The Bachelorette alum Charity Lawson, who began wedding-dress shopping in New York City, has revealed that she’s still wrapping her head around the fact she’s engaged.
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After competing for Zach Shallcross’ heart on The Bachelor’s 27th season, Charity starred on The Bachelorette’s 20th season and got engaged to Dotun Olubeko during the season finale that aired in August 2023.
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Shortly after The Bachelorette finished airing on ABC, Charity competed on Dancing with the Stars’ 32nd season with pro partner Artem Chigvintsev, and the pair finished in fourth place in December.
“It’s a lot,” Charity told The New York Times of her whirlwind television career. “I came into all of this quickly. I didn’t envision myself even being engaged.”
But now, Charity is starting to plan her wedding in 2025, and, in search of the perfect wedding gown, she attended New York Bridal Fashion Week for an event that ran from April 2 to 4.
Charity said she’d ideally like to select her dress by July 2024, and she’s apparently a big fan of the sweetheart neckline so that she can show off her “good collarbones.”
Charity tried on multiple dresses, discovering that she prefers strapless or off-the-shoulder sleeves, ivory shades instead of stark white, and no ballgown silhouettes.
The Bachelorette alum was also taken with a long-sleeve illusion dress with a detachable tulle-organza overskirt, a design that Charity initially thought would be out of her comfort zone.
“It was hitting me, it’s happening,” Charity gushed to the newspaper. “I look like a bride. I feel like a bride.”
Charity shared how she’s not aiming to look like a Disney princess, even though many fans view her in that sweet and dainty light.
“But that’s not who I am,” Charity insisted. “I don’t want my wedding day to be costume-y.”
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The Bachelorette alum shared how she and Dotun will be tying the knot in California in Fall 2025, followed by a second wedding ceremony in Lagos, where Dotun’s Nigerian family will be able to attend and carry on their traditions.
Charity, however, has not given away the exact dates of her weddings, and she vented about how many media outlets will do “anything to get a little headline.”
“People want me to disclose our wedding day so bad — that is between me, my family and fiance,” Charity noted.
Charity explained to her followers in an early February Q&A session via Instagram Stories that she and Dotun are waiting to wed due to the planning process. It’s especially challenging for the pair because they want to have two ceremonies in two different countries.
“I personally do not want to plan a wedding in a rush of 5 months. I choose peace and not stress (which I will experience regardless cause it’s wedding planning),” Charity explained.
Charity admitted she’d like to slow down for a little bit after appearing on three reality TV shows in a row.
“I went from one TV show to another and Dotun and I are just now settling into normalcy and getting our bearings, which we are loving every second of it,” Charity shared.
“This is a normal time frame. I want to enjoy and live out our engagement and it’ll be here before you know it, as we have already started planning.”
Dotun previously shared he’s Charity’s biggest fan and that the way she loves him is “something special.” Dotun also boasted about how Charity brings him “so much happiness.”
Charity and Dotun also revealed in November that they’re in therapy together and are doing everything it takes to stay strong and healthy as a couple.
“[Dotun] is well onboard [with our sessions]. I don’t want to toot my own horn, but they, like, our therapist is personally, like, really proud of us because we don’t really have, like, problems,” Charity explained to Life & Style at the time.
“It’s just, like, we’re doing things to be proactive, to, like, stay ahead of, like, I guess something going wrong in the in the future.”
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About The Author:
Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade.