In reality TV, people move on with their lives whether they want to or not, and most -- unless they're named Trista or Bob -- fade into welcomed obscurity.

Lisa Shannon of Bloomfield Hills, former star of CBS's summer reality dating show "Cupid," says she is delighted to date her beau Hank Stepleton without cameras taping and following their every move.

These days, the two are officially boyfriend and girlfriend and are living together at Stepleton's pad in Chicago. This Thanksgiving, the new couple spent the holiday with Shannon's family in Rochester Hills.

In case you weren't watching -- the ratings say you probably weren't -- Shannon, 26, went on the show to find a husband with the help of her catty, chatty girlfriends, Laura Restum and Kim Tarter also of Metro Detroit. The show's creators offered up a $1 million dowry for Shannon and her man if they married on the show and stayed together for a year.

After an 11-week run, 20 bachelors and endless dates and gimmicks, viewers and Shannon chose Stepleton. But when Shannon and Stepleton didn't tie the knot, producers were left with broken hearts and fat pockets.

"One million dollars is not an incentive to throw your life away," Shannon says. When asked whether or not producers knew about her ever-growing moralistic viewpoint, Shannon says, "I told the producers that I doubted that I was going to get married and they said 'We'll see.' I think they thought they could change my mind."

Stepleton, 25, agrees. "We discussed it, and Lisa had no interest in getting married for the money and neither did I," he says.

When "Cupid" ended, Shannon and Stepleton hit the road for a month. The jobless pair visited relatives all over the country. Shannon, a former copywriter for Campbell-Ewald advertising, says she will look for work, something behind the camera, come January. Hank, a former options trader, says he will work in finance again, but in a different role.

"I know I should be apprehensive, but I'm not," Stepleton says. "She's very driven and knows what she wants, and we'll be fine."

But don't cue the wedding processional just yet.

"It's too early to tell," Shannon says.

Perhaps time will also tell if Shannon will be close to gal pals Restum and Tarter again. The trio hasn't spoken in about two months. "They were great advice-giving girlfriends," Shannon says of the two. "Yes, I had closer friends, but it ('Cupid') was a six-month commitment and my other friends couldn't do it. We'll stay friends because we went through an experience very few people go through."

Shannon stays in closer contact with Paul Stancato, 32, the New York playwright, who was kicked off in the seventh week. The two e-mail and Stancato has found love with a new girlfriend, Shannon says.