The conclusion of Becca Kufrin’s Bachelorette season weighed less on spectacles of human misery and more on happily-ever-afters. That’s probably for the best, isn’t it? After two separate Bachelor and Bachelorette journeys, Becca finally found her reality-television love with Garrett Yrigoyen, accepting his proposal in the Maldives and sending the dejected runner-up, Blake Horstmann, packing for good. Becca and Garrett seem very lovey-dovey and ecstatic to usher their relationship into the public eye, but as with any finale involving heartbreak and drama, a handful of big revelations were bound to bubble up for Bachelor Nation to witness. Here are the six finale bombshells you definitely need to know.
Blake predicted his runner-up status
In a prescient talking-head interview after meeting Becca’s family, Blake, sensing something was off from this Kufrin-clan gathering, predicted his ultimate fate. “I’m worried that something was off, it’s not good. I don’t want to talk about fucking Garrett anymore. I don’t want to. Maybe I’m overthinking all of this, but usually my gut is right when it comes to this kind of stuff, it’s a curse,†he said. “Now I have to sit here and stew on it for 36 hours. She’s gonna pick Garrett.†Later, after Becca officially rejected him, he added through tears: “I fucking knew it.â€
For a long time, Becca thought she’d pick Blake
Numerous times in the finale, Becca reiterated how she was confident, throughout the majority of her journey, that she would accept Blake’s proposal and become his fiancée. (It’s also safe to assume her family considered him, as opposed to Garrett, more of an equal partner.) However, the more time she spent with Garrett — whom she likened to her deceased father — the more her mind kept changing. “You have been the most solid, constant relationship. But through all of that, too, because we were so constant, I think I was overlooking other relationships. Quite honestly, I pictured this moment with you standing here the entire time for so long. I think that we could be right and we could be partners, but there’s just a better fit for us out there,†she said upon rejecting Blake’s proposal. “I honestly didn’t see this for the longest time. I was so sure.†As for Blake, he handled his broken heart like a gentleman and wished Becca nothing but the best. Next Bachelor alert, anyone?
Arie secretly met Becca in the Maldives
When doing early press rounds for her Bachelorette season, Becca revealed that her very public Bachelor ex-fiancé, Arie Luyendyk Jr., would appear in an upcoming episode. But at the finale’s conclusion, his appearance still hadn’t surfaced. What gives? We now know that Arie and his third-act-twist fiancée, Lauren Burnham, flew to meet Becca in the Maldives at her and the show’s request — but for reasons we’re not privy to, ABC decided to edit out their tropical sit-down. “It’s a conversation that unfortunately won’t be shown but it was really positive for all of us,†Arie wrote on Instagram after the finale aired. “You can imagine this trip could have been very difficult for Lauren but she has supported and stood by me in all of this. I thank and love her everyday because of that. We wish Becca all the happiness in the world.†As for Becca, she didn’t utter Arie’s name once in the episode.
Garrett’s meme scandal made Becca worry …
Just hours after Becca’s Bachelorette premiere, it came to light that Garrett had a history of “liking†offensive social-media posts, which included memes mocking transgender people, liberal women, and school-shooting survivors. Garrett previously apologized for those double-taps and likes, while Becca urged viewers to keep an open mind and not judge contestants so harshly, effectively tipping her hand that she’d pick him in the end. (Becca is a vocal liberal who voted for Hillary Clinton.) Now that the couple could discuss this scandal royale openly, they admitted it caused a riff in their relationship.
“She’s helped me through everything. We’ve been honest and open and transparent with one another since the beginning, and when that all came out, we attacked it,†Garrett said of Becca. “When I was liking things, it was going against what she stands for, and that made it really hard on us as a couple. When we started talking about that, we got through that together and we’re growing and progressing and we’re moving forward.â€
Becca was more blunt about it: “There has been struggles, and that was a major thing we had to talk about early on at the very beginning of our relationship. Luckily, I got to know him for who he is. On the show, we don’t have phones or social media. I got to see who he is — his heart and soul. The Instagram situation, I don’t condone that. I know he stands by his apology and he feels so bad for everyone he did offend. He didn’t mean it.â€
… and Garrett thought he’d lose Becca because of it
While Becca claims their problems never reached breakup potential, Garrett became seriously concerned that it may, indeed, end up that way because of his social-media behavior. “I was very worried about it, that I might lose her from that. But I felt she knew me as a person and that I didn’t stand behind those likes, and I was a better person than what I was presenting on my social media,†he explained, adding how a “constant amount of people†reached out to his family and friends in an attempt to discover his “true†character. “It made us stronger as a couple and we’re moving forward. It was tough, because it wasn’t just affecting me, but it was affecting her, and that was hurting me the most.â€
This ethos was reiterated by Becca: “It’s been a constant conversation, and he’s had to deal with really negative things being said about him — terrible things. I can only ask that people allow us to grow and learn from this.â€
Don’t expect a wedding anytime soon
While wedding bells won’t be ringing for awhile — “we just want to be normal and be in public,†Becca said — the lovebirds hope to solidify their home base within the next few months. “We are moving in together, we don’t exactly know where yet,†Becca explained, saying they’ll live for a short period of time in each other’s respective cities before making a final decision. (Minneapolis and Reno, currently, though “I think we might come out to California for a couple of years.â€) Also, Becca wants a bunch of fur-babies, much to the chagrin of her boo: “I would love four corgis, but I’ll settle for one or two … to start with.â€