When did Serena Pitt and Joe Amabile meet for first time? 'Bachelor in Paradise' Season 7 stars get married
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Serena Pitt and Joe Amabile of 'Bachelor in Paradise' are now married! The newlyweds were spotted after they said "I do" at City Hall in New York City on October 27 morning.
Last summer, Serena and Joe found love and got engaged on Season 7 of 'Bachelor in Paradise.' Since then, the two have moved in together in New York City and have continued to share details about their lives with fans via social media and Bachelor Nation podcasts. Joe and Serena have now taken to Instagram to post a video from their beautiful wedding ceremony, stating, "JUST MARRIED !! We are still having a wedding this September, but who doesn’t want to get married twice! For the full two minute video head over to our YouTube."
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On Season 7 of 'Bachelor in Paradise,' Serena Pitt and Joe Amabile had nothing but eyes for one another. Serena revealed on 'Talking It Out with Bachelor Nation' podcast that she was fascinated by Joe from the start, even though he was "kind of a mess" when they first met. "I really thought it was endearing because I was like, despite this environment where you almost feel pressure to have this perfect persona of doing the right thing, saying the right thing, and looking great, he's just sitting there, acknowledging his awkwardness, he's sweating, he's being open with me," she continued.
The couple's bond grew stronger over the season, and during the last episode, Joe dropped down on one knee and proposed to Serena. Serena and Joe had a long-distance relationship for months after the program ended before moving in together in New York City. They got married in a New York City courtroom in October 2022. Here's everything you need to know about Serena and Joe's relationship, from meeting on a TV show to getting married.
Meeting on Paradise
Serena and Joe first appeared on 'Bachelor in Paradise' in Season 7, which premiered on August 16, 2021. During the first episode, Joe was having second thoughts about returning to the beach for a second time, and he considered returning home. "I don't want to be here just to hang out," he explained. "So unless I actually meet somebody that I'm really interested in, I just don't see the point of staying. Do I want to go through all this again? I just don't know. I don't know if I'm up for it right now, to be honest." His thoughts were shortly changed when he and Serena began conversing and experienced their first kiss. "Starting to develop feelings for Serena does make me want to stay," Joe explained.
During the show's '80s-themed prom, the couple was named Prom King and Queen. On the night the episode aired, Joe shared an Instagram shot of him and Serena wearing their crowns. "and my teachers told me I would never be prom king …" he humorously captioned it.
Getting engaged on Paradise
Serena and Joe, along with two other couples, got engaged at the Season 7 finale. "Your smile, your charm, your looks, this whole thing. The Toronto accent. It's just really everything about you," Serena was told when Joe proposed. "It happened fast, faster than I thought, but at this point, I don't see myself not wanting to wake up with you by my side. When I think about forever, you know that's scary. And then I think about it with you, it feels right. You told me you were falling in love with me first. You told me you loved me first, now it's my turn. Serena Pitt, I love you very much, will you marry me?"The happy pair shared the wonderful news on Instagram, with Serena captioning a lovely shot, "And it's only the beginning." Joe commented in the comments, "Let's do life."
Serena and Joe discussed their wedding preparations with the Bachelor Happy Hour podcast the day after their engagement broadcast, revealing that they were taking things slowly. "We're not rushing down the aisle. But we definitely feel confident in the fact that we want to be together," Serena said. "It'll be nice to just take a breath, date, live together, and then marriage will come down the line."
Joe told PEOPLE in an interview that he never hesitated to propose to Serena, even when his ex-girlfriend Kendall Long stepped up just before he got down on one knee. "No, it never made me question the proposal at all. I was really only focused on Serena and the ring in my back pocket," he said. "So when Kendall came down, it was unfortunate timing. It was a quick conversation, and I wish her the best. But I was just ready to see Serena and do the damn thing."
Serena stated that Joe was her cornerstone, stating, "He seemed completely steady about the whole thing, so I was like, 'Okay, you know what? It happened, let's move forward and keep this day about us as much as possible.'"
Long-distance relationship
After filming wrapped, the pair had to navigate their new relationship from a distance because Joe was in Chicago and Serena was in Toronto. The duo discussed having to adjust to long-distance relationships on Joe's podcast, Click Bait with Bachelor Nation. "We met, and then we were never separated from each other. We had never had time apart. We were together morning to night, all day, every single day for a full month straight,"Serena stated. "Then we got engaged and spent a couple days together in Mexico. Then we were together for 10 days nonstop because we couldn't go anywhere."
When Serena returned to Canada, everything changed. She claimed the weeks she spent there were "really long," but the pair gradually adjusted to the distance and saw one another every other week. Serena and Joe were still living apart in two different countries in December 2021 when she discussed their long-distance love on Bachelor Happy Hour. "Long distance can be weird because sometimes it feels like you're living your individual lives then you get to spend time together, but eventually have to go back to your individual lives," Serena explained. "So I feel like we're just trying to get to the point where it feels like we're doing life together the majority of the time."
Moving in together
Joe announced on his Click Bait show in March 2022 that he and Serena would be moving in together. "I can't wait to move in with Serena, so we just have one place because going back and forth between our two places has been pretty rough," Joe remarked. He said, "We are moving to New York. My business is still in Chicago, so I'll be back and forth, but we're moving to New York."
Engagement party
Serena and Joe celebrated their engagement with an "elevated boho" engagement party in Toronto over a year after their on-screen proposal aired. "I think my parents originally brought the idea to us for an engagement party, just because we obviously had an unconventional engagement," Serena exclusively told PEOPLE. "We got engaged, and it was a secret for a period of time. So this was a nice idea to bring some of our family and close friends together to celebrate a whole year later. It all happened so fast," Joe said, "but now we're a year down the road, and we've realized our parents never even met in person yet." A large number of Bachelor Nation alumni, as well as the couple's close friends and family, were in attendance.
Officially married
Serena Pitt married Joe Amabile, aka "Grocery Store Joe," on Thursday in New York City's City Hall. Fans were taken aback when the 'Bachelor in Paradise' couple posted an Instagram video of their wedding nearly a year before their planned September wedding date. Fans could see the legal presider prompting them to say "I do" while holding hands and wearing face masks in the video. The pair removed their masks after being officially married and embraced one another with a hug and repeated kisses. Serena and Joe did not wear conventional wedding clothing. The bride donned a cream long-sleeved blouse with black leather trousers and black boots, while the groom chose a blue quarter-zip sweater with black pants and white sneakers.