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Bob D'Amico/Disney via Getty Images; John Parra/Getty Images
Then: After a six-week whirlwind of hot tubs and champagne toasts, Miami-based physical therapist Trista Rehn (who first saw an ad for ABC's dating experiment while watching TV) accepted a proposal from dashing fire fighter Ryan Sutter.
Following months of secret rendezvous ("They flew him with a handler and he had to wear a wig," she recalled in a 2022 interview with E! News), they capped off their dramatic journey with a televised December 2003 wedding.
Now: The OG Bachelorette's proposal was met with a lot of doubts. Since the series' first two Bachelors had split with their final rose recipients within a year of the finale airing, "it hadn't really ever been proven by anybody that you could have a successful relationship," Trista noted to E!. "But we proved them all wrong!"
The Colorado-based pair—parents to Maxwell, 15, and Blakesley, 14—will celebrate their 20th anniversary this December, presumably without red roses, which remain among most of the leads' least favorite blooms.
"I want to be married for 72 years, like my grandparents were," Sutter shared with E! News in February. "I love him. I love doing life with him. I love that he's my best friend and I want that to continue."
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