If you havent watched the finale of The Bachelorette Season 20 yet, you may not know that Charity Lawson and Dotun Olubeko are happily engaged. If you are part of Bachelor Nation, you absolutely know that the winning duo is one of the strongest couples to come out of the dating franchise in over two decades.
On this weeks final episode of Lawsons season, the star of The Bachelorette was torn between her two finalists: Olubeko and Joey Graziadei, who was announced as The Bachelor lead for its upcoming 28th season that will air in 2024.
In the end, after many tears, Lawson was ultimately set on Olubeko and they became engaged. In the process, she broke Graziadeis heart, but again, he now has his own show, so everyone ended up a winner.
At the conclusion of her season, Lawson got the surprise news that she will be competing on this falls season of Dancing With the Stars. She also made a surprise appearance in the trailer for Bachelor In Paradise, which will return with a new season this fall.
Here, Lawson and Olubeko talk to Variety about watching back their TV proposal, their wedding plans, how they feel about Graziadei becoming The Bachelor and their excitement for DWTS and more
On After the Final Rose, Jesse Palmer surprised you with a Greece trip. Any honeymoon plans?
Charity Lawson: I keep asking when were going to go. Obviously, we want to plan it and make sure its spectacular, but with Dancing With the Stars, Im hopping right into that, so were probably going to save it for when we really need it and just can really just enjoy it and not have to rush. Itll probably be after that.
Dotun, you surprised Charity with the news that shes been cast on Dancing With the Stars. How long were you holding on to that secret?
Dotun Olubeko: It felt like a month, but it was literally just like two hours [Laughing]. At the studio, they told me the news, which had been in discussion to my understanding for a few weeks, and they wanted me to tell it to her. I was really happy we got to share that special moment, and that I got to let this one know shes gonna be cutting it up on the dance floor.
Dancing With the Stars is pretty rigorous with the rehearsal schedule. Will you both be living in L.A. together during the show?
Olubeko: Definitely. At this point, we are enjoying each others company and we want to continue building, so we are going to be sticking together wherever we go, so Ill definitely be in L.A. with dinner waiting when she gets back Its not going to affect our relationship. And if it does, well address it. But as of now, were just really excited. I think Im more excited. We are going to prioritize relationship above all else, but certainly, its a beautiful opportunity. Shes going do great, and I cant be more excited.
Now that you are done with The Bachelorette, what are your plans as a couple, beyond Dancing With the Stars?
Lawson: After Dancing With the Stars, were both like Oh, do we want to come to L.A.? But hes grown up in California, so hes experienced a lot of it, and Im not super pressed on being out here, so I think we might take ourselves back to the East Coast, and we might experience New York and see what else is out there.
Is it too early to ask about wedding planning?
Lawson: Wedding planning, we know thats a process in itself, so we have not started that. Im really just going to give myself time to really do that correctly and enjoy my time doing that. But were looking to do it sooner rather than later. We dont have like a set day, but nothing too long. We dont want a super extended engagement.
Im sure youve seen on social media that Bachelor Nation always thought the winner would be you, Dotun. We know that The Bachelor franchise doesnt have the best track record for couples staying together, but you make viewers believe that it is actually possible to find love on reality TV. How does it feel to see this strong reaction from viewers?
Olubeko: I did not expect the love to shine through by watching this back. We experienced it and we felt it deeply, but we were like, Theres no way thats going to be captured. So for us to watch it back and for other people to see it, it has been just so magical, really, in every way. We are just so happy for the positivity because a lot of these couples probably dont get the positivity that we received, which can make it harder. We arent really public people, so we kind of stay to ourselves as it is, but we are just so happy. I think that just lends to the compatibility that we have and our intentionality. You really cant make this up. Its a true fairytale ending.
Dotun, did you watch the finale with the rest of America? Or had you seen it before?
Olubeko: I actually havent even seen the whole thing yet. I watched my proposal, so thats about it. Online, Ive seen clips and bits of pieces of the other portions, but I havent seen the episode in its entirety. Ive seen the up to meet-the-parents, but after that havent seen much.
Im not sure if you even saw these scenes then, so please let me know if you havent, but if you did, what did it feel like to watch Charity struggling with her decision between you and Joey? And what was it like to see her familys reaction? Was that difficult to watch back?
Olubeko: Thats a great question. There were definitely difficult moments throughout the season, and it got more difficult the closer the connections got. As far as the parents, what you guys didnt see was that by the end of it, I got the blessing from both parents. Her sister voiced her opinion towards me, but by the end of the meet-the-parents, I felt really good. But again, that was missing the episode. But obviously, its been all over the promos her tears, and it does get hard, but I had to realize that what I love about her is her ability to love, and love deeply. And I get to enjoy that now. That was obviously in the past. So, as hard as it was, she was doing such a good job of checking in on me, making sure that Im good and that I understand that what we have is solid and secure. Shes been my rock through all of this, and Im feeling better than I did after our engagement. Its been its been tough, but we made it through. I think we passed with flying colors.
Youve all handled everything so maturely. It seems like youre excited for Joey being cast as The Bachelor. Any advice for him?
Lawson: When you step into a role as as big as The Bachelor or The Bachelorette, I think sometimes people can forget their purpose for being there. I hate the saying, but if youre there for the right reasons. Obviously, the goal is to find love and to find your person and nothing else matters. As we know, Joey is a lover boy and he is really ready to find his person. Im wishing him the best and obviously, I think hes going to do so great. Hes an incredibly intentional person and a super compassionate person. If he leads with that, my best advice going through it is just taking it day-by-day not looking too forward down the line. You can get really caught up in that, and you can also get caught up in the narratives that other people want you to have. Its important that he follows his heart. I think hes spent the time to really work on himself and figure out what it is that Joey really wants, so if he goes in with that mindset, he will no doubt find his person.
Are you going to watch his season?
Lawson: Well be rooting for him. Were going watch, and wish him the best.
Charity, we saw you in the trailer for Bachelor in Paradise. Youre obviously not looking for love, so what are you doing there?
Lawson: Ummm [Laughing]. I might just be going down there to offer a few therapy sessions. Its going to be a wild ride! Thats all I can say. Yeah, I had some checking-in to do.