Vanessa Grimaldi Responds to Criticism That the 'After the Final Rose' Special Was 'Awkward'

Viall previously told PEOPLE that the couple is still getting used to being together in the real world

Vanessa Grimaldi isn’t afraid to show what it’s really like in a relationship.

When her fiancé Nick Viall stopped by The Ellen DeGeneres Show, the host brought up social media’s mixed reaction to The Bachelor duo’s first public appearance — some questioning Grimaldi and Viall’s love for one another.

“I didn’t see the After the Rose because I could not commit to four hours of television. I heard that some people thought it was awkward, that y’all were awkward together,” DeGeneres said.

“I didn’t think so,” Grimaldi, 29, responded from the audience. “I think we both went in it wanting to be honest and open about couples, you know, sometimes things can get tough. But we’re very committed to each other, we love each other, and that’s what we’re focusing on.”

Although Viall, 36, let his bride-to-be do the talking on the talk show, he previously told PEOPLE of the After the Final Rose special that the couple is still getting used to being together in the real world.

“I hope we came across as in love and passionate tonight,” he shared. “The reality is — we joke about it, but it’s true — we don’t know what it’s like to go to the movies together, we don’t know what it’s like to spend time together in the real world. Our relationship has been based off of stressful situations.”

“You can never make people happy,” added Grimaldi. “At the end of the day, we are focusing on our relationship. It’s easy to focus on the negative, which sometimes I do, and Nick tries to get me out of it. But that’s the world that we’re living in.”

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Viall’s Dancing with the Stars partner Peta Murgatroyd was also on hand to chat about his latest venture on reality TV, just 10 weeks after giving birth to her first child, son Shai Aleksander.

“I think it’s good for mothers to get back out there and keep doing what they love to do,” she explained. “I’m exhausted, to be honest with you, I am so tired, between feeding every four hours, racing home.”

Despite her tiring balancing act, Murgatroyd isn’t taking it easy on her partner.

“Most positions that Peta asks me to do are painful physically,” Viall said. “It’s very hard but she’s very patient with me.”

And Murgatroyd is proud of his progress, especially given the stiff competition this season.

“He hasn’t performed at all,” the pro dancer said. “Most of the people on this season have actually got performance experience so it’s a really tough season.”

Dancing with the Stars airs Mondays (8 p.m. ET) on ABC.