Bachelor Nation has a new crossover couple in show alums Serene Russell and Brendan Morais.
Russell, 29, and Morais, 35, hard-launched their relationship via Instagram on Wednesday, March 19, sharing a carousel of loved-up images. The post was captioned with a single white heart emoji.
In the snaps, Russell and Morais cuddled close on what appeared to be various date nights, held hands and built furniture. Russell even planted a kiss on Morais’ cheek in an additional pic.
The romance news stunned both members of Bachelor Nation and fans alike.
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“My people,” Ivan Hall wrote via Instagram comment.
Justin Glaze, meanwhile, shared a trio of clapping emojis, while Danielle Maltby noted that Russell looked “so happy.”
A fan, meanwhile, joked, “Ummmmm listen. This made me absolutely gasp.”
Russell, a contestant on Clayton Echard’s season of The Bachelor, had gotten engaged to Brandon Jones on season 8 of Bachelor in Paradise. They broke up less than one year later.
“After many months, today we have ultimately decided to end our engagement,” Russell and Jones, 30, wrote in a joint May 2023 Instagram statement. “We have tried to work privately on our relationship which has been incredibly challenging in the public eye. This has been immensely hard to accept and painful, as there is a lot of love between the two of us.”
The statement added, “We are deeply hurting and can only ask that there be no hate. The best path for us at this time is to try and move forward and heal from this as individuals.”
Russell later claimed in October 2023 that Jones had been unfaithful, which he vehemently denied.
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“In light of recent events that have transpired over the last few days, I’ve needed to take a beat to reflect and process my emotions surrounding this delicate matter that is intimate and personal to me,” Jones said, denouncing the accusations. “Now that I’ve had a moment to digest, I want to clear the air and respond with my truth.”
He continued, “To be transparent, before leaving for Texas, my partner and I made the difficult choice to go our separate ways. As this was a public relationship, we both decided to hold off on sharing the news until we mutually felt it was time, so we [just] shared the news with family and friends. … Unfortunately, during this time of private separation, coming back from Austin, a video [of myself dancing with another woman] came to light, that while harmless, made my ex-partner upset.”
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Morais, for his part, rose to fame on Tayshia Adams’ season of The Bachelorette. He then dated Pieper James before they both went on BiP hoping to further their connection.
“Pieper and I, we’ve hung out. We spent some time together, we’ve communicated, we’ve enjoyed each other’s company and that’s that,” Morais had said on the show. “There’s no relationship.”
James, 27, and Morais eventually owned up to their relationship status and left the beach early together. They stayed together for nearly two years until news broke in October 2023 that they called it quits.
