Everyone wants their son to meet a nice girl, and Andy Baldwin did — on national television.

Monday night, the Lancaster native and star of the ABC show "The Bachelor: Officer and a Gentleman" presented a red rose and an engagement ring to 26-year-old Tessa Horst, a San Francisco social worker.

"I'm going to be so happy, so full of joy," Baldwin said Monday night on the show, moments before announcing his decision. "I'm going to be engaged to a woman who is a dream come true for me."

The two-hour finale featured segments in which Navy Lt. Andrew Baldwin, a doctor and son of former state Rep. Roy Baldwin (R-97th District), returned to Lancaster County so his family could meet Horst and Bevin Nicole Powers of Palo Alto, Calif. — the two finalists winnowed from a group of 25 contestants.

Some of the segments were shot back in March and featured bucolic scenes of Lancaster — complete with the obligatory footage of a horse-drawn buggy trotting down a country road.

Then the cameras entered the Baldwin home, where the family had the unusual experience of being filmed for national television.

"'Surreal' is a good word to describe the situation," said Baldwin's mother, Cynthia. "But I can tell you what I was feeling at the time of filming — that I liked both girls and would have been happy for him to end up with either one.

"And at the end of the day, I just wanted Andy to end up with a woman who adores him," she said.

Cynthia said she was sad only that there had to be a loser.

"I didn't like knowing that someone had to be hurt," she said. "But the whole experience wasn't frivolous for Andy — he was going through intense emotions when he was last here with Tessa and Bevin."

Still, she said, seeing a loved one live his life on television — then becoming a part of the show yourself, is an odd experience.

"Reality TV is real — but it's also … weird," Cynthia said.

Currently stationed in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, Baldwin also is an accomplished triathlete who participated in the Ironman Triathlon World Championship in 2002.

Monday night's episode showed Horst joining Baldwin and his family for lunch and Powers attending a family dinner.

Then, with time running out, Andy returned to Oahu, Hawaii, for his final two dates.

On his first date, Baldwin took Powers away on a helicopter ride over Hawaii's scenic coast. Afterward, he took his future fiancée horseback riding on the beach before they swam in the ocean.

Powers was visibly distraught after Baldwin broke the news to her.

"I'm so hurt," she said as she rode away from her Prince Charming in a white stretch limo, makeup streaming down her cheeks. "This is the story of my life."

But later she said, "I have to move on. If it doesn't kill you, it makes you stronger."

Monday night, Baldwin said his only regret was having to "hurt someone he cares about."

Baldwin's mother said her son was always a caring individual with intense emotions.

"Andy never did anything halfway," she said. "He was intense about everything — as a baby, he cried and crawled intensely, for goodness sake."

The pivotal moment of "The Bachelor" came when Baldwin knelt before Horst, who was dressed in a blue gown.

Suddenly, the song "Up Where We Belong," (from the Richard Gere film "An Officer and a Gentleman," of course) began to well up in the background.

Horst accepted Baldwin's proposal, all smiles and tears.

The Lancaster native said he couldn't be happier.

"All I can say is that the woman I propose to at the end most definitely says yes, and we're very happily engaged right now," Baldwin told reporters during a Wednesday conference call. "We know each other so much better now than we did at the finale. … It's just gotten better and better."

Cynthia Baldwin said her son — and new fiancée — will return to Lancaster soon for a visit.

"I can't wait to see them," she said. "And without the cameras."

E-mail: cdifonzo@lnpnews.com