Joe Amabile and Serena Pitt’s Relationship Timeline: From ‘Bachelor in Paradise’ to Engagement

Credit: ABC/Craig Sjodin

Joe Amabile and Serena Pitt's Relationship Timeline: From 'Bachelor in Paradise' to Engagement

A match made in paradise! Joe Amabile and Serena Pitt finished Bachelor in Paradise season 7 as one of only three engaged couples, but their journey was full of twists and turns. Amabile, affectionately known to fans as Grocery Store Joe, made his Bachelor Nation debut during Becca Kufrin's season of The Bachelorette in 2018, but he was eliminated during the first week. The Chicago native later joined season 5 of Bachelor in Paradise, where he met Kendall Long. Though the duo split before the season ended, they got back together during the September 2018 finale. “I’m happy with her," Amabile told Us Weekly at the time. "I trust her. … We just like being together. It feels right.” Less than two years later, however, the couple called it quits as they had difficulty deciding where to live. “We have decided mutually to go our separate ways," they said in a January 2020 statement. "Joe has made the decision to move back to Chicago while Kendall will be remaining in her hometown of Los Angeles." When Amabile decided to give love another shot during season 7 of BiP, he immediately connected with Pitt, who originally competed on Matt James' season of The Bachelor in early 2021. The twosome seemed destined to finish the season as a couple, but things got rocky after Long arrived on the beach. [jwplayer 9rnYgDt8-zhNYySv2] The California native ultimately decided to leave when she realized that Amabile and Pitt were endgame, but she returned a second time in the season finale, leading her fellow BiP contestants to wonder if she was there to sabotage the impending engagement. "I don’t have any resentment — it was a little confusing,” the former grocer told Us exclusively after the October 2021 finale. “The timing, I would say, wasn’t the best. I was just really focused on Serena and getting to that moment. I had a ring in my back pocket. So it was more like, ‘OK, I get that you’re here, you know, I wish you the best, but it’s not the time. Now is not the time.’ But I hope she’s happy.” Pitt, for her part, shared the same sentiment as her fiancé, telling Us at the time that she preferred to think about the future with her husband-to-be. "I mean, I hope she’s happy," the publicist explained. "I wish her the best. And, you know, we’re just happy to focus on our relationship now and kind of keep those special moments between us and keep them private and special in their own way.” Keep scrolling for a complete timeline of Pitt and Amabile's romance: [podcast_block]

Credit: ABC/Craig Sjodin

First Meeting

Amabile initially had trouble settling in when BiP season 7 premiered in August 2021, telling his castmates that being on the beach reminded him too much of Long. As he considering leaving, he had a heart-to-heart with Pitt that convinced him to stay.

Credit: ABC/Craig Sjodin

The Kendall Crash

Long arrived on the beach during week three, but Amabile told her it was over between them for good. Though she tried pursuing relationships with other men at Playa Escondida in Mexico, she later decided that she wasn't over her ex and went home.

Credit: ABC/Craig Sjodin

Recommitment

After Long's exit, Amabile and Pitt confessed their feelings for one another, becoming one of the last couples standing. Heading into the October 2021 finale, it seemed likely that the "Click Bait" podcast host was planning to propose.

Credit: ABC/Craig Sjodin

Engaged!

Long made one more surprise appearance during the season finale, but she couldn't shake Amabile's determination to make it official with Pitt. “My ex did just show up on the beach," he said during his proposal, which aired in October 2021. "If anything, it just made me more confident in how much that I do love you. We have definitely had our speed bumps along the way, but the way you’ve handled it shows me what a kind of loving person you are. I’m really into you — your smile, your charm, your looks, this whole thing."

After the duo arrived home, the Canada native admitted that her parents were definitely surprised to find out she'd gotten engaged on BiP. "I think shock was the first emotion, definitely shock, but I mean, we have a great relationship,” she told Us after the finale. “They’re very loving and supportive and as much as I would say, they’re still a little bit shocked by all of it — I mean, it’s just very unconventional [but] they’re just excited to be a part of it and be able to share it now with their family and friends and get to know Joe more."

Credit: Courtesy of Serena Pitt/Instagram

Future Plans

In October 2021, the pair told Us that they planned to move in together in the spring of 2022 after splitting time between their hometowns. “We’re deciding between probably three locations, either Toronto, Chicago or New York," Amabile explained. "We’ll figure it out.”

Credit: Courtesy of Joe Amabile/Instagram

Nothing But a Number

After a TikTok follower asked Pitt in October 2021 why she was in a relationship with a man 11 years older than her, the Bachelor alum clapped back with a photo gallery of famous couples who also have sizable age gaps between them. The video included pictures of Jay-Z and Beyoncé, Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds and George and Amal Clooney, among others.

Credit: Courtesy of Serena Pitt/instagram

February 2022

"Happy Valentine’s Day 🤍 This is the first photo I ever took of @joeamabile1 and still one of my favorites," Pitt captioned an Instagram photo of her fiancé smiling at the camera.

Credit: John Salangsang/Shutterstock

Moving In!

“I'm definitely happy about it,” Serena exclusively told Us in April 2022 of the pair’s joint move to New York. “It'll make things just easier. I mean, travel's kind of part of our lives, part of our careers and our relationship but, yeah, we love the city so it's going to be fun.”

Credit: Joe and Serena/YouTube

They Do!

The twosome decided to elope at the local New York City courthouse in October 2022, with only Bachelor Nation’s Natasha Parker in attendance as their witness.

“We have always known marriage was in our future, it just looked a little bit different than we expected,” they told Us in a joint statement. “We still plan on having a big wedding next fall that we are already planning, but with everything being so public in our relationship, having a private moment just the two of us felt so special and intimate.”