Katie gets her happily ever after on 'The Bachelorette'
NEW YORK -- The finale of "The Bachelorette" picked up where we left off last week, with the fallout from Greg breaking up with Katie and leaving the show. Tayshia and Kaitlyn hosted the live portion of the finale and "After the Final Rose." Katie told Tayshia and Kaitlyn that at the time she felt like it was her fault that Greg left. She couldn't understand how someone who was in love with her could just leave. She said she was on her knees begging him to stay, "and he was telling me it wasn't good enough." Katie said that she had back-to-back men that she was falling for her leave and she didn't know how to handle it.
Katie Decides to Stay
Katie didn't know whether she should stay or go. Justin and Blake were left confused because they hadn't seen Greg. Tayshia and Kaitlyn stopped by to tell them that Greg left. They told them that Katie was emotionally devastated and struggling. However, Katie did decide to stay. Kaitlyn and Tayshia told Justin and Blake that they would get one full day of uninterrupted time with Katie. The guys did not know what kind of state of mind Katie would be in for their dates.
Blake's Fantasy Date
Katie was looking forward to the date because she said he's always been there for her. He could totally be the one to pull her out of her funk. They went to a paintball course where you throw water balloons full of paint! They had a great time letting loose. After that, they climbed into a hot tub and sipped on champagne. They reminisced about their first date and how they made such a strong connection. Blake brought up Greg leaving and Katie did her best to sum it all up. She said that earlier in the week Michael left, and then she said the next day after Greg's hometown he knocked on her door and also left. Katie said it was shocking for her and a part of her wanted to quit. Blake did a deep breath, as she was talking. He did not like hearing that she was considering leaving. But he just started kissing her. He said he feels he underestimated Katie's feelings for Greg. Blake says he loves Katie, but if she can't match that then there's no point in getting engaged. He hoped to see if he could figure out where her head was at later at dinner.
Blake was honest with Katie at dinner about how he felt about their earlier conversation. He said, "I would never tell you that I was falling in love with you and then get up and leave." That's probably just what she needed to hear. He said that he felt a lot of love from Katie during his hometown date. Blake said it was when she took off their high heels and they were playing hockey and she was backpedaling and yelled "Go America!" that Blake said, "I love her." Blake teared up and said, "I love you and I'm ****ing really excited about life with you." Katie responded by saying that she was "speechless" because she could relate to how he felt about it, "as much as I want to be stubborn, I ****ing love you so much and I'm so glad that you are here." Wow, well that was different than her response to Greg, wouldn't you say? The lovebirds then decided to go to the fantasy suite! They fed each other cheesecake and horizontally kissed the night away.
The next morning, Katie and Blake woke up happy and in love. They were on cloud nine! They kept saying "I love you" to each other. "It feels like we were in a dream," Blake said. They enjoyed breakfast in bed. Katie said that she just wants Blake!
Katie told Kaitlyn that she was "plenty satisfied, many times." "I'm friggin' happy for you," Kaitlyn responded. Katie was so impressed that Blake still wanted to be with her even when she told him everything about Greg and she said it was at that moment that she knew, he was the one. Katie said it was actually the best day of her life! "It's so crazy romantic," Kaitlyn said. She was so happy that everything worked out for Katie. There's one little problem, Justin. He was looking forward to his one-on-one fantasy date with Katie. It's so sad!
Katie Breaks Up with Justin
Justin ran to meet up with Katie and right away she said, "Can we talk?" That's never good. She laid out the whole situation and was brutally honest with him about her feelings for Blake. "I told him I'm falling in love with him," Katie said. Justin's face fell. "That is something that I can only say to one person," Katie said. "It wouldn't make sense for us to move forward." Justin teared up, and said that after his hometown he wasn't sure if he said the right thing, but he was himself 100% the whole time. He's feeling the burn of opening up. She told him that he will be a great husband and great father, but not for her. "I'm sorry," she said. "I care about you so much that I really just couldn't." "I think the world of you," Justin said to Katie. "I hope that he knows what he has in you and that he never takes you for granted." What a classy breakup. Justin handled it really well. He's a catch, ladies!
Justin and Katie talk on Live Stage
Justin was then on the live stage to talk with Kaitlyn and Tayshia. He said that "It hurts just as much now as it did then." He was totally blindsided by her breaking up with him. Justin was seriously considering proposing to her and then it was just over so quickly. "No one wants to feel like they weren't good enough," he said. Justin felt like Greg leaving kind of messed things up for him with how it shook Katie's confidence. He felt like he was there by default because they had left. He had been hoping for a rose ceremony to feel "chosen." Justin said he didn't feel like Katie gave him a fair shot.
Katie came out on stage to talk over her breakup with Justin and hopefully give him some closure. He teared up again just looking at her. His voice wavered as he tried to talk to her about watching how things ended with Greg and Michael. He said he didn't have the opportunity to see where things would have really gone. Katie said that she knew that Blake was the one in that moment she described earlier. She said that she and Justin shared a lot of special times and they had a great connection. She had hoped that he would think of those times and realize he had been there for a reason. Justin told Katie that she has made him a better person. Then, the show played a recap of Justin's best faces! He was super expressive and made the best memes.
Blake Meets Katie's Family
Now that he's the last man standing, Blake is going to meet Katie's family! He was very nervous. This is very different because the family usually has two men to meet and but this time they know it's Blake. He's putting expectations on himself to show "why" he's the one. He met Katie's mom and aunt. They told him just to be himself because what they care about is that he's the one Katie wants. He explained how he makes visits to Africa to work with wildlife. Her aunt is worried about the difference in locations and their careers and how it can all work between them. Blake told her that he's very open like Katie and they just understand each other. "You better be secure as **** because you would be in our family because you want to be there, not because we need you to be there," his aunt told him. "It seemed like everything I was saying was not the answers that she was looking for," Blake said of his time with Katie's aunt.
Katie and her mom chatted and Katie explained that she and Blake don't need each other, but they want each other. Her mother is concerned that it's a short amount of time and just wants to make sure Katie is standing on her own and not depending on Blake for anything. Blake told her mother that he loves Katie, but he wants to figure out what's best for both of them. Her mom cried when Blake talked about trying his hardest to make her daughter happy. That was reassuring to him.
Katie asked Blake how it went and he said it was crazy. The experience seemed to be very overwhelming to him. He's still not sure if he's ready to propose to Katie. He knows she is expecting a proposal and that's a lot of pressure.
Katie and Blake's Last Date
Katie and Blake met up for an evening date and she told him it was going to be more serious than normal. They met up with Felicia, an energy healer, who promised to take their relationship to the next level. They were burning the Zozobra, a tradition in New Mexico. They stuff their fears inside of the figure and light it on fire. Blake and Katie read their fears to each other before they stuffed them into Zozobra. Blake said hearing her fears was a little scary for him because he doesn't want to make her feel bad if he's not ready to propose.
Ring Time
Tayshia FaceTimed Neil Lane and then took the rings to Blake. He was a little jumpy, but Tayshia did her best to help him have fun with choosing a ring for Katie. Blake got teared up and said, "I've never felt like this before." Tayshia reminded him that he came there for Katie and was willing to risk it all for her. Blake apologized, said he needed a minute, and then started pacing around. Tayshia told Blake that if he was having hesitations about proposing to Katie, she wants a proposal and if he can't give her that, "You need to let her go." WHAT - ok, slow things down here. Can't they just be in love and date if that's what Blake wants and if Katie is willing to accept that? Plenty of past couples have done just that. Shouldn't Katie at least have that as an option instead of a breakup?
The Final Rose and Proposal
Cue the limo! Katie was in a beautiful emerald gown and taken to the final rose/proposal location. She said she feels Blake is her soulmate and she would say "Yes, 100%" if Blake proposes. Blake said that it was a "scary" day. He loves her but he knows that proposing is a huge decision. As he stepped out of the limo, he told Katie and Tayshia he was freaking out. They did their best to calm him to get him down the aisle to talk to Katie and hopefully propose. "Okay, so I should go," Blake said as he walked to Katie.
Blake asked her to take a second so he could catch his breath when he grabbed her hands. Katie started talking after a few seconds and said that she always thought he showed up late, "but you showed up exactly when you were meant to show up." Katie told him that she was head over heels in love with him and then described all of the reasons why. "The night you told me you loved me changed my life forever," she said. "You have made me the happiest woman alive, and in a world of change, I want to be your constant, I'll love you today, tomorrow, and forever, and I can't wait for our adventure to begin."
Blake teared up, and said, "It's easy to look around and feel like we're dreaming and living out what is basically a fairytale." He told her that he just knew. "I knew the moment you first met me and you called me trouble," Blake said. He rattled off all the reasons he knew she was the one. "I know how great of a wife you'll be, how great of a mother you'll be," Blake said. He said he doesn't want her to compromise who she is for a relationship, but "I can't give you what you came here for, because you deserve a lot more than that." He said that he wants to give her the world and be there to support her every day moving forward. Then, Blake got down on one knee and proposed! She said "YES!" Blake slipped the beautiful round-cut Neil Lane diamond on her hand as they kissed and she told him she loved him. Lastly, Katie offered Blake her final rose, and he said, "YES!" Katie got her happy ending - or should we say happy beginning - after all! They rode off side by side on horseback celebrating their engagement!
Katie Confronts Greg on the Live Stage
Before we could talk to the happy couple, we had to bounce back to Katie and Greg's miserable breakup. Greg was brought out on stage to talk to Katie. Greg said to Kaitlyn and Tayshia that he has no regrets about how the whole thing went down. He tried to play up the fact that Katie gave him a new perspective on happiness. Something tells me that might not last. Katie came out and looked kind of upset. Katie said that she felt like he never intended to get engaged. She said she gave him validation after validation and she felt like he was looking for the perfect opportunity to escape because he wasn't ready. Greg said, "I'm honestly so confused why you would think that."
Katie said that he spoke down to her and when she needed him the most he ran away. Greg said he never would have introduced her to his family if he wasn't serious. She called him out for using her for "acting experience." Greg laughed and was baffled. "As much as I wish I was I'm not Meryl Streep," Greg said. Katie said she was told his whole persona on the show of being a shy guy was an act and he's been to acting school. "You did not love me," Katie said. "The way you were speaking to me it didn't feel like you were on the same level as me," Greg said. Katie called him "rude" and "a gaslighter." Greg said that he was sorry for how the journey ended for them and for making her "feel like that." He said he wished he could "change the way he communicated his feelings." They really just didn't seem to connect on how to talk out their issues and their feelings, so in the end, their particular relationship ended and that seems to be for the best. It was a really uncomfortable conversation.
Blake and Katie Update
Blake came out on stage finally to reunite with Katie. They hugged and kissed as the audience cheered. Blake said it's tough to celebrate an engagement secretly, and Katie's family also didn't know! Aunt Lindsay found out as "Bachelor Nation" found out. Is she throwing things at the wall? Celebrating? We may never know. Katie said she wasn't upset that Blake wasn't sure about getting engaged and was nervous. She liked that he was taking their engagement seriously. Katie cried and said she's, "so lucky and I love him so much!" Blake told Katie that he was so "proud" of Katie for how she carried herself and that she's everything he hoped she would be and then...he had people hold boom boxes up of their song "Memorize You" by Laine Hardy that they had danced to on their one-on-one date. It was really sweet! Congratulations to Katie and Blake!
Next week - It's time for "Bachelor in Paradise!" Our two-year wait is over!
