ABC Tessa Horst accepted the final rose from Andy Baldwin in "The Bachelor" finale Monday. CLICK FOR LARGE

'Bachelor' picks Tessa, but there's no rush to marry

Tessa Horst finally got her engagement ring yesterday and said she's looking forward to moving to Hawaii soon.

After Andy Baldwin presented her with the diamond on one knee in the final episode of "The Bachelor" Monday night -- actually filmed a couple of months ago -- she had to relinquish the ring to the production studio in Los Angeles (which might have fueled earlier rumors that she rejected his marriage proposal).

But now that she's wearing the sparkler again, the relationship still needs time to evolve, Horst was quick to say in a nationwide press interview yesterday.

"In terms of the wedding, we're definitely taking our time," said Horst, who was recruited to the show after running a half-marathon in San Francisco. "We're just going to take it slowly."

Baldwin added, "There's been enough pressure on us."

Fans of "The Bachelor: Officer and a Gentleman" can finally exhale. And so can Baldwin.

"It's just a bizarre situation," he said. "You can develop very strong feelings for more than one woman coming down to the end ... and you can see my emotions as I had to let them go."

This was especially evident when he broke the news to Bevin Powers -- probably the most emotional moment in the entire show -- that she was not his final choice.

Since the proposal, Horst has been part of the audience watching Baldwin expressing affection for other attractive women.

"We've had our share of good days and bad days," she admitted. "But it's nothing that we haven't been able to work through."

Though filled with potentially lasting rewards, the process was not easy on anyone. When one reporter asked if they recommended this series as a form of dating, Baldwin and Horst laughed in unison: "No!"