For the first time ever in its 8-year reality programming franchise history, The Bachelorette has earned the No. 1 rating as over 11 million viewers tuned in to watch the Ali and Roberto love fest. The final rose ceremony beat out NFL football (well it was only exhibition) and NBC’s popular America’s Got Talent. The Bachelorette also landed the No. 3 spot for the After The Rose special where viewers tuned in to get an update on the happy couple.

So what’s the fascination with this particular Bachelorette? Is it Ali and Roberto, or was it just a slow week in TV viewership? It’s a good bet that many households were disrupted by summer vacation and not following their normal viewing habits, but for The Bachelorette to snag two of the top spots for the week means something more.

Everyone wants to see a love story with a happy ending. That’s what ABC delivered this year with Ali and Roberto. There were a few distractions along the way this season (i.e. Frank) but for the most part it was Roberto all the way. Despite previous Bachelorette failures, with 4 of 5 ending in no relationship, we continue to tune in for the fairy tale. Every season that has finished with a rose is now a failed relationship except for Trista (and we wish continued happiness for Trista and Ryan). So now we have hope once again.

It’s been several months since Ali chose Roberto and they became engaged, and only a few weeks since they’ve gone public with their relationship. There seems to be still a huge fan following and ongoing interest in their lives. We really just want to know that everything is going to be ok and they are still together. From most reports, the happy couple is still happy and planning a wedding.

Only time will tell if Ali and Roberto’s relationship can survive real life. It’s one thing to find love on an isolated tropical paradise, and it’s quite another thing to make it work through the challenges of every day life. Those challenges are only magnified when you consider that they are also dealing with ardent fans and intense media scrutiny. Kind of hard to have a “normal” relationship with photographers in your face 24/7.

We wish all the best for Ali and Roberto as they navigate through unchartered waters as a (so far) successful Bachelorette couple. ABC is rooting for them as well.