ABC had warned viewers that the grand final of The Bachelor was going to turn some heads, but no-one was expecting the amount of drama that unfolded inside three hours of madness.
Series 22 of the U.S hit had stripped down the contestants to a final two of Becca Kufrin and Lauren Burnham.
With quiet and reserved bachelor Arie Luyendyk failing to spark much of a connection with any of the women across the show, audiences were always going to be in shock over his final decision.
However, his decision to propose on the final day, before dumping the winner and rekindling his relationship with the runner-up – well that definitely wasn’t in the script.
So. Many. Emotions. Right. Now. #thebachelor
— Vanessa Grimaldi (@VanessaGrimaldi) March 6, 2018
At this point both girls have to realize that he is saying I love you to the other girl right? That is, if they watch the show and really think about how the show works. #TheBachelor #TheBachelorFinale
— Ali Fedotowsky-Manno (@AliFedotowsky) March 6, 2018
This. Is. Heartbreaking. #thebachelor
— Carly Waddell (@carlywaddell) March 6, 2018
The Proposal
Arie decided to go the full stretch and propose to Becca while they were enjoying a romantic getaway in Peru.
The Bachelor, Disney ABC
Having made her way down from an alpaca farm in Peru – you know, as all romantic stories start – Arie told Becca that he loved her and completed the swooning move with a proposal.
Alpacas are the world’s most romantic animal… #TheBachelor
— Mike Fleiss (@fleissmeister) March 6, 2018
💍#TheBachelorFinale pic.twitter.com/JvP0ZXgpND
— The Bachelor (@BachelorABC) March 6, 2018
A Plot Twist
As the show continued, we watched as Arie and Becca fooled around like all newlyweds do, brushing their teeth together, mucking around with pizza dough and lounging about in hammocks.
It was all playful until Arie went and told his fiancé that he loved Lauren more.
Err, what.
*breaks off engagement*
*shatters her heart*
*hears her bawling in the bathroom*“hey are you okay??” #TheBachelor
— Madie (@MadieReann) March 6, 2018
Out of nowhere, Arie told Becca that he wanted to break off the engagement to pursue his interests with Lauren.
Becca responded with “are you f*cking kidding me?” before storming off from the situation to cry in the bathroom, telling Arie that she “hopes he finds what he wants”.
This is how you knock on a bathroom door when someone is throwing up or has diarrhea, not when you just broke off your engagement #thebachelor pic.twitter.com/gWMoujfWfL
— Michelle Collins (@michcoll) March 6, 2018
Shocking Confirmation
Next, during the “After the Final Rose” episode that follows immediately after the final, Arie confirmed that he and Becca were no longer together, before dropping a further bombshell.
The professional race driver admitted that he had successfully rekindled his romance with runner-up Lauren, leaving social media to raise their middle finger and shout “WTF!”
https://twitter.com/_annieross_/status/970913289243783168
A Tearful Ending
While it was Lauren who experienced the initial hardship of not winning Arie’s love, the cruel twist in fate saw Becca face the axe, and she described the breakup as “brutal”.
Arie tried to calm down the raging audience to explain the drastic change of heart while there is a two-hour continuation of the show airing on ABC tomorrow night (U.S time).
It’s expected that Arie will go into further detail on how he messed everything up so badly, although we are all pretty certain the damage is done.