Bachelor Alum Bekah Martinez Celebrates College Graduation: 'I Freaking Did It!'
Bekah Martinez/Instagram
Bekah Martinez is officially a college graduate!
The Bachelor alum celebrated her graduation from the University of California Irvine on her Instagram page Saturday, sharing a series of photos featuring her in her cap and gown with boyfriend Grayston Leonard and their two children -daughter Ruth Ray De La Luz, 2, and son Franklin, who turns one later this month.
"I FREAKING DID IT!!!" the reality star captioned the pics.
Martinez, 26, previously opened up about her education journey in a January Instagram post, telling followers at the time that she was entering her "very last semester" of her undergraduate program at UCI.
In the lengthy post, Martinez recapped her path through college, which saw several pauses along the way, including when she was cast on The Bachelor and when she became pregnant both times.
RELATED: Bekah Martinez Says Having 2 Kids Gave 'Huge Boost of Motivation' to Complete College Degree
"It's been a slow, hard eight year journey, and I'm so close to the finish line," she wrote at the time. "I first started at UC Irvine in 2013, fresh out of high school. I had plans to be an elementary school teacher or an art teacher, and began pursuing my BFA. I dropped out in 2015."
"I was really depressed and felt so alone. I moved back to my hometown to live with my parents and hit the refresh button," continued Martinez. "Over the next few years I took classes at a couple different community colleges, applied to transfer to UCLA's art program, and got rejected."
"Then I went on The Bachelor," she said, referencing her appearance on season 22 of the reality series with lead Arie Luyendyk Jr in 2018.
Next, Martinez recalled getting pregnant with daughter Ruth. "Having my first little one on the way gave me a huge boost of motivation," she wrote, noting that she then "finished that semester 8 months pregnant with Ruth."
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"I took a semester off to give birth and take care of my newborn. I went back when Ruth was 7 months old," Martinez shared. "Then I got pregnant with Franklin. The pandemic happened; I finished out the spring semester taking classes on zoom at 39 weeks pregnant."
"So finally...here we are. 2021. I have two classes left, I've gained two babies along the way, and I'll be able to say I did it. This spring I'll have my college degree," she concluded. "I'm so damn proud."
