ABC/ADAM LARKEY

Shayne Lamas won the final rose on the The Bachelor Monday. Matt Grant got down on one knee and presented the 22-year-old aspiring actress (and daughter of actor Lorenzo Lamas) with a 2.85-carat Tacori platinum and diamond eternity ring.

The soon-to-be-wed couple spoke to Usmagazine.com about falling in love, e-mailing 50 times a day and wedding plans:

Us: So obviously I want to talk about the happy news and how you’re feeling. Matt what made you choose Shayne?
MATT GRANT: Well, from really early on it was obvious that Shayne and I had chemistry, a natural rapport. Everything was just always a pleasure to be around her. I always at ease and it always felt that we were at ease. If anything, it was just almost the point feeling negative from it was that she’s too good to be true. It’s funny cause I kept saying to myself, off set, at my hotel, it’s almost too good to be true—quite the negative. I realized there really wasn’t any that we did just spin it. It’s just kind of funny when you don’t expect that when you meet someone on a reality television program.
SHAYNE DAHL LAMAS: I feel the same way.

Us: Obviously the chemistry between you two was pretty obvious throughout the entire the series, I would say. How are you both feeling now?
SDL: I think that I’m just excited for us to be public and everybody could know, friends and family. We’ve been so secret with our lives the past two months that I think we’re just excited that it’s over. We can be public and together and go walk our dogs down the street together and go to the grocery store, do simple things in life that we really haven’t been able to do because we’ve been sequestered on rendezvous’, you know, stuck in houses. I think that’s what I’m most excited about.
MG: Yeah, definitely. It’s just starting a life together properly. The period up until now, the two months that we’ve been undercover and having to live this secret relationship and it’s been good in many ways because it’s just really made us appreciate and realize what we have. It’s just really built our relationship, made it even stronger actually.
SDL: I think if you can be stuck in a house with somebody for over 72 hours and not be able to walk out the front door, you’re good.

Us: That is the truth test of a relationship.
SDL: That is definitely! Without ripping each other’s heads off!
MG: With the pressures of the show going out as well and everything else and all of the external pressures as well, you really put [inaudible] again. It really made both of the sweet life and probably good for the occasion sometimes. I know I just sort of come away, me in the car driving away from where we’ve been and just think, “Thank God, I’m so lucky to have met this woman.” I really felt just so grateful that someone had enabled me to meet her. I know that sounds really cheesy, but it’s genuinely how I felt.
SDL: Aww baby that is so sweet! I love you.

Us: So how many times have you guys been able to see each other since the show ended?
MG: Quite a lot actually.
SDL: Yeah, a lot.
MG: We really pushed a lot. About five or six times.
SDL: We pushed to have time with each other.
MG: We spent everyday on the phone.
SDL: Everyday. E-mails 50 times a day. I mean we were in contact like any normal couple, all day long. I think that that’s it. We pushed to have more rendezvous’. ABC whatever we wanted, they would give it to us. If we wanted to meet up that weekend, they would say, “Okay, we’re doing it.”
MG: Private jet, baby, they didn’t sort that out first
SDL: No, they never got us a private jet, but that’s something we’ll have to pick up with [inaudible] at another time.
MG: I’m not happy.
SDL: Not happy.

Us: We should talk about that.
SDL: Yeah, we should really discuss.
MG: Does he know who I am? Does he know who we are?
SDL: I know, I mean how low

Us: I know it’s probably super important, I think maybe in the past some couples haven’t been able to see each other during that time and you kind of grow apart a little when you don’t—
MG: Yeah, but in life you have to push for stuff. You know life doesn’t come for free. You have to really kind of push and push. We both did. It wasn’t easy at times especially on the other side of the Atlantic.
SDL: Matt flew here several times and then trucked back, you know. We did what he had to do to be together period because we’re in love and we want to make this work and we want to be with each other. Two months is a long time to kind of be sequestered away from the world so we pushed to see each other as much as we could.

Us: So that whole time, Matt was in London and you were in L.A.?
MG: There were a few times I flew over for secret rendezvous for like three, four days. It was weird flying all of the way to L.A. for like three days.

Us: And you’d be shut up in one of your houses?
MG: Yeah, nothing but jet lag.
SDL: Yeah, babe, I owe you for that. I owe you, I owe you.
MG: But it’s a testament to our relationship that we survived that.
SDL: You better fly across the freaking’ world to see me! Just kidding.

Us: So can you tell me a little bit about the proposal? Obviously we’re going to see it on TV tonight, but…
MG: It was amazing. I’ve always used the word ‘amazing’ too much, but it’s my word.
SDL: Amazing…that’s my word actually.
MG: ‘Darling,’ that’s your word.
MG: Brilliant.
SDL: Yeah, your word is ‘brilliant’ my word is ‘darling.’ Okay back to the subject. I was feeling that day, my emotions were up and down because either I was about to maybe possibly be engaged to the man that I had fallen in love with or this man is going to send me home and choose to be with another woman. I think every woman would feel sick that day that has fallen in love with somebody. So my emotions were so up and down, I wasn’t even in my body. When I did walk up to greet Matt, it just became him and I in that moment and I totally forgot what was going on around us and what was being filmed. It was just a moment for us. When he got down on his knee, my knees gave out a little bit and I got a little weak, but it was by far the most amazing moment of entire life thus far. I mean it was incredible.
MG: It was a beautiful setting as well. It was just—it was amazing.
SDL: It was incredible, I mean I just—it was incredible. The fact that we get to look back on this in 60 years time and be able to watch it, I think that that’s a gift from God that we’ve been given. I mean we get to look at the moment that we first laid eyes on each other. We get to go back and watch that. I mean that is as unbelievable a gift that we have been given and I think that that’s the one thing that we throughout all of this we agree on. We get to let our grandchildren watch this.

Us: Right, your memories are documented
MG: It’s funny because—
SDL: --we’ll TiVo through the other girls, you know maybe we’ll cut that out and just kind of chop it up to our part because we don’t need to see what happened with them, but—
MG: I’ve forgotten them anyway, I don’t know who they are, I don’t know what you’re talking about
SDL: Yeah, we don’t know who they are.

Us: Very good thing to say, very smart.
SDL: Yeah, very good. Points on the board, darling

Us: Also, can you give a few details on the ring.
SDL: I’ll elaborate; I’ll be honest with you. I had the ring on my finger for about an hour so the hour that it was on my finger, I was shaking and freaking out because it is an absolute stunner. I mean it is gorgeous. It has diamonds all around the band on either side. It has three diamonds on the top of the face. It’s a “Tacori” ring. I mean it’s absolutely gorgeous and actually throughout this whole process, I haven’t been able to wear it, but I was getting my nails done when we—the next day after the proposal and they took the ring away from me. Well, an hour later I go down and buy “Vogue” magazine and it’s the ad, my ring is the ad for “Tacori” in “Vogue.” So I’ve just had my little paper from the ad from “Vogue” to look at and pull it out and be like, “this is gorgeous!” But other than that, I’ve actually forgot about the ring so that’s going to be a nice little surprise, I get that today.

Us: Matt, how did you pick it?
MG: Honestly, I had a choice out about 12 rings and this one just as soon as the guy opened—it was a bit sort of “Mission Impossible” situation. This guy comes in with “Tacori” with this stainless, steel kind of briefcase strapped to his arm all that James Bond espionage project. Open up this briefcase that had this quite diverse selection of impressive diamond rings and this one just naturally shun out and it was like, yeah you might as well had “Shayne Dahl Lamas” engraved in the back of it. It was just her.
SDL: Yeah, it’s gorgeous. It’s absolutely stunning. I’m very, very blessed that it’s on my finger from the man I love. It’s amazing.
MG: I love the fact, one, I know when Shayne saw it that she just loved it. I loved the fact that I picked that one because it was just her.
SDL: It’s gorgeous. It’s absolutely gorgeous
MG: I’m actually quite jealous
SDL: Yeah, I know. Matt’s like, ‘where’s my ring?’ and I’m like, ‘darling…’
Us: That’s a plus of being a woman
SDL: Yeah, exactly.
MG: I’m going to get the diamond earring
SDL: I’m like we’ll get you a ring when you get the ring, he’s like I want a ring.
MG: That is the question whether or not I should wear an engagement ring. Why’s it acceptable for…
SDL: Do they do that in London?
MG: Some guy’s do
SDL: When they’re engaged, they wear rings?
MG: Yeah
SDL: Really?
Us: I’ve heard about that. I’ve had a friend who said if she’s going to wear a ring, she would want her fiancé to wear a ring.
SDL: Yeah, actually we’ve talked about the fact that I would like you to have one on. We’ll discuss that another time
MG: We’ll discuss it. Maybe we can get a deal with “Tacori” darling.

Us; Have you discussed wedding plans at all?
MG: We’re just going to enjoy our time. We are starting our life in public today now. We’ve got a great foundation to start off public because we get on so well. I adore and love this woman very, very much. It’s just time for us now, plans, careers, future with her, holidays—we desperately need to get away as well at some point. You know, as far as [inaudible] and stuff, we’re just going to get the basics sorted out first and then when the time is right…
SDL: Just right now—tomorrow is going to be the first day we get to step out in public together so I think right now we’re just trying to build a foundation for ourselves and for our relationship. We’re just working that out and just going to live normally for once. But we’re definitely 100 percent engaged and we’re committed to our engagement 100 percent and the wedding will be in the future. We’re just going to work on us right now.

Us: Have you talked at all about where you’re going to live?
MG: We’ve kind of—we’re planning all of that as well. We don’t want to discuss too much because it’s still up in the air and we don’t want it to be taken out of context. It’s obviously—we obviously love both [inaudible]. I desperately want to show Shayne more of the UK and England specifically
SDL: I think we’ll do both, but I know 100 percent we’re always going to be together wherever we’re at whether it’s L.A. or London for a few months, we’ll never be apart.

Us: Right, you’re not going to do the long distance, across the ocean
SDL: No.
MG: No way
SDL: I’ll miss Matt too much if he’s that far away

Us: So you haven’t told any family members yet?
MG: Yeah, yeah. My parents actually adore Shayne. My mum now has a daughter she never had. It’s really funny like I’ve never seen my parents get so animated and enthused just upbeat about a partner of mine. They really speak about her when she’s not there like the daughter they never had, it’s really sweet.
SDL: Our family knows, but our friends don’t. I just think it’s not like we went out and told our family either. I think it’s just when I came home from Barbados it was just so obvious. The look on my face, the glow and they would ask and I said I can’t tell, you have to wait, you have to wait. But it’s just—almost like your family that knows you like the back of your hand, it’s so obvious. I think both of their families have opened their arms to each other. I know my family is 100 percent supportive and they’re in love with Matt just as much as I am.
MG: My mum’s even called Shayne Monkey.
SDL: :: mimicking mother:: “Send my love to Monkey!”

Us: What are you looking forward to most now being out in the public?
SDL: Well, we’re in L.A. at the moment. We’ve been asked this question before, but I think tomorrow when we can take a step in the public it’s going to be absolutely normal. We’ll go eat lunch, maybe take my dog to the dog park, go to the grocery store—babe, you have to go to the grocery store with me tomorrow, stock up on some food. You know, live normally.
MG: We do, we have fun
SDL: We’ll do dinner with friends, just very, very normal. I think that’s what I’ve been starving for is just to live normally with my fiancé. I cannot wait. It’s hours, hours are clicking til we get to do this. It’s coming soon!

Watch Rihanna's New Video with Maroon 5