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Bachelor Alum Sydney Lotuaco Announces Engagement to Fiancé Nick Wehby: 'One and Done!'

Bachelor Alum Sydney Lotuaco Gets Engaged to Boyfriend Nick Wehby
Bachelor Alum Sydney Lotuaco Gets Engaged to Boyfriend Nick Wehby

The Citrus Collection

Sydney Lotuaco is engaged!

The Bachelor alum, 29, shared the exciting news Sunday on Instagram with a trio of photos from her now-fiancé Nick Wehby's proposal.

"One and DONE! 💍 I love you forever @njw_0401 🤍," she wrote alongside the series of sweet shots — including one of her dazzling Tacori engagement ring.

Lotuaco, who appeared on season 23 of The Bachelor and season 6 of Bachelor in Paradise in 2019, tells PEOPLE that she and Wehby first connected at the beginning of the pandemic during quarantine.

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"Nick had watched me on The Bachelor and for whatever reason took a liking to me" she says. "We [started] talking back and forth via Instagram, then texting, and eventually FaceTimed for 3 months before ever meeting in person."

Lotuaco tells PEOPLE that she "had never had a boyfriend" before joining the Bachelor franchise but had a strong feeling that whomever she wound up dating "would be the real thing."

"So I continued that search after leaving the show," she says, "which eventually led me to Nick!"

The pair knew they shared something "really special," and after meeting up in August 2020, the dancer decided to take the relationship "to the next level" and moved in with Wehby "on a whim."

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"We built an amazing connection just over the phone," she tells PEOPLE. "I got to really know him as a person on so many levels. It was almost like the Bachelor bubble except without cameras and the other suitors. I saw what an amazing man he is from the way he cares for his family and all that he has overcome."

Bachelor Alum Sydney Lotuaco Gets Engaged to Boyfriend Nick Wehby
Bachelor Alum Sydney Lotuaco Gets Engaged to Boyfriend Nick Wehby

The Citrus Collection

Wehby was once told he'd never walk again after breaking his neck, but "did so anyways three days later," according to Lotuaco. "So yeah, he really stood out," she shares.

Lotuaco is admittedly "hard to surprise," leaving Wehby "to get creative" with his proposal. Instead of inviting her to take engagement photos, Wehby had the couple's favorite photographer, Kate Toney of The Citrus Collection, inquire about doing a holiday photo shoot, leaving the location, date, and attire entirely up to Lotuaco.

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Toney then suggested the pair write each other letters to read during the shoot, which Lotuaco "thought was super cute."

Bachelor Alum Sydney Lotuaco Gets Engaged to Boyfriend Nick Wehby
Bachelor Alum Sydney Lotuaco Gets Engaged to Boyfriend Nick Wehby

The Citrus Collection

"When Nick and I first started dating we were long distance and shared a journal that we'd write love notes to each other in when we were apart," Lotuaco tells PEOPLE. "Nick wanted to incorporate the journal somehow so Kate had the idea of having us write each other letters to read during the shoot."

At the shoot, Toney had the two switch letters and read them to each other. About halfway through Wehby's letter, Lotuaco realized what was happening. Wehby's parents then walked up a nearby staircase with Lotuaco's parents on FaceTime.

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"I said 'Yes' without any questions and am so excited to get to spend forever with him," Lotuaco says. "I always knew I would be one and done and was waiting for the right person. Nick was my first and only boyfriend and is now my fiancé and will eventually be my husband. He was very much worth the wait!"

Bachelor Alum Sydney Lotuaco Gets Engaged to Boyfriend Nick Wehby
Bachelor Alum Sydney Lotuaco Gets Engaged to Boyfriend Nick Wehby

The Citrus Collection

As for wedding plans, Lotuaco tells PEOPLE, "We're not there yet, but will probably start brainstorming venues at least soon."

For now, she says, "we're just soaking in this moment!"