Emily Maynard Pauses Before Accepting Jef Holm's Proposal

USMagazine, Monday, July 23, 2012, 8:45am (PDT)

For Sunday's big Bachelorette finale, in which Emily Maynard finally chose The One, the 26-year-old single mom carried out a heart-stopping theatrical moment that had viewers hanging on the edges of their seats. As suitor Jef Holm got down on bended knee to pop the question, Maynard hesitated before giving him an answer -- a moment that took just seconds but felt like a lifetime.

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So why did she do it?

"It was kind of a surprise because we've never really talked about an engagement, even though I should have known," Maynard explained during her interview on Good Morning America on Monday. "Really I just wanted to soak in the moment and really make a decision for my heart…Take in the moment and remember it."

"I've taken a lot of heat for it, too," she added. "Trust me."

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Meanwhile, Holm, 28, opened up about the painstaking seconds that would inevitably change his life forever, whether her answer was yes or no.

"By far the longest few moments of my life. I felt like I was sitting down there forever," the Utah-born entrepreneur told GMA anchor Lara Spencer. "It was a big decision and I hadn't told anyone I was going to propose to her…It came as a shock to her, totally."

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Now that their memorable engagement story is in the books, Holm and Maynard are ready to begin their off-camera life together -- and it will take place in Maynard's Charlotte, North Carolina base.

"I'm going to get a separate place there," Holm explained about picking up his Utah life and moving to the East Coast. "We're going to combine our lives and I'm going to hang out with Ricki, 6, all the time and become a car pool dad. We're just going to live our lives together and get accustomed with each other, plan a wedding, and when we get married, move in together."

This article originally appeared on Usmagazine.com: Emily Maynard Pauses Before Accepting Jef Holm's Proposal