After being able to publicly declare their love for the first time since he proposed in November, happy Bachelor couple Jake Pavelka and Vienna Girardi spoke to the media yesterday about everything from wedding plans, to Jake's upcoming stint on Dancing with the Stars, to the scandalous tabloid stories that have plagued Vienna since early January.

See photos of Jake's proposal during the Bachelor: On the Wings of Love finale.

Whether you think Jake picked the right girl or not, one thing is clear from this couple's bubbly, glowing interview: they are very much in love, and the bad press hasn't come close to tearing them apart--instead, it only brings them closer together.

Many of the women and Jake's own family was expressing concerns about you, Vienna. How hard was that to watch that back on tv and Jake, how did you stay focused on her throughout that process?
Vienna: Watching it back, it was very difficult for me. Most of the things that went out were out of jealousy. They just didn't like me. With his family, yes, his mom had a wall up but once she got to know me, I think his parents fell in love with me.
Jake: My heart was naturally falling for Vienna. We had a one on one very early in the season. There was a lot of chemistry and the connection began there. My question for the women, and I say this on the record as I possibly can... Vienna and Tenley were the only two women that didn't trash talk other women and that was so greatly appreciated. Nobody ever told me exactly what Vienna was doing wrong. "well, we just don't like her." Well that's great but please help me. Nobody ever came up with a reason. The fact that you don't like somebody, that's okay, but don't try to sway me on that.

 

Can you talk a little bit about dating off camera? Have the dynamics changed?
Vienna: They haven't changed at all! We are extremely romantic, we cook dinner together...
Jake: We ate dinner by the pool...
Vienna: We put our own rose petals in the bathroom...
Jake: You just have to keep romancing each other. One thing I loved about Vienna is what love language she speaks. She's a producer and a doer. That's close to my love language so it's been really easy for me to sweep her off her feet and watch her bounce a little bit.

 

We heard about 50 different renditions of "On The Wings Of Love" this season. Is this your song forever?
Jake: I don't know. Jeffrey Osbourne is amazing and it's a very slow song, which might be appropriate for a wedding.
Vienna: We'll definitely dance to it at our wedding. I don't know if it'll be our song, though.

 

What do you think Jake appreciates about you the most?
Vienna: I think Jake values my honesty and my compassion and how much our values are right in line. Everything that we wanted out of our soulmates, we found in one another. Even the flaws, we love.

 

Will you consider following in the footsteps of Jason and Molly and televising your wedding?
Jake: We've been asked that question a couple of times. The biggest thing to us is that I don't know that we would have never met each other had it not been for The Bachelor. We look at ABC, Warner, and the people at The Bachelor as our family. We love them very deeply and can't imagine proceeding in a wedding without our friends there. Whether they bring cameras or not, who knows? We are just stoked about Jason and Molly. They are going to be a very long-lasting relationship.

 

You weren't in a position to respond to the bad press you've been given. What is your response to it?
Vienna: I think we were really surprised that they were doing personal attacks to me and my family and to the other girls. Reading these fabricated stories that are completely untrue but now it's a different thing ever week. We have to laugh at it.
Jake: Shoot, I'm the first one to buy it!
Vienna: Apparently, I dated a Backstreet Boy. I never even met them. I saw a magazine that said, "Vienna's Darkest Secrets". I had to run over and buy it so I could find out what it was!

Do you feel you were the victim of a bad edit?

Vienna: I feel that everyone's personalities are very amplified on the show. It's more dramatic when you're watching it on television. I was portrayed as very villainous, but I didn't show any villainous qualities.

Why was that final decision so hard for you to make?

Jake: That day was one of the... it was bitter sweet. It was the worst and best day of my life. I had to look a sweet, beautiful girl in the eye and say, "For no good reason, I don't want you anymore, and i want to break up." I shattered Tenley's heart into a million pieces in front of millions of people, and I felt terrible about that. I knew that probably everybody would want me with Tenley, just because shes so light and quick on her feet. Angelic, if you will. I love both of these women, but I'm clearly in love with one of them. My heart has not led me astray so far. It was about, "Do I do what everybody wants me to do, or do i do what makes me happy, what my heart wants me to do?"

 

How much time have you had together since the show finished wrapping?
Vienna: We finished three months ago. We've been seeing each other every other week. We've had a lot of time together. We talk on the phone every single day.
Jake: I felt like we were in the witness protection program!
Vienna: We've seen a lot of each other.

 

What is your life going to be like now? Vienna said she was moving to Dallas but now, Jake, you're doing Dancing With The Stars.
Jake: Vienna and I had originally planned to move to Dallas as soon as it was over but this opportunity came up and it's just a dream, the opportunity of a lifetime. We're going to temporarily reside is Los Angeles and as soon as I'm off the show...
Vienna: As soon as he wins, we're going back to Dallas and that's where we're going to reside.

 

Before the show, you said that you weren't interested in pursuing an acting career and being in front of the camera. Why did you decide to do Dancing With The Stars instead of taking the opportunity to get to know Vienna before?
Jake: I didn't approach anybody, I haven't been auditioning, I don't have a publicist. I'm probably the only Bachelor cast member out there that doesn't have an agent. It actually just fell in my lap. I'm really glad it did. The cameras are not what I'm after. It's the competition and what an opportunity... I just can't imagine to be able to dance at that level and train with professionals to dance like that. It's like conquering a dream.

 

What will you do while Jake is busy with Dancing With The Stars?
Vienna: Mondays and Tuesdays is when the show goes on. I'll be there every night he's performing. I'm going to try to do some motivational speaking while I'm in L.A. I'm looking forward to trying that out.

How do you feel about Tenley?

Vienna: Tenley is an incredible young woman. She and I will be lifelong friends. I pray that she finds love, because she deserves it. She needs to find a real prince.

How do you feel about Ali getting picked as ABC's next Bachelorette?

Jake: That's great. I was campaigning for her. Ali's got a great personality. You want a Bachelorette who will wear her emotions on her sleeve, and that is Ali to a T. She did a lot of growing and maturing during the show. I think she's going to be amazing. I just know in my hear that she's going to find the man of her dreams.

So when is the wedding?
Jake: We're going to take our time with that. You can add a lot of unnecessary pressure by rushing. I wanna chase my fiancee for a while. I wanna chase her down the beach naked. Right now, we're in this puppy love phase. Professionals say puppy love can last six months to two years so I'm trying to solidify the next sixty years of our lives.