Bachelor Sean Lowe, Catherine Giudici Talk Joining Marriage Boot Camp

'The Bachelor' 's Sean and Catherine Lowe on Joining 'Marriage Boot Camp' : 'We Work on Our Marriage Every Day'

The couple of two years are starring on the new season of Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars

Published on October 15, 2015 04:15PM EDT

America watched as they met, fell in love and said “I do” on national television, and now Sean and Catherine Lowe are back to reality, starring on season 4 of WEtv’s Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars.

“Strengthening your marriage and your relationship is always something you should be doing,” Catherine tells PEOPLE exclusively of their decision to sign on. “A lot of people think that unless you’re drowning, you shouldn’t have to do anything. But that’s really not what it is. We work on our marriage every day.”

Fans of the couple, who wed in 2014 and are known for their gushy sweet social media posts about each other, might be surprised to see the Lowes on a couples therapy show – even Sean, 31, admits there was hesitation at first.

“We were pretty skeptical,” he says. “But we called Trista [Sutter, the former Bachelorette who, along with husband Ryan, was on season 1 of Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars], and she had nothing but good things to say about the two people who lead it, Jim and Elizabeth Carroll. So we thought, if it’s going to strengthen our marriage, then why not?”

The Lowes – who are joined by fellow Boot Camp couples Benzino and Althea Heart (Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta), Sunday Carter and Cedric (Basketball Wives: LA), and Sarah Oliver and Jimmy “Inkman” Coney (Bad Girls Club) – say they stayed mostly out of the drama, but they did learn some meaningful lessons from their time on the show.

“We had a hard first year of marriage,” reveals Catherine, 29. “It was fun, but it was challenging. I moved from Seattle and we were learning to coexist. We needed to improve our communication and how we dealt with problems. I blow up and get angry – that’s something I wanted to be able to control.”

Adds Sean, “As a guy, I’m not real emotional. Sometimes I don’t understand when things bother Catherine. That was the biggest thing for me – learning to be a better communicator.”

Now that their Boot Camp journey is over, the not-so-newlyweds are more in sync than ever. Says Catherine, “Sean and I have learned a lot about each other. It’s much more steady now. We are just so balanced and happy and joyful.”