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Are Ashley and J.P. Totally in Love? What About the Secret NYC Love Nest? Here's the Real Deal...

Newly engaged reality stars have been putting on a show for the cameras, but we know what's happening in real life too

By Marianne Garvey Aug 02, 2011 7:38 PMTags

We all know the story by now—the Bachelor or Bachelorette falls madly in love, picks a winner on television, gets engaged, suffers a horrible breakup and pretty much fails to live happily ever after.

With Ashley Hebert bestowing her final rose on the charming and gorgeous J.P. Rosenbaum, and him whipping out a diamond-studded sparkler to seal the deal, it sure seems the duo has a very intense and very real chemistry. She's planning a move to New York City to be with him, so the matter of where they'll live has already been solved, and he seems to have no cold feet over actually walking down the aisle.

But that's all while the cameras are rolling. What's really going on with with these two behind the scenes?

Well, for one thing, J.P.'s pals in New York have seen little of him lately. Not because he's been with Ashley 24/7, but because he has been busy prepping for their press tour where they will declare their endless love for one another. But it's not all camera play for the couple.

Before last night's reunion, the duo had at least one postshow secret rendezvous that we know of, and J.P.'s been texting and talking with Ashley constantly.

He even hinted to pals that he wouldn't have time to get away for the remainder of the summer and has been unable to make plans because of the show.

"He's been telling everyone, 'I'm going to be so busy in the upcoming weeks, you guys have no idea,' " a pal in his New York inner circle exclusively tells E! News. "He hadn't outright said he'd won, but everyone knew. He's just been so busy and kept hinting that he wasn't going to be around for the rest of the summer."

Meanwhile, one New York-based photog tells us that the duo even managed to sneak in an off-camera visit at a "safe apartment" in the Big Apple provided by ABC in early June.

"Ashley came to New York a few weeks after Fiji, she went to the safe apartment they used," the photographer tells E! News. "ABC is very involved, and  brings one in at a time, and an assistant brings in their belongings hours later. After the weekend, J.P. left first, then Ashley walked out four hours after he did. It's a serious operation."

The photog has also spotted the duo interacting off-camera, saying that their love is the real deal, and when they are together they're inseparable.

"She was wrapped around him like an octopus," the shooter laughs. "Even in unscripted moments they're googly eyed for each other."

After last night's finale, the newly engaged couple have begun a media blitz, telling E! News from New York that they find it "comforting" that they can actually be public with their love now.

"The hard part's over with the show and the secrecy behind us," says J.P., who added that he knew he was going to win after his romantic date in Hong Kong with Ashley.

He also says he realized that night that Ashley was the one for him—on- and off-camera. He says he's sure they'll make it, even though former Bachelor and Bachelorette couples don't have the best track record for sticking it out.

"We've got nothing but good things ahead," J.P. says. "We're not worried about the odds."

Ashley adds that their focus right now is on "starting our lives together."

"We're trying to focus on our engagement and me moving to New York," she tells us.

Here's to hoping these two last.