Sean Lowe Recalls Awkward Car Ride with Catherine He ‘Begged’ Bachelor Producers for (Exclusive)

The rules of The Bachelor weren't meant to be broken, but at one point, Sean Lowe just couldn't help himself.

The season 17 Bachelor managed to break protocol to spend as much time with Catherine Giudici as possible while they were filming the show in 2013.

Speaking exclusively to PEOPLE recently about his partnership with Samsung, Sean, now 40, confessed that while filming, he "begged" producers to let him skirt a rule so he could score a few extra minutes with Catherine, now 38.

"When filming the show, they really do not allow the Bachelor to be around the contestants off camera because they don't want anything happening that they're not capturing," he explained in a joint interview with Catherine.

But after their first one-on-one date in Canada, during which they spent time on a glacier in the middle of a blizzard in an episode that aired in February 2013, Sean went to great lengths to extend his quality time with the woman who is now his wife of 10 years.

He told PEOPLE that he knew they had an hour's car ride back to their hotel and would normally make the trip in separate vehicles.

But, "I was like, 'Please let her ride back in the car with us. Please, please, please, we won't do anything. We won't give you any great content that you would miss on the show,' " he recalled.

Producers ultimately agreed to let the couple ride in the same car — under the condition that they wouldn't talk.

"We just held hands and it was the -

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best," he shared. "I was so happy to be with her for that hour-long car ride."

Catherine confirmed that they "couldn't say a word" to each other for the trek.

But they weren't actually alone, Sean added, noting that producers were in the car to make sure they didn't break their promise.

The couple are now parents to three young kids —sons Samuel Thomas 8, and Isiah Hendrix, 6, and daughter Mia Mejia, 4 — and celebrated 10 years of marriage in early 2024.

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As parents, the pair recently partnered with Samsung to help promote the company's sustainable products because they want to lead by example with their kids, they explained.

"What we're doing in our house is making sure that our children are just aware of healthy habits moving forward, things that will help the future, like recycling and managing food waste," Catherine said.

Their efforts are paying off.

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Mom is proud to share that her little girl recently noticed a piece of recycling that was accidentally put in the trash.

"She was like, 'This isn't supposed to be in here,' " Catherine recalled. "And so she took it out and put it in the recycling."

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