This week marks eight years since Desiree Siegfried (née Hartsock) began falling for her future husband, Chris Siegfried, on Season 9 of “The Bachelorette.”

The beloved Bachelor Nation couple’s love story began with a romantic one-on-one date in Munich, Germany. “I’m really excited for today’s date,” Desiree enthused in a confessional. “Today’s date is the perfect way to start this week, and I couldn’t have picked a better guy for it.”

As viewers will recall, Desiree and Chris toured the heart of the old European city, sightseeing, sampling sausages and beer, and even trying on lederhosen. “This date so far has been so much fun,” Desiree gushed. “Chris is cute. He’s goofy and funny and he’s just himself.”

Meanwhile, Chris told the camera, “I’m happy I get to experience this with Des. Both of us have never been here before. It’s my first time and it’s her first time and today is perfect. Today is going perfect and I just think it’s going to get better. I don’t think anything could go wrong.”

But Chris was wrong. The duo’s date was interrupted when contestant Bryden — an Iraq War veteran who scored a one-on-one date earlier in the season — showed up to call it quits with Desiree.

“Listen, you’re a fantastic person. You’re amazing and I’m so glad I got to meet you and hang out and I consider you a friend now. But I’m looking for someone I’ll know 100 percent [will be my wife]. I think that I’m not quite there yet,” Bryden told Desiree after pulling her away from Chris. “So, I decided I’m actually going to go home.”

Desiree told Bryden that his decision was a “bummer” and then resumed her day with Chris. “It hurts,” she tearfully told the camera. “But I’m not going to let Bryden affect my date with Chris. I just want to get back to Chris so I can feel happy again.”

Later in the evening, the pair got to know each other better by swapping relationship stories over a candlelit dinner at a German palace. Chris capped off the night by reading a beautiful poem he penned just for Desiree. Touched by his sincerity, she leaned in to kiss him.

“Des is exactly the type of girl that I would pursue,” Chris said in a confessional. “She is intelligent, she can throw a football, she’s comical, she’s witty, and those are all characteristics that I’m looking for in a girl.”

Later, Desiree told Chris directly, “You’ve shown me what a true man is, especially after the ones I’ve had to deal with. And I think that I couldn’t have asked for a better date with you to bring me back to my high spirits and what I’m here for.”

Afterward, Desiree surprised Chris with a private performance from pop-rock star Matt White, who sang his hit single “Love and Affection.” As the two were serenaded, they embraced each other as they danced and then passionately locked lips.

“It feels like I’ve known her for years,” Chris later gushed, describing his chemistry with Desiree. “You can get a lot from a kiss. You can tell a lot from a person and how they’re feeling toward you from a kiss, and I just know that her feelings are building, and she communicates that very well when she kisses me. It just feels right.”

“He’s kind, he’s romantic, he’s expressive. He’s everything that I could ever want in a husband,” Desiree said of her connection with Chris.

“I am slowly but certainly falling in love with Des,” the final rose recipient added.

Of course, Desiree’s run as the Bachelorette concluded in 2013 with an engagement to Chris. Less than two years later, the Portland-based couple wed in January 2015. Today, they share sons Asher, 4, and Zander, 2. Desiree plans to recount her journey — both on- and off-camera — in her upcoming memoir “The Road to Roses.”

See part of Desiree's first one-on-one with Chris below.