Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think it’s pretty safe to say that Arie Luyendyk Jr. and Lauren Burnham—who are getting married in Hawaii on January 12—aren’t the most beloved couple in Bachelor Nation.

TBH, the majority of us were never really on board with the whole idea of Arie—a.k.a. Not Peter—as the Bachelor in the first place. (Probably because his dull as dirt personality didn’t make for a compelling lead, nevermind the fact that most of millennial Bachelor Nation didn’t actually know who he was.) So, it would have been a tough sell no matter what.

But the fact that he ended up breaking Becca Kufrin’s heart on-camera and then proposing to the equally boring (if not moreso) Lauren Burnham on After the Final Rose—while Becca was still in the damn studio—didn’t exactly have us jumping for joy. And how could it? Watching Becca’s engagement turn into a dumpster fire was devastating, so how were we supposed to be happy for the couple that instantaneously rose from the ashes?

*I guess* Arie and Lauren are sort-of perfect for each other, though. As my fellow Bachelor-obsessed colleague has so accurately put it: “They’re both blander than a loaf of white bread.” And I have to admit that Arie and Lauren *did* give us the one thing we ask for from this show: a happy ending. Which makes me wonder, Carrie Bradshaw-style, whether we should actually be embracing their Bachelor Nation fairytale?

So without further adieu, please join me as I force myself to consider all the reasons why, on paper, these two are *actually* the ultimate Bachelor couple.

First off, they’re getting married—like, tomorrow

Let’s look at the stats for a sec. Since 2002, there’s been 22 seasons of The Bachelor, 14 seasons of The Bachelorette, three seasons of Bachelor Pad, five seasons of Bachelor in Paradise and one season of Winter Games. From all that, only *seven* couples have gotten married—and we haven’t seen a Bachelor marry his Final Rose since Sean and Catherine Lowe got hitched in 2014. So when you stop and think about it, Arie and Lauren’s walk down the altar is actually a pretty big deal.

Granted they’ve only been together for a year, so time isn’t really on their side. (I mean, Kaitlyn Bristowe and Shawn Booth broke up after a solid three years of being engaged.) But tomorrow, Arie and Lauren will be accomplishing the main goal of the show as they tie the knot in Hawaii. And at the end of the day, that’s not something we’re able to say for most of the couples who have made it to the Final Rose.

And though it’s not being televised in typical Bachelor fashion (probably because the producers knew how boring it would be), good ol’ Chris Harrison *will* be there to officiate what I’m sure will be a lovely ceremony—even if their vows consist mostly of “I love that” and “wow.”

They’re having a baby girl in June

A Bachelor Nation wedding and a baby in less than a year!? Like honestly, what more could we ask for from a Bachelor couple? And just look at how excited they are. If those smiles aren’t evidence of a Bachelor success story, idk what is.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BqKhc6BH94x/?utm_source=ig_embed

https://www.instagram.com/p/BsOxW_On5Dz/?utm_source=ig_embed

https://www.instagram.com/p/BsHG34VhAI3/?utm_source=ig_embed

Clearly, they are over the moon about embarking on this journey together. And despite the fact that they created an Instagram account for their unborn child—in which the captions are written in the baby’s voice—how could I not be happy for them?

They’re disgustingly in love with each other

Take one scroll down Arie and Lauren’s Instagram feeds and you’ll see: these two are *so* in love. Both of their acccounts are filled with PDA-packed photos (vom) and images of the happy-seeming life they’ve created together in Arizona. Arie even gushed to People in March 2018 about how madly in love with Lauren he was, saying: “We tell each other we love each other 1,000 times a day.” And judging from the way they’re looking at each other in the below photo, I’m p. sure they still do.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BsbR2fCgJ_W/?utm_source=ig_embed

To sum it up: I’ll never be Arie and Lauren’s number-one fan—probably because their personalities bore me to my core. And I’ll definitely never care about their relationship the way I cared about Kaitlyn and Shawn’s (I am literally *still* mourning their breakup). But after dissecting their successful Bachelor love story, I can honestly say: I am on their side. And I’m rooting for them to go the distance.

Who knows, maybe I’ll even click through their wedding photos on Instagram. (But tbh, probably not).

Filed under: Arie Luyendyk Jr., The Bachelor Season 22