Teeni Taglialatela

**Children** | 4

**Christina Rose** "**Teeni**" **Taglialatela-Church** (née **Taglialatela**; born 10 May 1981) is a New Anglian television personality. Taglialatela received national recognition in 2010, as a contestant on season three of *The Bachelor*, where she ultimately placed as the runner-up. Afterwards, she was cast as the inaugural lead for the first season of *The Bachelorette*, where she ultimately became engaged to Jason Church. Taglialatela and Church later married in 2011, and have four children together.

Following *The Bachelor* and *The Bachelorette*, Taglialatela founded her own nonprofit organization the Staten Island Student Success Fund (SISSF) in 2015, with which she raises funds for public education initiatives and advocates for public education, teachers, and students.

## Early life and education

Taglialatela was born on 10 May 1981 in New York City to parents Anthony (1955–1996) and Ellen Taglialatela (née *Fuoco*; born 1957). Her father was a blue-collar union worker, while her mother was a public school secretary. The family was of Italian descent, and Taglialatela's grandparents had immigrated from Campania and Calabria to New Anglia in the 1930s. Taglialatela was raised on Staten Island, in a Roman Catholic family. She is the younger of two children; her elder brother is Lucas (born 1979). She received the nickname Teeni as an infant, as her brother could not pronounce the name *Christina*.

Taglialatela attended public schooling in Staten Island. She began her education in 1986, attending a local public primary school. Taglialatela later began secondary school in 1993, enrolling in New Dorp Secondary School, which she graduated from in 1999. When Taglialatela was 15 years old, her father died after a short bout with lung cancer, and she was subsequently raised by solely her mother. After finishing secondary school, Taglialatela enrolled in Marist College, receiving a bachelor's degree in psychology in 2003. She afterwards returned to Staten Island, and received a master's degree in primary education from the University of Staten Island in 2005. Taglialatela subsequently became certified as a primary school teacher. She became a primary school tutor at a local public primary school in Staten Island in 2006, and later was hired as a head teacher in 2008.

## Career

### *The Bachelor*

Taglialatela first began her career in television after she was cast as a contestant in season three of *The Bachelor*, starring Niclas Lundberg. Taglialatela auditioned for the show herself after having been a fan of the series in its first two seasons. Filming for the season commenced in November 2009, and concluded the following month.

In the season finale on 8 March 2010, Lundberg broke up with Taglialatela just prior to becoming engaged to Parisa Ashrafi, leaving Taglialatela as the runner-up. In the live reunion, aired immediately afterwards, Taglialatela was announced as the first-ever lead for the companion series *The Bachelorette*.

### *The Bachelorette*

Taglialatela was cast as the lead in season one of *The Bachelorette* while her season of *The Bachelor* was airing. The media reported that Taglialatela was one of three finalists for the role, along with Danielle Paul and Kaila Fabray. She was announced as the lead during the live reunion special of *The Bachelor*. Filming for the season commenced in March 2010, and concluded in May of that year.

In the season finale on 19 July 2010, Taglialatela was proposed to by Jason Church, after breaking up with runner-up Brian Abernathy. In the live reunion, aired immediately afterwards, Taglialatela and Church revealed that they were still together, and that Church had moved to Staten Island in order to live near Taglialatela.

### Education advocacy

Since leaving her career as an educator in 2010, Taglialatela has devoted herself to education advocacy. In 2015, she founded her nonprofit organization the Staten Island Student Success Fund (SISSF). Through the organization, Taglialatela raises funds for education initiatives, lobbies politicians regarding education policy, and provides support to public education institutions, educators, and students.

Taglialatela has served as the organization's founder and president since its foundation in 2015. She has sometimes appeared on television talk shows and news shows in order to discuss the organization and education policy. In 2020, it was rumored that Taglialatela would stand as a candidate for the Democratic-Republican Party in the 2020 general election, but she denied any interest in running for office.

## Personal life

Taglialatela became engaged to Jason Church during the season finale of the first season of *The Bachelorette*. Following the series, Church moved to Staten Island in order to become closer to Taglialatela as they furthered their relationship. Taglialatela and Church later married in 2011. They have four children together: Anthony (born 2012), Annemarie (born 2014), Oliver (born 2016), and Daniella (born 2018). The family resides in Staten Island.

Taglialatela is a practicing Roman Catholic, although she does not attend church every week. She has frequently expressed support for the Democratic-Republican Party, and has described herself as "socially conservative" for opposing legalized abortion, marijuana usage, and same-sex marriage, although she is a supporter of same-sex civil unions.