'The Bachelor' couple Nick Viall and Vanessa Grimaldi on starting their new life together

— -- "The Bachelor" star Nick Viall "feels great" after proposing to Vanessa Grimaldi and said he is happy to start a new chapter in his life.

"It's been a long time for me in Bachelor world," Viall, who previously appeared on two installments of "The Bachelorette," said today on "Good Morning America." "It's a good feeling to be engaged, to have Vanessa and to have this kind of chapter in my life come to an end."

In the season finale of the ABC reality show, Viall, 36, proposed to Grimaldi, 29, in Finland, and she happily accepted.

"I love it," Grimaldi, a special education teacher from Montreal, said of her engagement ring. "He made a good choice."

Viall felt a connection with Grimaldi early on, telling ABC News during the season that he thought she was "stunning."

The newly engaged couple engaged in frank discussions during the season — including one about where they would live — and the two believe those conversations will only make them stronger.

"Like any relationship, you know, you have your ups and downs," Grimaldi said. "It was important for me to know that we were going to be able to get past those hard conversations."

Viall said, "Vanessa and I just kind of decided to just be up front with the fact that it's difficult to start a relationship as the Bachelor and with 29 other women and that it's difficult to maintain that relationship long distance while it's being reaired."

"I think every other couple before us has experienced those challenges," he said of previous pairs from the show. "We just decided to just kind of just be up front about it and to be open to the realities of our relationship."

Viall was eliminated during the final episode of two previous "The Bachelorette" seasons. He also failed to find lasting love on last summer's "Bachelor in Paradise."

This time around, he told producers that his reality TV past made him nervous that Grimaldi would also reject him and he'd leave "heartbroken."

Up next for him is another reality TV stint, this time as a competitor on season 24 of "Dancing With the Stars." Viall, who is partnered with professional dancer Peta Murgatroyd, will begin his turn on "DWTS" next week on ABC.

"Every part of my body hurts," he said of the training. "It's very hard, but Peta has been great. I'm just trying to keep up with her."

Viall, who spoke to "GMA" alongside Grimaldi from Los Angeles, said he has been focusing on his new startup, an internet business for men's grooming supplies.

The two confirmed they have not set a wedding date.

"One thing I think we really appreciate about our relationship is we're going to take this one step at a time and be realistic," Viall said. "Last night … was our first time having dinner at a restaurant in public."

He continued, "I think there's just some things we want to do as a couple and some normal things, and you know, we're going to move things along. We'll worry about setting a date down the road."