The Bachelorette Results: Has DeAnna Pappas Really Found True Love?

Last night on The Bachelorette (7/7/08), DeAnna Pappas said "Yes" to a very nervous Jesse Csincsak as he romantically proposed to her on bended knee. DeAnna chose Jesse, the professional snowboarder, over broken-hearted Jason Mesnick, the "safe, reliable" single dad.

I thought DeAnna chose wrong - my vote was for Jason - until I saw her and Jesse on the "After the Rose" telecast, and the re-play of some of their moments together. They really seem sincerely more than just smitten, but let's hope DeAnna and Jesse have truly found lasting love - not just falling or being "in love".

If they have, then beside Trista and Ryan from the first "Bachelorette" (they're still happily married and have a gorgeous little boy), this may be only the second engagement out of all "Bachelor" and "Bachelorettes" to actually work out. DeAnna and Jesse announced last night that they've already set their wedding date - May 9, 2009! Many couples including Matt & Shayne from the last "Bachelor", were up in the air about wedding dates at their final telecasts, and Matt & Shayne, re-interviewed on last night's broadcast, still haven't set a date. When host Chris Harrison asked DeAnna, "Are you moving too fast?" DeAnna said she knew that she and Jesse could get through anything together. Doe-eyed Jesse agreed. In separate videos, both Jesse and DeAnna described the other as their soulmate, someone they could spend forever with.

It's hard to imagine "falling in love with two guys" at the same time, like DeAnna kept saying just before choosing Jesse over Jason. Even with the previously jilted 3rd-place Jeremy's surprise visit the very night before, she admitted still not having made up her mind!

During Jason's final visits with DeAnna's family, DeAnna's dad and sister both seemed to lean toward him, and brought up good points. Dad didn't see the certainty of love in Jesse that he did in Jason. Grandma loved Jason, too, and older people, who've been through a lot, have great discernment. But when you're determined to be with someone, who wants to listen to grandma?!

There was a question in dad's mind after Jason asked him for Deanna's hand and Jesse didn't. Upon Jesse's final talk with dad, he asked him if he could "pursue" DeAnna, unlike when Jason actually asked to marry her. You could see that dad was non-plussed, and actually corrected Jesse by saying "you can have her hand in marriage".

But during the "After the Rose" broadcast, my mind went back to Jesse's conversation with his dad, when he said DeAnna could "pierce right through him" with her eyes. That's the first time I saw his blossoming love for DeAnna; and last night when he said he had sweaty palms, just like his dad did with his mom, the deal was sealed.

Even with all that, one can't help thinking - is DeAnna seeking only the thrilling lifestyle with Jesse the snowboarder? Can Jesse really settle down into a "normal" life when those days are over?

I felt so bad for Jason when, in the limo, he said "What else does a guy need?" He nailed the question; Jason seems to have everything - stability, proven capacity to love through his son, good looks if not great looks, a secure job (if any of us are secure today). It seems young women are always drawn to either the "bad boy" or the dangerous thrill seeker.

And then Jason said, "I really want to be in love". Are all 3 of them just in love with the idea of being in love? Only time will tell.

DeAnna Pappas asked herself throughout the weeks, "Who am I going to be happy with?" But marriage isn't always about being "happy". Too many people think if they're not "happy" all the time, the marriage isn't working.

Want to know how to build a really strong, lasting marriage? See my article "7 Politically Incorrect Steps to a Lasting Marriage" . Maybe some reader who knows DeAnna, Jesse, Jason or even Jeremy can point them to it!