they'll they'll make it work. And I think everybody's just so excited, you know, Like I said, my aunts and some of my cousins are like, he is such an amazing.
Man, Like you guys are going to be perfect together.
Anything about her dad was like he came in and you could tell he wanted to like ask hard hitting questions, and then we just connected and bonded and then we just were like having a it was like a chat.
It was like I met him before. I didn't even it was it was. It was a really crazy situation.
That's good, but I feel like sometimes that's the best way to get to know someone is just to have a genuine conversation with them.
Yeah, and what did your What did your sister say when you told her you got engaged?
She listen is happy, she was she was like in Paris somewhere and I called her and she was like doing her things, like like fashion week or something, and I called her. I was like, I'm engaged.
He's like, oh my god, I can't wait.
I'm so happy she was there, and there's gonna be so much time for us to grab dinner and like just chat and just hang out.
You know.
Yeah, how have the happy couples been?
Like?
What's your go to routine when you guys spend a weekend together in hiding?
So we cook? Yeah, we eat, we eat, we have wine. And who's a beoutter cook?
Easy money?
I could cook.
I could cook, you know, Juliana, you're Italian.
I know, I know.
It's yeah.
I like I like cooking. I like cooking her too. I like, you know, making sure she's.
Good so that you know you're good.
I can make turkey tacos, which I haven't done yet. I said, I was going to a couple of times.
But you know, well we have times.
You're gonna come back into year and you're the guys of them.
Well, he's so good. I'm like, you don't want my food? Your food?
What has it been like watching it back? Your love story? In particular, not everything else.
Well, you know, I think that there's so there's so much more to like our relationship that was formed than you know, what everybody got to see.
And that's fine.
Sure, I really tried to just compartmentalize like what I actually experienced and what we actually, you know, founded our relationship on versus kind of what was being like shown.
Not that that not that it wasn't true, you know.
I mean, we did have those deep, dark conversations that we needed to, but there's just so much more. And so I think Scotland was really fun because you got to see just how kind of easy going we are together and like get a little insight as to how calm I think we are around each other.
And then we.
Did obviously have such a commonality between our upbringings that allowed us to kind of feel like we could see each other pushing one another to grow and always be looking to like better yourself as a person. But at the same time, it's like loving who you are in this day. So it's been it's been a whirlwind. It's been really fun, and it's been crazy to think that I experienced it and then like we get to like watch it back well, you know when does that all right?
This looks like a good place to stop the interview. This has been a lot of fun, but we're not done with these two, so make sure you guys tune in tomorrow because we're gonna have the second half with Grant and Juliana.
Thanks for listening. Bye,