'Bachelor' Couple Moves Closer

N E W   Y O R K, May 22, 2003 -- ABC's The Bachelor broadcast yet another marriage proposal on the season finale Sunday night — but will the latest reality TV couple really make it down the aisle?

Andrew Firestone and Jen Schefft say they're willing to bet a lot on their love.

Schefft, a 26-year-old account manager, already quit her job in Chicago — the first step on her long move to Firestone's home town of San Francisco.

"We're going back to Chicago first to square some things away, and then it's off to San Francisco," Schefft said.

Firestone, grandson of tire entrepreneur Harvey Firestone, says they made the decision to live near each other because they need to spend time together, without the cameras, in order to really get to know each other before setting a wedding date.

"We want to fight over the remote," Firestone joked on ABCNEWS' Good Morning America.

Firestone's family fortune, which includes a family owned winery along California's central coast, served as an added attraction for a few of the 25 bachelorettes on the show.

Firestone, however, says he's not worried about money coming between him and Schefft.

No Prenup

The 26-year-old says he won't ask for a prenuptial agreement before they marry.

"I feel like that's taking the easy way out," Firestone said. "My father didn't ask my mother for a prenuptial and they came from different backgrounds. I think that's a ridiculous way to start a relationship."

Firestone nervously proposed to Schefft during the two hour finale of the reality show Sunday.

"Jen, I love you. I think that we fit perfectly together and I look forward to a life of adventure, happiness and family," Andrew said.

Then he got down on one knee, placed an oval-shaped Harry Winston diamond engagement ring on her finger, and asked, "Jen, will you marry me?"

"Yes!" she answered. "Yes, I will."

Kirsten Buschbacher, the 23-year-old merchandiser from Tampa, Fla., who was turned away by Firestone in the last episode, told Good Morning America that the Bachelor and Schefft belong together.

The rejected bachelorette said Firestone and Schefft seemed to have the strongest connection after she watched the reality show from the comfort of her own living room.

Meanwhile, during the taping of the The Bachelor, Buschbacher said she didn't think Schefft had a chance.

"Plain Jane Jen … I just don't think she has what it takes to be Andrew's wife," Buschbacher said.

Before Firestone proposed to Schafft, he said goodbye to Buschbacher.

"This is more than just feeling comfortable — this is about love, commitment and marriage," Andrew told Buschbacher before breaking the big news, "I've fallen in love with Jen."

As the limousine whisked her away, Buschbacher cried and tried to figure out what went wrong. "Right now he's proposing to Jen and it makes me want to throw up," she said.

So far, the previous stars of The Bachelor have remained single. Alex Michel and Aaron Buerge both have broken up with the women they chose.

Only Trista Rehn, star of The Bachelorette, has made her made-for-TV relationship last. She and the firefighting poet, Ryan Sutter, are scheduled to be married on television this fall.