Inside Abigail Heringer and Noah Erb's Love Story — from Their First TV Date to Saying 'I Do' to Forever (Exclusive)

When Abigail Heringer and Noah Erb showed up on the beach to start filming Bachelor in Paradisethey had no idea where the road would take them.

In the season seven premiere of the ABC reality series — which aired in August 2021 — Heringer, 29, was given a first date ticket and asked Erb, also 29, out to dinner. There was an instant spark, and they even kissed at the end of their night together.

Heringer, who was already familiar with Erb from his appearance as a contestant in Season 16 Bachelorshe jokingly recalls that her first impression of her current husband was that he was a “cheeky little guy”.

Noah Erb and Abigail Heringer hold hands at their wedding.

Lauren Rader

But she also remembers discovering on their first date that there was much more to Erb beneath the surface. “He was very easy to talk to and very charismatic — but he could quickly shut it down and go deep and ask really introspective questions. So I thought, ‘This guy is very multidimensional,'” Heringer tells PEOPLE.

“I knew he was special from the first date,” she adds. “I’ve just never connected with someone like that before.”

Erb says his first impression of Heringer was that she was a complete “slut” — but he wanted to dig deeper. “What else? There has to be more. She’s hot and sweet and everyone likes her, but there has to be more. What else is going on here? Let’s find out,” he remembers thinking. “And then, as we got to know each other better, it was like, ‘Oh, okay. Yeah.’ ”

“I always thought, ‘There’s something unique about Abby,'” he adds.

Noah Erb and Abigail Heringer kissed at their wedding.

Lauren Rader

Their romance, however, had a rough start. As the season drew to a close, Erb decided to open up about his feelings, telling Heringer, “I’m definitely falling for you and I’m seeing it work in the real world.” Caught off guard in the moment, Heringer did not fight back. Hurt by her lack of response, Erb broke things off and the pair left the show separately.

After filming ended, they became close again and decided to give their relationship another chance – away from all the cameras and drama.

“It was real when we went to [Heringer’s] grandma and grandpa’s cabin [in Oregon] After all, no phone, just us at the foot of the mountain, really quite isolated. Then it was like, okay, there’s something here. There is something real here without any external influences, fantastic. Now we just have to figure out if we want it in the real world,” explains Erb.

Abigail Heringer and Noah Erba’s dog Maki joined them at the wedding.

Lauren Rader

Adds Heringer, “I think a lot of couples who get together on the show have that question, ‘Okay, we’re great in this setting, but can we take this to the real world with all the distractions and everything?’ I don’t think it was the best for us [during the show]but later we were able to connect and really find out. We became closer on that trip [to the cabin].”

Erb was the first to reach out after the taping, sending Heringer a text message, which led to a phone call during which they cleared the air and talked it over.

“And then [Erb was] like, ‘I want to come see you in Oregon,’ and he came, and the rest is history,” Heringer tells PEOPLE, adding, “It was one of those try-or-break [situations]. And then after the trip, it was like, ‘Oh, that was actually great.’ ”

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After reuniting, Heringer says the couple “went smoothly.” By March 2022, they moved to Los Angeles together. Erb popped the question in August 2023 on the rooftop of a beach house in La Jolla, California, and just two days later, the couple moved to Erb’s home state of Oklahoma, where they now live.

Abigail Heringer and Noah Erb enjoy drinks at their wedding.

Lauren Rader

On Monday, Oct. 7, about 90 of Heringer and Erb’s loved ones — including many of their exes Bachelor in Paradise costars — gathered to watch the couple tie the knot in a ceremony at the Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa. They tell PEOPLE it was a moment they’ve been looking forward to for a long time, and now they’re excitedly diving into this new chapter together as husband and wife.

“Marriage is about sharing our lives, supporting each other, and continuing to grow together on this incredible journey,” says Heringer.

One day in the future they hope to start a family. “We definitely want kids. We definitely want more than one. We’ll see how it goes…” says Heringer.

But for now, Erb adds, they simply want to “just relax and enjoy each other.”

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Source: HIS Education