What Nate From The Ultimatum Had To Say About His Surprise Proposal To Lauren

Netflix has done it again. Building on the success of the reality TV dating show "Love is Blind," series creator Chris Coelen has birthed another hit (albeit unconventional) reality show, via Glamour. "The Ultimatum: Marry or Move On" follows six long-term couples who agree to temporarily date another member of the group, before they decide if they'll marry their original partner, leave with someone else, or end up alone. While Season 1 is packed with plenty of twists and turns, one of the most shocking moments happened in Episode 3.

While the contestants selected who they wanted to spend their next three weeks with, Hunter Parr opted to forgo the rest of the experiment and propose to his girlfriend Alexis Maloney. While this proposal was met with praise, a similar surprise was met with a different response. Immediately after Nate Ruggles asked his partner Lauren Pounds to marry him, his costars expressed their disappointment. Speaking for herself and her costars, April Marie said, "What doesn't sit well with me is that I've spent this entire week getting out of my comfort zone, getting to know Hunter, to know Colby, getting to know Nate. And this just doesn't sit well with me because some of y'all really want to get to know if your significant other is the person you're walking out of here with. Some of you really need to go through this experience." 

Following the interesting backlash from his costars and viewers of the series, Ruggles explained his decision to propose on the reunion.

During its highly anticipated reunion special, "The Ultimatum" co-hosts Nick and Vanessa Lachey asked the hard-hitting questions. When it came time for Nate Ruggles' turn in the hot seat, he had to answer for his shocking proposal to Lauren Pounds. After viewers re-watched Ruggles' propose to Pounds just moments after telling his fellow contestant Madlyn Ballatori that he planned to choose her for the next phase of the experiment, the real estate developer explained that he simply knew what he wanted. Ruggles explained, "I told [Ballatori] that because I didn't know who I was going to pick. And I know in my heart and what I was saying to myself was, 'I don't want to be with anybody else here besides Lauren. But I need to pick someone.'"

Despite ending his time on the series early, Ruggles maintains that "The Ultimatum" did help him. He said, "This experience, and I said this before, did help me. It made me realize all these amazing people here, all the great dates that I went on with Shanique, April, every one of y'all — I met so many amazing people. Still, no one held a candle to Lauren, to me." As for the couple's confusing stance on children, Pounds disclosed that the pair worked through their issue in therapy. She happily shared, "We have agreed to have one for now."