Aaron Bryant and Eliza Isichei’s love story will continue beyond Bachelor in Paradise as the two got engaged during the Thursday, December 7, season 9 finale.

“From your beautiful skin to your elegant walk, to my favorite smile, I love everything about you Eliza. You’re the most beautiful part of Paradise for me. I know I have these feelings for you because I pay attention to every little thing you do,” Aaron, 30, told Eliza, 27, before getting down on one knee. “We went through so much. Couples shouldn’t last that, honestly, but we found a way to choose each other and choose faith in one another. I’m so happy right now to be standing here with you and to talk about the future as well.”

Aaron revealed that he had spoken to Eliza’s mom before proposing.

“She is very proud of you, she thinks the most of you. You truly have great parents, and I am just so lucky and grateful to be here,” he continued. “I can’t believe you’re standing in front of me, you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. Eliza, I want to do this right with you, I understand what this means for both of us. Eliza Manola Isichei, will you marry me?”

Aaron and Eliza appeared on Charity Lawson’s season of The Bachelorette earlier this year and Clayton Echard’s 2022 season of The Bachelor, respectively, before hitting it off in Mexico. The couple connected early in the process, but they weathered a bump in the road when Kat Izzo informed Eliza that Charity warned her about Aaron before filming for Paradise began.

Charity subsequently stopped by the beach during a November episode to explain to Eliza that her phone was “bombarded with all these messages” from Aaron’s ex-girlfriend when she returned from The Bachelorette.

“[His ex] not only messaged me a million times, she messaged my family members, she messaged my friends,” Charity continued. “So basically, her message to me was that, like, they were dating before he left for my season, and he never really told her, like, what it was upon, like, leaving.”

Despite sharing her concerns, Charity assured Eliza that the claims from Aaron’s ex were “not what I saw” while dating him, adding, “I like to say he does have good intentions.”

Charity also believed that Aaron and Eliza could work through the ordeal. “I think you guys could make it,” she said. “It’s just going to probably require some difficult conversations.”

Following Charity and Eliza’s conversation, Aaron told his side of the story to Charity. “We broke up last August. I haven’t talked to her since,” he claimed of his ex. He also denied that he had two girlfriends when he went on The Bachelorette.

Once Aaron told Eliza that his “disgruntled ex” was “firing off a bunch of untrue things” to Charity, Eliza agreed to “take it slow” with him as they continued their romance on the beach. “If we want to do this, we have to, like, communicate and talk and be on the same page,” she said. “I heard you out. I believe you.”

While Aaron’s past caused problems for him and Eliza during season 9, she went through her fair share of drama when she was caught in a love triangle with Rodney Mathews and Justin Glaze during season 8 of Paradise in 2022. Eliza received backlash after she gave Rodney a rose but then changed her mind to pursue Justin, who had already left Mexico. Justin later rejected her when she followed him to Baltimore for a second chance, leaving her single.

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“I didn’t want to stay another day with being unsure because he doesn’t deserve that, so that’s why I ended up doing what I did,” Eliza told TheWrap in November 2022 of her decision to break up with Rodney. “I know it was hard for both of us, but I felt it was right.”

As for Justin, Eliza revealed at the time that their relationship was over for good. “I think that’s a closed chapter,” she noted. “I think it could have been something great, but we just weren’t on the same page and that’s completely fine. I hope sometime in the future we can be cordial, but I think that’s done for.”

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