Former Bachelorette and BIP Star Announces Engagement

Bachelor in Paradise

ABC 'Bachelor in Paradise' airs on ABC.

Another Bachelor Nation star is set to say “I do.” Marquel Martin, who appeared on Andi Dorfman’s season of The Bachelorette and season one of Bachelor in Paradise, announced his engagement to his longtime girlfriend Kari Kaisner.

He shared the news with Bachelor Nation, telling them, “I am overrun with emotions.” Of his December 19 proposal, he said, “I’ve thought about this moment for a really long time.”

Martin, who first met Kaisner in 2014, surprised her during what she thought would be a fun weekend getaway. Instead, she was shocked when her parents and sister were waiting for her in the Presidential Suite of Las Vegas’ Red Rock Casino Resort. There, Martin got down on one knee with their dog strapped to his back to present her with a solitaire diamond ring.

“I was so nervous going into this,” Martin told Bachelor Nation. “But now that it’s over, I’m so relieved. I’m just so excited to spend the rest of my life with Kari.”


The Couple Has Become Closer During 2020

Like many couples during 2020, the two quarantined together. They did so at Martin’s parents’ home.

“No matter who you are or where you’re from, 2020 has been tough on everyone. But it’s also taught us the importance of health, family, and having love in your life,” he says. “Kari embodies all those things for me, which is why I knew I needed to lock it down before the year ended.”


Martin Credits Bachelor Nation With Preparing Him for Love

Shortly after exiting the dating franchise, Martin met Kaisner in 2014, both living in the same building. When thinking back to his time dating on television, he credits it with preparing him for love.

“Oddly enough, I learned more about myself than anything else during filming. And you have one idea of what love is before you start the show and then once you’re off, your whole outlook has changed,” he told Bachelor Nation. “You have these great conversations with yourself, with producers, and with your castmates. And you start to learn what you value in a relationship. You create your own definition of love. And because of that, I was ready and able to receive a love as unconditional and perfect as Kari’s.”

Yet, after coming off back-to-back seasons of the franchise, he was not looking for love.

“She ran out of gas one day,” Martin said. “And I gave her a ride to the gas station. And that’s where it all started — at the gas station. After coming off of ‘Paradise,’ love was the last thing I was looking for. But there was definitely something there.”

That “something” turned into a friendship and then a business venture. He asked her to join his dessert business, saying, “I asked her to be a part of it because she has experience in marketing and is such a hardworking woman.”

He told Bachelor Nation that this time working together is what made him start falling for her.


She Supported Him During a Health Crisis

Kaisner was there for Martin during a particularly rough 2016 when he got diagnosed with a genetic heart disease and lost his job shortly after having his defibrillator implanted.

“My whole world turned upside down,” Martin told the official production website for the dating franchise. “One minute I thought I was this hot young bachelor. And then the next I had suffered all these setbacks and lost all my confidence. But she pulled me out of my depression. She showed me love, she prayed with me, and lifted my spirits any way she could.”

Years later during a health crisis for his father, Martin realized he wanted to marry her.

“My dad has diabetes and last year he had a stroke and he ended up having to have his leg amputated. It was such a hard time for all of us. But watching Kari console my mom throughout all of that, that’s when I knew she had to become my wife,” he said. “While my mom broke down in the ER, Kari assured her that everything would be OK. She is literally an angel, the biggest blessing in my life. I don’t know what I’d do without her.”

After they get married, the couple has their sights set on children.


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