There's not doubt that being The Bachelorette can lead to a lot of ups and downs, especially when it comes to love. While the main goal of the show is supposed to be helping a wonderful single woman find her forever love, anyone who's watched will know that it's not usually an easy road, even if the lead does find someone she thinks it right for her. Former Bachelorette JoJo Fletcher managed to find her perfect person during her season, and now she and fiancé Jordan Rodgers are opening up about making their romance last past The Bachelorette.
JoJo and Jordan met on her 2016 season of The Bachelorette, and sparks flew immediately between the two, with JoJo needing to take a breather after their very first kiss that night as she said to herself, "His butt...His butt! I need to start doing squats." and also giving him her first impression rose not long after. But, while the two seemed to be destined for one another, they've now made it clear that the first year of their engagement wasn't the easiest.
The couple, who had to postpone their planned mid-June wedding because of our current no-large-gatherings time of life, recently spoke to Entertainment Tonight in the wake of JoJo's Bachelorette season getting the recap treatment on The Bachelor: The Greatest Seasons - Ever! and opened up about how hard it was to stay the course right after the show ended, with Jordan saying:
We met on a TV show. Like, it was just by chance. It was a fairytale and it's not real life. I mean, there's a million excuses you can bring up. We just kind of sat down, and we were just broken. We were like, 'We love each other, [but] that doesn't mean that this is gonna work out.' There was one or two ways we could go, and we decided right there to put our foot down and be better.
It's so easy to see people fall for each other on The Bachlorette, The Bachelor or Bachelor in Paradise and not fully consider just how hard it will be for them to stay together after the bubble of the show is over. After all, not only are there no distractions while they're on a season (aside from the other hot singles, that is), but once they come back to the real world, they'll have to face truly getting to know someone the old-fashioned way, which will include disagreements they wouldn't have had to face on the show.
JoJo and Jordan readily admitted that their first year as an engaged couple was the hardest for them to navigate, and said they had "crazy ups and downs, bad fights and arguments," throughout, which led to them deciding to do everything they could to work out their differences and figure out how to make their romance last.
According to the couple, part of the problem they had was the public perception of Jordan as a fame-seeker and a player, and someone who hadn't gone on The Bachelorette "for the right reasons." Social media noise was constantly in Jojo's ear about the supposed truth of Jordan's personality and motives, so she started to doubt her decision in choosing him. JoJo noted that this led to conflict, and "resentment" for both of them, but she revealed how they were able to come out of the other side of those issues:
It was just that conscious decision every time that we got into an argument, taking a step back and, yes, we love each other, but we also need to respect each other. To this day... nothing's perfect! There are moments where we'll be discussing or arguing about something and we're like, 'OK, this is where we need to take a moment.' It's just always gonna be work, and I think that's what makes relationships last.
Man, I have to say, I really do appreciate JoJo and Jordan being so open about what it's taken for them to get to a solid place in their relationship. Frequently, when we look at celebrity couples, everything seems so easy for them. Sure, we understand that being in the spotlight can cause trouble that regular folks don't have to deal with, but we don't get the full picture of how those couples having to adjust to media attention on top of standard couple drama can really take a toll on a relationship.
Jordan added that they've been able to keep themselves strong by remembering why they're together in the first place:
It was just coming back and understanding that we make each other better. We're best friends, and if we have that, then we can get through whatever this crap is.
JoJo Fletcher and Jordan Rodgers are now set to wed in 2021. For more on what to watch right now, check out our 2020 Netflix guide and see what's coming to TV this summer!
