Former Jackson resident Tessa Horst and U.S. Navy Lt. Andy Baldwin, MD,  on Tuesday told how they became engaged on ABC’s hit reality series, "The Bachelor: Officer and A Gentleman" which concluded in a Monday evening broadcast with the couple in one another’s arms.
Horst, who lived in Jackson three years ago and worked as a waitress at the Wort Hotel’s Silver Dollar Bar, accepted Baldwin's marriage proposal during Monday night’s two-hour season finale. The following phone interview conducted through ABC this morning was their first since the airing of the final episode.

N&G: Hi, Tessa. Well, firstly, congratulations. How are you today?
Horst: I’m feeling great, Andy’s feeling fabulous. We’re doing wonderful today.

N&G: What are your wedding plans?
H: As of now, we’re sort of couching the wedding. We’re concentrating on being engaged and living in the real world as a couple.

N&G: When do you move to Hawaii?
H: I'm going to be moving to Hawaii at the end of the summer.

N&G: Where are you now?
H: In New York City.

N&G: What did you do last night for the season finale?
H: We were both on planes en route to New York, so we missed it.

N&G: So you didn’t see any of it?
H: I haven’t seen it yet. But I will say that on the special this evening, they show clips from it.

N&G: Tell me about the special this evening.
H: There’s a one-hour special this evening that is kind of like after the final rose/women tell all, and it’s, you know, bringing back the final four women.

N&G: What have the past two months been like for you as the show aired?
H: The past two months have been really hard. It’s been really hard keeping secrets from everybody, especially my family and friends. You know, it’s also been stressful watching the show. It was really hard to watch myself on television and, like, I found myself hardly even watching the episodes, but it’s pretty relieving to have it be over with. I have to say, though, it totally rearranged the week, and Monday nights became the epicenter of the week.

N&G: What has it been like watching yourself on national television?
H: Besides feeling very awkward – at first I couldn’t get over how awkward I felt watching myself on TV, hearing my voice and everything. Toward the end it was more like Andy and I were there, but should everyone else be there? It's almost like being on a date with a spy there, or your parents there, everyone you know.

N&G: How do you feel you were represented?
H: I’m not disappointed with the way I was represented. I definitely think that it’s hard to be whole people, whole personalities on that show. That said, I don’t think my whole personality was portrayed. But the same goes for just about everyone on that show.

N&G: How do you feel Andy was portrayed?
H: I think it was tougher for the audience to get a real view of who he is and his whole personality because a lot of time he was on dates, sort of reacting to girls, so I don’t know that you got to see his whole personality.

N&G: How much of the drama was shaped by the producers?
H: Cathy, am I allowed to answer that?
Cathy Riel, ABC public relations representative: I think basically everyone knows the show’s been edited, and they like to follow story lines. There were hours and hours being shot. We didn’t put words in their mouth, but I don’t know that there’s an exact answer that.

N&G: What was it like watching Andy develop close relationships with some of the other contestants, kissing them, even telling Bevin he loved her by the last episode?
H: That was definitely tough. It's tough especially watching it now, but I have to be able to take myself back to where I was at when it was being filmed, and I have to think about how late in the game my feelings developed. If you isolate it and think about it that way, it’s not as hard to watch as if I think of my feelings for Andy now and watch it.

N&G: How difficult has it been keeping the secret of your engagement?
H: It has been very difficult. Extremely difficult. You know it’s one of those things that you want to share with everyone, important people in your life, and when you’re not able to do that it seems secretive and shameful. But it’s so nice now not to have to do that.

N&G: Who were you allowed to tell?
H: Nobody.

N&G: Not even your family?
H: Uh-uh. They could know up to the part that they filmed through.

N&G: What have their reactions been?
H: I think that both of my parents are supportive but a little bit shocked with the outcome. Not shocked necessarily in a bad way, but definately in the same way I’m shocked. I can’t believe that four months ago, I was in a totally different spot.

N&G: How well did you keep in touch with Andy, and how has your relationship evolved since the show filmed?
H: We kept in touch a bunch. We’ve seen each other, I guess, three times, pretty much every other weekend when it was airing. We talk on the phone throughout the day. Both him and I feel that we’ve actually grown a lot closer and gotten to know each other better in a way that you don’t on the show. The quirks, ins and outs, he wakes up early in the morning 5 a.m., he’s the biggest early bird ever, I sleep with a retainer. But during this time, since the show wrapped, we’ve definitely gotten even closer and I would say are more in love than ever.

N&G: Talking about your experience during the filming, you seemed skeptical about the process of the show throughout. What were you doubtful of, and did you ever get over it?
H: I was really doubtful about the show being able to work. In the beginning, I found that I knew that there was going to be competition, that there were girls there that already had really strong feelings for him. I just doubted that my feelings would grow that intense that quickly, that I would be able to fall in love. I got over that partly when a couple things happened: when we went to my hometown, it really made it real for me. I was able to see Andy in a more natural environment for me and see him interact with my family, and that just made it very real to me, because before that it was just with the other girls. After that, all the girls saw Andy separately, which made it easier not to think about the doubts you had about other girls there. I don’t doubt at all that I’ve fallen in love. I think I’ll always have some sort of issues with the way it happened.

N&G: How often were the cameras on you?
H: When we were in the house, most all the time. And then after moving out of the house, when we were going on dates.

N&G: How did you and Andy cultivate a genuine love, given that the cameras were on you pretty much the whole time?
H: Well, I mean, there were some, like, off-camera times with Andy, but it wasn’t really about on camera, off camera. Towards the end, you sort of forget about the cameras, and the cameras aren’t something you’re thinking about. I would say it almost brings you to connect, rely and trust the people on camera with you because they’re going through the same thing.

N&G: You said your overnight date brought your relationship with Andy to the next level.  How so? What happened in the fantasy suite?
H: The overnight date was time for us to spend without the cameras and (Andy can be heard in the background) Andy says we played dominoes. (Horst laughed.) It wasn’t so much the overnight date ... it was that point in our relationship to talk about how serious we both were about it. The next morning we went for a long run, the whole 24 hours, it felt really great for both of us.

N&G: Did you feel pressure to feel and/or express your love for Andy prematurely, given the show’s time constraints?
H: Where I felt press was to figure it out really quickly, to figure out if I was into him or not and not take it the slow way, hanging out or courtship for a long time. I never felt pressure to tell him that I love him. I never felt any of that pressure.

N&G: How confident did you feel going into the final rose ceremony?
H: To be honest, I felt pretty confident because I thought to myself, there’s no way I can feel this and he doesn’t. Either my instincts are way off and I need to re-evaluate them or I genuinely feel this and he does too.

N&G: What did you expect about participating in the show and what surprised you?
H: I expected to go on the show and have a good time and have an adventure,  and I was shocked and surprised that I actually fell in love.

N&G: If you could do it over, is there anything you would do differently?
H: No absolutely not.

N&G: You said on the show the hardest question for you to answer during the family date with the Baldwins was where do you see yourself in five years. Answer that now.
H: I see myself with Andy, maybe on our way to having a family and having so much fun together.

N&G: Did ABC provide your wardrobe?
H: No, except for the last dress. I am so astounded that I could really, truly and honestly be in love after this, but I am. It’s great and it‚s totally shocking. I‚ve never felt this way about anyone else before.

Interview with U.S. Navy Lt. Andy Baldwin, MD:

N&G: When did you know that Tessa was the one?
B: I knew after the final last-chance date, after the horseback ride on the beach, she really ran up to me, gave me a big hug, I could tell she was in love. She was telling me that before, but I really just needed to feel that from her, feel that energy and affection, and once I felt that, that was the one thing I needed. Then she brought out the collage and read the note that she’d written me, that really sealed the deal. The thought that went into that, the funny things that went along the way and our journey, I knew right then and there. To see how we’ve really grown and love each other more, it’s such a good feeling.

N&G: What was the deciding factor in choosing Tessa?
B: Tessa’s unlike so many of the bachelorettes that have ever been on “The Bachelor” in the fact that she was not right out of the gate like, “I love you, Andy, I love you.” She was more normal. She had her reservations and actually made me work for it. The tides were turned and the bachelor was going for the bachelorette. It made it much more normal for me. When I was getting ready [for our Pretty Woman date], I was sweating bullets. I was like a young school boy going on his first date, sweaty armpits, it was really real. The more I got to know about her the more we realized we had in common. A lot of people ask, you know, how could, if it was so clear Andy, how could it come down to the end that it did? Like I said before, I needed to feel that she was willing to go along with the format and that she was truly in love with me. On the other side I had Bevin who was head over heels in love and it was this very, very powerful expression of that and how committed she was to it. I needed to feel the same from Tessa, and once I felt that, it was everything I needed everything in Tessa.