Charity & Dotun Reveal The “Heart Drop” Proposal Moment Cameras Missed

“Miss Charity Lawson, would you do me the honor of turning this fairytale into a reality?" Dotun Olubeko asked his fiancée-to-be, while down on one knee during The Bachelorette Season 20 finale, which aired Aug. 21. The Fiji proposal was picture-perfect, but before the 27-year-old child and family therapist said “yes,” and gave him her final rose, she let slip one word that convinced Obukelo that he was about to get rejected.

“There was a brief moment there where I thought she was dumping my *ss after I gave the first half of my speech. She started talking and was saying all these nice things, but then she said, ‘But,’” the 30-year-old integrative medicine consultant tells Elite Daily. “I don't think they caught my reaction, but my heart dropped. I was like, ‘No, I'm getting rejected.’ I'll never forget that. That one word almost killed me.”

Luckily, Lawson’s “but” was just an interlude between her real answer: “A million times yes.” For fans of the show, Lawson’s final pick wasn’t a surprise — even if her runner-up and newly-minted Bachelor Joey Graziadei was also a fan favorite. Lawson and Olubeko were end game from the start, and when she broke Bachelorette tradition mid-season to give him two one-on-one dates back-to-back, audiences had a pretty good idea of who captured her eye. “The Bachelorette was literally made so Charity and Dotun could find each other,” one fan account tweeted during the finale, and thousands of fans agreed.

Here, Lawson and Obuleko open up about their sweet proposal, upcoming weddings (because yes, they want two), and the “pressure” of having so much fan support.

Elite Daily: Congratulations on your engagement! Are there any behind-the-scenes moments from your proposal that you wished had made the cut?

Dotun Olubeko: People didn't see the entirety of my speech. It was probably upwards of about a minute to a minute-and-a-half long, and there were some cool words in there that I really would've loved for people to know. But either way, it came through really well.

Charity Lawson: After we got engaged and were being interviewed, we talked about what it means to be the first Black couple to come from this franchise. I don't know if that made the cut — maybe a little bit did. But we talked about what that meant for us in-depth. It was a very beautiful moment because it didn't really hit us until then, like, "Oh, it's us. We were making history.” But you guys see it for yourself, it's quite obvious.

ED: During the proposal, you talked about “turning this fairytale into a reality.” What has that transition been like, bringing your relationship to the real world?

DO: It’s been better than what I could’ve expected, truly. And the Charity that I got to know during filming, that's who I knew I was falling in love with and wanted to spend the rest of my life with. The Charity that I've gotten to know afterward has only made our relationship feel more compatible, which I didn't think was possible. I thought it was already as good as it gets.

She's so well-rounded. We share such similar interests and perspectives. It's been awesome getting to know her and filling in the gaps, these little bits and pieces of each other. I'm just always smiling ear-to-ear when I'm with her.

ED: How has it been, secretly dating for all these months as the show is released?

CL: It's been interesting. Definitely hard. There are so many extremes when it comes to this show. Leaving the proposal, we just want to ride this high. But instead, it’s like, "Oh, now back into hiding." That was probably the hardest part. You just want to do simple things like walk down the street, go to the grocery store, get in the same Uber. We couldn’t do any of these things.

But it hasn't been awful. Obviously, we have been really intentional about how we want to utilize our time to continue to strengthen our relationship and fill in those gaps. That's been fun.

ED: It sounds like you followed all the rules. Did you try going out in disguises at all?

DO: Yeah. We may have taken a walk around the block once or twice, but that's about it. We had our hats on and heads down and just kept it pushing.

CL: Yeah, no major slip-ups of getting caught. We followed most of the rules, truly.

ED: Dotun, what was it like, coming into the show without knowing much about it? I know you told Charity before that you were unaware there was supposed to be a proposal at the end, but were still game. Did you have any other funny realization moments during filming?

DO: Everything was a shock to me from start to finish. Nothing can really prepare you for an experience like this. One of the bigger surprises was how the guys can be. Some of those guys are my best friends now and probably will be until the day I die.

Another shock was just how amazing a lead can be and how you can fall in love. I really went into that thinking there's no way it's going to happen. But if you're intentional with your time, it can work. You can find love. Those are two really big, more serious shocks. Not as fun as not knowing it ends in an engagement, but lessons that I’ll always keep in mind, moving forward.

ED: You mentioned wanting to get married “sooner rather than later.” Has wedding planning started yet? Do you have a dream location or vibe in mind?

CL: We have not started wedding planning. I am too overwhelmed to even think about that. But we've talked about the timeline of how long we would want our engagement to be. We're both at this stage in our lives where marriage is the next step for us.

We mentioned the Nigerian wedding, so hopefully my mother-in-law will be whisking us away there. Obviously, I would want another more intimate ceremony. But I haven't even thought about locations, honestly. We'll talk about it.

DO: It's a lot to deal with.

CL: The only thing I have on my radar right now is the possibilities of what my dress could look like. But even that's subject to change. So we're just enjoying this current phase right now.

ED: You’ve had so many people shipping you guys together this season, especially when Dotun received back-to-back one-on-one dates. Have any comments in particular stuck out to you?

DO: So many people are so invested. On one level, it kind of freaks me out. It feels like a lot of pressure. But on another level, I completely understand it. People are saying they have more hope in love, and we're giving people hope. And that was obviously not our main intention, so for that to happen is so special.

Charity and I ultimately have the same perspective and outlook on life, which is just doing the most good. So, to have that effect is powerful. We are just so grateful to be in the position to offer that to people.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.