Blake Horstmann swears he didn't want to find love when he signed up for All Star Shore.
But as viewers of the reality show quickly found out, the Bachelor Nation member instantly hit it off with Love Is Blind star Giannina Gibelli. Now, Blake can't believe the gift he received after reluctantly saying yes to more reality TV.
"After being in this weird, crazy world of entertainment for almost five years, she was just refreshing to me," Blake exclusively shared with E! News. "She was so real and raw and she didn't really care what other people thought of her."
Another aspect that Blake admired about his co-star? Giannina's ability to put aside any negativity during one-on-one time with Blake, especially as they faced skepticism from fellow contestant Angelina Pivarnick.
"Giannina is incredibly kind and if you are family and her friend, she will die for you," he said. "She really is incredibly loyal. That is something I think people will see as time goes on."
While viewers are just starting to watch their romance blossom, Blake and Giannina have had to keep their relationship on the down-low ever since filming wrapped several months ago. In order not to spoil storylines, the duo tried not to post on social media or be photographed out in public.
At the same time, they were determined to grow their relationship without the world watching.
"We decided that we're going to do as best we can to keep this relationship a secret, but we also didn't want to sacrifice it," Blake shared. "We didn't want to sacrifice hanging out together. We didn't want to sacrifice doing trips together. We wanted to make sure that our relationship was strong before going public."
When the season premiered on June 29, the pair finally went Instagram official. Now, Blake is simply grateful he took a chance on love—or should we say reality TV—again.
"The way you see the way that this relationship happened was very just real and raw and genuine and there was no pressure ever to be together like on Bachelor in Paradise and Bachelorette," Blake said. "In fact, it was the opposite. Sometimes producers and cast members were like, ‘Leave each other alone. You guys are on each other all the time. Stop and compete.'"
All Star Shore is streaming now on Paramount+ with new episodes released every Wednesday. And keep scrolling to see more of Blake and Giannina's cutest moments off screen.
Back in January 2022, E! News confirmed that Bachelor Nation's Blake Horstmann and Giannina Gibelli were dating.
After meeting on Paramount+'s reality show All Star Shore, the pair realized they wanted to be more than just co-stars.
"I've never watched the Bachelor franchise or any of that so I didn't know who he was," Giannina told E! News at iHeartRadio's KIISFM Wango Tango. "He seemed familiar to me and he just flashed his big ole smile at me and that's how I met him right on the beach."
It wasn't until June 29, 2022—the day All Star Shore premiered—when Blake and Giannina confirmed their relationship by going Instagram official.
"All creds go to @allstarshoreofficial," Giannina shared on Instagram when posing with her man.
The couple travels to Blended Festival in Nashville where Blake performed a DJ set at the two-day music, wine and culinary festival presented by My Wine Society.
"He's very respectful, but I don't think that they know just how funny and spontaneous and dedicated he is," Giannina told E! News when describing Blake. "He's doing his DJ gig now and just watching him reach all these new heights and all these goals, I don't think a lot of people know that he has it in him, but he definitely does."
PDA alert!
"Happy…Just so damn happy @gianninagibelli," Blake shared on Instagram with a collage of photos.
"My worst kept secret," Giannina captioned on Instagram. "See why I have been so happy this year on @allstarshoreofficial @paramountplus."