The Transformation Of Sean Lowe From Infancy To 37 Years Old

Sean Lowe quickly became a fan-favorite contestant when he joined "The Bachelorette" back in 2012. He had an All-American guy vibe and quickly stood out from the pack when he wooed "The Bachelorette" Emily Maynard. Even years after first appearing on reality television, he maintained a significant fan base thanks to his sense of humor and success within the franchise.

As Celebrity Net Worth detailed, Sean was born and raised in Texas. "The Bachelor" viewers fell in love not only with Sean during his reality television appearances, but also with his big sister Shay Shull and his parents Jay and Sherry. Sean's family relied heavily on their Christian faith, and he made it clear throughout his reality television experiences that faith was important to him. Fierce Marriage noted that Sean's father was a deacon in their church and religion had played a significant role in Sean's life since childhood.

"I am who I am because I'm a Christian. He's affected by total being and I have a sweet sense of security because I have a Father who loves me. I don't know how people who don't know Christ get through tough times," Sean explained. Let's explore how Sean has transformed over the years.

A focus on football and faith

As Sean Lowe grew up in Texas, he played a lot of football and further explored his Christian faith (per Charisma News). His focus on his Christianity firmly developed when he was in sixth grade and he explored it further via a church youth group and as a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

In Sean's book "For the Right Reasons," Sean acknowledged that throughout his youth he was "always the nice kid everyone's parents liked" (via The Washington Post). He threw himself into football during high school and set his sights on getting serious about it during his college years at Kansas State.

"I played four years. I had a full scholarship," Sean shared with ESPN in January 2013. "I went to K-State like most college football players with the hopes of one day playing in the NFL," he added. Unfortunately, his early football successes did not ultimately lay the groundwork for a career in the NFL. Sean's Patheos bio noted that he graduated with a bachelor's degree in social science, and he aspired to be an entrepreneur. Initially, however, he worked in finance and the insurance industry as he dreamed about doing something else.

"After graduating, I had a number of jobs. I tried everything. Being early to mid-20s, I wanted to get a feel for the real world," Sean told ESPN of post-college life.

A hesitant leap into reality television

At the age of 28, Sean Lowe reluctantly agreed to become a contestant on "The Bachelorette," he told ESPN. It wasn't an adventure he initiated himself, and he "didn't really want to do it." It turned out that his sister Shay Shull and her husband Andrew had sent in an application for Sean, and it took off from there.

"Andrew and I were sitting at home watching our favorite TV show ...'The Bachelor'... when Andrew just decided to turn Sean's application in," Shay wrote on her Mix and Match Mama blog. "Why not? He's cute, single, 28, and a fabulous guy," Shay mused. Shay and Andrew loved that Emily Maynard would be "The Bachelorette," and it turned into the adventure of a lifetime for Sean along with the entire Lowe family.

Sean ultimately did fall in love with Emily, but she eliminated him just before the finale. Soon he was tapped to be "The Bachelor," and he ended up with a fairy tale ending. His faith was a significant and ongoing topic of conversation throughout his season, as was his commitment to being a "born-again virgin." During this spin on reality television, Sean found what he wanted in Catherine Giudici, and the two got engaged in the finale.

"I wanted a wife that challenged me in my faith," Sean told Fierce Marriage, "and Catherine has fully embraced that."

A massive 'Bachelor' wedding

When Sean Lowe led Season 17 of "The Bachelor," none of the previous guys had ended up married to their final rose recipient (per Entertainment Tonight). Many had gotten engaged during their finales, and Jason Mesnick did marry his runner-up, Molly Malaney, after splitting with his final rose recipient, Melissa Rycroft. However, Sean and his love, Catherine Giudici, were the first pair together at the finale to exchange vows. They did so in grand fashion with a televised wedding in January 2014.

As People detailed, millions of "The Bachelor" fans tuned in to watch Sean and Catherine's wedding. His father, Jay Lowe, led the ceremony and his sister Shay Shull's children were the flower girl and ring bearer. Catherine's nephew was an additional ring bearer.

"From the moment I met you I wanted more. You had me hooked from the beginning and I didn't want to let you go," Sean told Catherine as they exchanged vows. "I know that we met on 'The Bachelor' so that I could fall in love with my best friend," he added.

In addition to family and friends getting invitations to the big wedding, plenty of Bachelor Nation stars were in attendance. Catherine wore a gown from Monique Lhuillier, as did the bridesmaids. Naturally, Neil Lane designed the wedding bands. The event took place at the Four Seasons Biltmore in Santa Barbara, and it aired live — an unusual approach for televised weddings from the ABC franchise.

And baby makes three

Sean Lowe and Catherine Giudici weathered some stormy moments early in their marriage, he explained to Going Beyond. He admitted the first couple of years of their marriage were "really difficult for us." "The Bachelor" star noted, "We were two people with completely different expectations for one another and that created a lot of conflict and pain." 

Luckily, Sean and Catherine made it through those challenging times. They made no secret of wanting kids together, and they didn'tt wait long to head down that road. In December 2015, Sean shared the exciting news via Instagram that he and Catherine were expecting their first baby.

"It's happening! I'm going to be a dad!" Sean captioned the photo with the announcement. The snapshot showed Catherine and Sean sitting on their couch and they smiled as he placed his hand on her belly. He added emoji representing the two of them, their baby, and their two dogs.

On July 2, 2016, Sean and Catherine revealed their son's arrival via their Twitter pages. "God is good! We had a healthy baby boy named Samuel Thomas. Thank you everyone for your prayers and support!" Sean tweeted. Catherine teasingly tweeted that she was "in love with another boy, my son Samuel Thomas Lowe."

About 10 days after Samuel's arrival, Sean shared an adorable photo via his Instagram page that showed him holding his baby and kissing him on the head. "Sometimes your sister signs you up for a TV show and you end up with one of these," he teased. "Love this little boy so much."

Two more kids and a happy life for 'The Bachelor'

Catherine Giudici and Sean Lowe enjoyed their time with Samuel (per Entertainment Tonight) and soon added Isaiah Hendrix to their brood in May 2018. A year later, they announced a third pregnancy. "The first two have been pretty cool, so why not a third?" Sean quipped on Instagram.

Sean told Us Weekly they "were always planning on having three kids." The timing, however, was unplanned. "This one came maybe a little sooner than we planned, but we are excited." Baby Mia Mejia arrived on December 23, 2019, and Sean immediately took to being a girl dad. "That's my great joy in life, making my babies laugh," he told Life & Style about parenting.

The reality TV stars admitted they were not necessarily stopping at three kids. Catherine jokingly told OK! that "the factories are not closed," so "we could have another biological kid." Adoption is a possibility, too, as Catherine noted they had been "praying about it, we are researching it, we are trying to potentially start a process."

The life Sean built with Catherine and their kids clearly suits him. He recalled a fun family moment for Going Beyond where he'd tried to create a thunder sound for the kids. Catherine cracked up over how poorly he did, so he challenged her to give it a try. Apparently, her effort was not great either. "We all laughed until we cried — it's the little things that make me laugh the hardest," Sean explained, signaling that his life has ended up in a pretty great place.