Host Chris Harrison opened up the final episode of season 18 of The Bachelor and promised everyone at home the finale would be the most shocking finale of Bachelor history. Well, Harrison was sort of right, but most audience members were more shocked over the commentary made during After the Final Rose.
The drama filled episode started off with Clare meeting Juan Pablo’s family for the first time. The blonde beauty was so excited to meet the parents that she couldn’t stop gushing about seeing how Juan Pablo acted with his daughter, Camila, and how great it would be to be a mom.
The family welcomed Clare with open arms, while Camila seemed to like Clare during their first encounter.
However, things turned when Clare asked Juan Pablo’s mother if there is anything she needs to know about her beau’s personality. There is a brief pause as Juan Pablo’s mother tries to find the right words. She settles for describing her son as “super active” and warns Clare how rude Juan Pablo can be.
Clare responds with how Juan Pablo made her cry at one point during the relationship, and the mother responded with: “Me too.”
What might be a red flag for many women, Clare does not find it as a problem and says she loves Juan Pablo’s honesty.
Later, Clare talks to Juan Pablo’s cousin, Rodolfo, about how much love she has for the former soccer player and how she will do anything for him. Again, Rodolfo warns Clare how difficult Juan Pablo can be, but Clare seems to take in the information with rose-colored glasses.
Towards the end of the meet-the-family date, Clare has the chance to sit down with Juan Pablo’s father. The two have a sentimental moment where Juan Pablo’s father tells her he will always be a father to her, the two hug it out and Clare leaves.
“Juan Pablo definitely has my heart and now so does his family,” she said before the first commercial break.
Even thought Nikki was last to meet the family, she seemed very comfortable, but this might have had to do with the fact she had already met Camila and Juan Pablo’s parents earlier in the season at Camila’s dance recital.
The day started out smooth with Nikki describing the places she went with Juan Pablo and explaining “how grateful” she was for her experiences.
Again, there were a few red flags that Nikki missed when she was talking to Juan Pablo’s parents. His dad told Nikki Juan Pablo could be difficult at times, while Juan Pablo’s mother told her he is a simple guy.
“I’m pretty sure he is ready for this,” Juan Pablo’s mother said after Nikki asked her if she thought her son was ready for an engagement and a marriage.
Rodolfo spoke with Nikki at the end of the day and jumped right into the conversation by asking her how much fighting she could handle. Nikki responded with no fighting equals no passion.
At the end of the day, Nikki was ready for a proposal after feeling welcomed in Juan Pablo’s family, while Juan Pablo told the cameras he didn’t know who to choose and wanted to know if he could keep both girls.
The next day, Juan Pablo went on his final date with Clare, enjoying the time by looking over Saint Lucia in a helicopter. Clare was glowing and couldn’t stop smiling as she kissed her boyfriend.
However, things turned for the worst when the helicopter landed. While the cameras weren’t on the couple, Juan Pablo revealed to her that he didn’t really know her along with a crude comment.
Clare refused to tell the cameras what exactly was said because it was so rude and she spent the rest of the day dwelling on what was said, commenting on how she didn’t feel respected and was worried Juan Pablo only saw the relationship as a hook up.
Later that night, Clare met up with Juan Pablo – noticeably refusing to give him “besitos” – and confronted him about what he said earlier that day.
Juan Pablo talked in circles and didn’t really answer Clare’s question on if the bachelor was ready for marriage. He kept saying how Clare wouldn’t be there with him if he didn’t want her there and the relationship was more than just the physical stuff. He made it seem like Clare was going to be “the one” at the end of their journey, so Clare forgave him and Juan Pablo left.
The final date before the proposal ceremony, Juan Pablo took Nikki on a yacht where they spent the day talk and kissing. That night, Nikki told the cameras she wanted to hear Juan Pablo tell her that he loved her. She gave him a framed picture of the duo and a sweet love letter explaining her love in hopes he would finally say the three words – but he never did. Hurt was clearly expressed on Nikki’s face but Juan Pablo either didn’t see it or didn’t comment on it, and after he left, Nikki sat on the couch crying.
The day of the proposal comes up and Clare is the first one to show up. Full of hope, she stands in front of Juan Pablo, expresses how much she loves and trusts him, and is ready for the bachelor to get down on one knee. Unfortunately, Juan Pablo doesn’t give her the ring she’s been waiting for. He tells her she is an amazing woman, appreciates her being there and tells her that he has to say goodbye to her.
After, Juan Pablo goes in for a hug when Clare stops him and in the background you hear an audible clap from the audience.
Clare became furious says she would never want her children to have a father like him and gives him a piece of her mind.
When she leaves, Juan Pablo says, “Glad I didn’t pick her.”
Nikki shows up next and is ready to be proposed to, when Juan Pablo brings up her father and how he said not to get engaged until he was 100 percent sure. Apparently, Juan Pablo wasn’t 100 percent sure because he asked her to accept his final rose because he likes her a lot.
A stunned Nikki accepts it but you can tell she’s upset by how things ended.
Chris Harrison comes back out for the After the Final Rose portion of the show and starts it off by talking to Clare. More things are said about what Juan Pablo said in the helicopter but she still does not disclose what comment was made.
In the end, Clare decides not to see Juan Pablo because she already found closure when she was able to stand up to a man for the first time. She says she is moving forward and reveals he was not the man she thought he was.
Juan Pablo comes out next and asks the people to pray for Venezuela, hoping that will make him look good, but Chris Harrison starts asking the tough questions of why he chose Nikki, what did he say to Clare, and does he have any regrets.
Juan Pablo never really answers any of the questions. He only says he is a straightforward person, didn’t go on the show to play games and says he has nothing bad to say about Clare.
After commercial break, Nikki joins Chris in the hot seat, but she doesn’t reveal much about her relationship with Juan Pablo.
Later, Juan Pablo joins Nikki and the real drama starts. Early during production, Juan Pablo told Bachelor producers he had a surprise for After the Final Rose and asked to have the engagement ring at the taping, waiting for him. Chris tries to bring up the surprise but Juan Pablo plays dumb and says, “What surprise?”
Chris Harrison doesn’t know how to respond so he moves on with another question, but it definitely makes things awkward for the host.
The final moments of their interview, Harrison tries so hard to get Juan Pablo and Nikki to open up about their future plans as a couple and to hear Juan Pablo tell Nikki he loves her.
The bachelor refuses, however, and says his girlfriend knows how he feels and he doesn’t have to make a big statement to prove that. He constantly states he wants to keep his life private now that the show is over, but a visibly upset Sean and Catherine tell the bachelor that he signed up to share his love story with the world and he can’t make his life private all of a sudden.
“Don’t bite the hand that feeds you,” an upset Catherine tells Juan Pablo.
After the painful interview, Chris Harrison reveals the next bachelorette – Andi!
The beautiful brunette is ecstatic to be the next bachelorette and says she is ready to find the “man of [her] dreams.”
Chris ends the show by welcoming Andi and telling her that it will be perfectly fine to tell the man she loves exactly how she feels.
The duo laugh at the comment, Chris Harrison says goodnight, and the show ends with former Bachelor and Bachelorette contestants hugging and congratulating the new bachelorette.
Photo courtesy of ABC
