Jen Schefft: Bachelorette No More

Jen Schefft, former Bachelor and Bachelorette star, is engaged and getting ready to walk down the aisle in May. A lot of people thought this would never happen for Jen after she and former Bachelor Andrew Firestone broke off their engagement and then she rejected Jerry Ferris' proposal when she was the Bachelorette. Afterwards she wrote her book Better Single Than Sorry, and received even more backlashbecause people thought she was still too picky.

Well, folks, Jen is now giving up singledom for good. She met her fiancé on a blind date last year after having gone out on a previous blind date with a mutual friend. Several months later, fiancé Joe Waterman proposed and she accepted. They are both from Ohio and live in Chicago.

A part of me wonders what made things different this time around. After all, she was engaged to Andrew Firestone and thought he was the "right" one for nine months. I thought Jerry Ferris was going to be the last man standing on TheBachelorette (and in a way he was) from the way she ogled him the first night they met. I can relate to how she must have felt after having met him myself when he made an appearance at a southern women's show about four years ago. It was so easy to get lost in his beautiful blue eyes. Looks aside, though, Jen did not feel that lasting connection with Jerry or with the 24 other guys who competed for her affection on the show. Some viewers were upset with Jen for not choosing Jerry. But it was not their decision to make. And, even with 25 guys to choose from, there was no guarantee that one of them would turn out to be Mr. Right.

Then Joe comes along. Within a few months, Jen decides that this guy is the one. Whatever the case, I wish her the best of luck. Getting married is a huge decision for anyone to make. To pick someone and stay committed to that person is a challenge. After all, how does one know when it is really "right"? Maybe it occurs when one gets tired of looking. I am glad, though, that she has found the one for her. For some people, finding true love takes a lot of trial and error. In Jen's case, it seems like it was worth the wait.