July 7 (UPI) -- Bachelorette alum Marcus Grodd is engaged to girlfriend Ally Lutar.
The 29-year-old Season 10 contestant said in an interview with People published Thursday that he proposed to Lutar at Lynn Valley Canyon in Vancouver, B.C., on May 9.
"I was trying to find the perfect location to propose. I wanted her to be completely surprised," he told the magazine. "It was truly the most incredible day of our lives."
Grodd met Lutar, a 35-year-old businesswoman who owns a marketing and staffing agency, through mutual friends in July 2016. He felt an instant connection with Lutar, and they moved in together after their first date.
"The minute I met her I knew this is how you feel when you meet your wife for the first time," the star recalled. "Ally is gorgeous and strong -- I was completely drawn to her confidence."
"It felt as if we had always been together," he said of their first date. "Immediately we both knew we had found the missing piece in our lives. Ally moved in the very next day! I can truly say I knew I loved her the day I met her."
Grodd appeared on Bachelor in Paradise Season 1 after competing on The Bachelorette, and married his castmate Lacy Faddoul in 2015. He told Entertainment Tonight his relationship with Lutar is a welcome change.
"Finding love with Ally has completely changed my world," the star gushed. "This is the first time in my life I've been with someone that's able to build me up and make me a better man."
"This experience has been so different for me, coming from a TV relationship which you feel you need to sustain to keep people happy instead of yourself," he explained.
Grodd also shared the news of his engagement on Instagram, calling Lutar his "soulmate," "entire world" and "missing piece to the puzzle" of his life. He and the businesswoman have yet to set a wedding date.
