I Got Engaged & Went On A Romantic Getaway — By Myself

“Just you?” Yes, it’s just me I tell my server as he quickly removes the second flatware and wine glass set up across from me. It’s a question that can plague any solo traveler, but particularly hits a guilty nerve since three weeks earlier, I got engaged to B, the love of my life — and then left him behind in Los Angeles for back-to-back work trips. I shouldn’t complain because honestly I need a break and how can I really be upset that I’m in the beautiful Dominican Republic, the finale destination of The Bachelor Season 29, aka “Grant’s season.” During the trip to Secrets Tides Punta Cana, provided by World of Hyatt, I experienced the resort chain’s appropriately themed Roses & Romance package that you can add to your next Secrets getaway. It’s all 5-star luxury, and the package, which is available to buy for $199 until June 22, for stays through December 20, would turn any romantic getaway into a trip worthy of reality TV. It also screams “party of two.”

First, there was the in-room welcome gift, a bottle of champagne on ice with two glasses as ready vessels for celebratory imbibing. I take a sip in our engagement’s honor. Then there’s the mimosa breakfast in bed, a delicious American-style breakfast with the best coffee of my entire trip. Even though I'm traveling by myself, I get the full couple experience: there are two plates of bacon, scrambled eggs, and hash browns; a platter of four pieces of toast (assumedly two per person); two cups for coffee; two orange juices; and a spread of donuts that I reluctantly skip because *hello wedding.* I rationalize that B would have let me have his orange juice though so I steal that (and an extra hash brown). 

The package’s lovely rose turndown service gives your room a beautiful refresh and spells the initials of your and your paramour’s names in petals on the bed. I know this because Bachelor Nation alum Michael Allio and his partner, beauty entrepreneur Jadé Marie, who, along with three other Bachelor couples, are also on the trip, show me a pic of what they found in their rooms. Me? I got a single intact rose — next to two bedtime chocolates and a seemingly pointedly placed TV remote as if they know that yes, I have a date with my TV tonight. Even my incredible suite, which feels like home away from home, is designed for two. Two bathrobes, two pairs of slippers, and two bathrooms(!) located as far away as possible from each other for maximum privacy and soundproofing. It's not surprising, and I find it all amusing. After all, the Secrets resort line is known for destination weddings and honeymoons, and the Roses & Romance package is perfect for any couple looking to add some jus to their special getaway.

I normally wouldn’t feel any type of way while traveling alone (I’ve done it before), but being a new fiancée has me particularly wistful. On a boat excursion, I tell Bachelor alum Alicia Holloway and her beau Juan Matallana that I just got engaged. They’re so excited for me, which I appreciate. I also catch them glance at my ringless finger. I left my precious home with my precious person. So I whip out my phone and show B’s beautiful proposal, as if I have to prove to them (and to myself), that it really actually happened. 

Amid the couples-massage-turned-solo-massage and other romantic experiences at the resort, it feels like I’m searching for something. Part of it is me wishing my fiancé had joined (I had asked, he couldn't get off work). But mostly I'm reminded of another solo trip I took that’s usually intended for weddings and honeymoons. In 2018, I went by myself to Rome and the Amalfi Coast for my own Eat, Pray, Love journey of self-discovery. I was on the cusp of turning 30 and needed to figure out what I wanted in life — and what I didn’t. I came back with a new sense of purpose in my career and clarity on my love life. This trip to the DR did the same. 

B and I have been together for six years. He knew from the beginning that we’d be together. It took me a bit longer. Our love story is an improbable one, and it wasn’t always the easiest of journeys. We put in a lot of work to get to a proposal. But as I sit next to the crystal blue waves in Punta Cana, I’m just so incredibly proud of us. For having joy. For having faith. And as someone who has been in *multiple* longterm relationships, I’m proud of myself for finally, at age 36, wading into new waters that I’ve never been in before. 

I once went to a timeshare meeting where they asked everyone, “What’s the purpose of a vacation?” Answers ranged from fun to rest and reset. Even as a solo-traveler on a romantic trip, I check all those boxes. Now that I, a party of one, am officially back from a trip designed for a party of two, I’m ready to get into the hard but exciting work of planning a wedding — because yes! I'm a fiancée! I’m also already thinking about booking another Secret Tides trip (but next time, it'll be with my soon-to-be husband).