Chris Harrison and Lauren Zima's Relationship Timeline

Former 'Bachelor' host Chris Harrison announced his engagement to girlfriend Lauren Zima in October 2021 — take a look back at their romance

A match made in TV host heaven! Chris Harrison and Lauren Zima first connected professionally while working on The Bachelor and Entertainment Tonight, respectively, but their relationship eventually blossomed into something more.

The couple started dating in August 2018 after the former “Roses and Rosé” host made the first move by sliding into Harrison’s DMs after feeling a “vibe.” During a July 2019 interview with former Bachelor Nick Viall, Zima said she knew the Perfect Letter author for about three years before they started getting flirtatious.

“It was always incredibly professional,” she explained. “Not in a negative way … but I never looked at him and ever considered [if] I found him attractive.”

The Chicago native said that the shift first took place when the duo connected at a craft service table while filming. “He just gave me a different vibe,” Zima told Viall. “It was fairly overt. He mentioned something about picking his kids up or something. He somehow brought up being single, I think. And then I said something like, ‘I’m single now,’ and he was like, ‘Oh.’ But I said it in a more eloquent way. … I opened the door and he walked through.”

The pair made their relationship red carpet official in January 2019, appearing together at a party for the Screen Actors Guild Awards. Several months later, Zima celebrated the couple’s one-year anniversary with an Instagram tribute to her beau.

“In this year I’ve leaned on you, laughed with you and fallen in love with you for the incredible man that you are,” she wrote in August 2019. “Thank you for adding to my life with your positivity, perspective and patience, and for supporting me in becoming exactly who I want to be.”

The twosome sparked marriage rumors in early 2021 when Harrison posted a photo of his then-girlfriend in a white gown that looked like a wedding dress, but he later clarified that the picture was from a wedding they’d attended where Zima was a bridesmaid.

Several months later, however, the pair made the next move and got engaged. “I love you @laurenzima The next chapter starts now!” the Texas native wrote in October 2021 in an Instagram post announcing the news.

“I didn’t know love could be like this,” Zima added in her own post. “You are the most incredible partner.”

Harrison was previously wed to his college sweetheart, Gwen Harrison. The former couple divorced in 2012 after 18 years of marriage and share son Joshua and daughter Taylor.

Keep scrolling for a look back at Chris and Zima’s complete relationship timeline: