This could end up being the MOST DRAMATIC finale ever...Chris says they are ready to do the wedding on After the Final Rose. On the "Women Tell All", Ben said he was ready to get married "tomorrow" to the girl he proposed to. So, we'll see! Ben's pastor and both his family and her (no spoiler) family are all there.
We start the night off back in Jamaica. The girls recap where they're at. Long story short: they both feel amazing that Ben told them that he loves them. They both are on the same page with Ben. JoJo has 0 doubts and she feels the best she ever has. Meanwhile, Ben's head is a mess. He's in love with 2 women and he doesn't know what he's going to do. He can picture a life with both of them. He meant what he said to both of them. He doesn't see how he can propose to one while still being in love with the other one.
Ben prepares his parents for meeting Lauren and JoJo and the fact that he is in love with both of them. His mom was very worried about this.
Meet the Parents: Lauren
Ben and Lauren shared a funny story about how Lauren off-handedly said she wanted to meet his parents...on their first date. Ben was telling her about them and they sounded great, and before she knew what she had said, she was like "oh shoot".
Lauren told his dad that she is very much in love with Ben and she has never been with someone who makes her so happy. His dad asked if she was ready to be married to Ben, and she said she is. Ben's mom asked her if she's seen the side of him where he is his own worst critic. She said she has and they've talked about it, and how they both were kind of feeling the same things. His mom said he can be intense and it takes a patient person to work through that with him. She said she feels like she is ready to do that with him.
Lauren told Ben that meeting his parents, she is now fully ready to get engaged. She feels confident that Ben is the person she is meant to spend the rest of her life with.
Meet the Parents: JoJo
JoJo was really nervous, but she didn't waste any time in telling both of his parents that she was so happy to be there and meet the 2 people who made such an incredible guy, who she is in love with.
Ben's dad asks her what it is about Ben. She said there was a lot. She said he's everything she's ever wanted in someone. She said she loves him very much and there will never be a day that he won't know that. She told his mom that there is nothing that would make her want to be with anyone else. She said Ben telling her that he loves her was the best day of her life. Being with Ben makes her feel safe - his mom said that he said the exact same thing about her. JoJo got a little emotional talking to each of them and she said she really doesn't want to lose him.
JoJo asked Ben if he was at a place with either her or Lauren that he would want to propose, because that's where she's at. Ben shook his head no, but he said "yes". Um...confusing much? I don't know that she noticed that because she said she feels like they are on the same page, and she's never been so sure about the 2 of them.
I have to say that I've been way more #TeamLauren than #TeamJoJo, but I was impressed with her today. I saw a lot of really compatible things between them, and I saw Ben being more into JoJo than I've seen on other dates. Ben's parents love both of them. His mom said that choosing either of them she wouldn't be disappointed. She's still worried that he doesn't know which one he wants and just hopes he makes the right decision.
Final Date: Lauren
For some reason, Ben's already on the boat, and Lauren is on a raft bringing her to Ben's boat. That was kind of odd.
Lauren could tell that Ben was stressed and has a lot on his mind. She asked if he had any doubts about her. He said she's been absolutely perfect since the beginning. He said that's great, but he gets nervous when things seem too good to be true. He knew he loved her very early on, but he didn't know why and it freaked him out. With Lauren being so perfect and all their dates being so perfect, he doesn't know what life looks like when things could get hard.
She's nervous because of what things he might be thinking about. She doesn't know where his relationship stands with JoJo. She said she feels afraid, but she is at peace. He said he left the day portion of their date a little confused. She tried to get him to put into words any doubts he had. He didn't really have any questions he could ask her. He said no matter what happens, she's made him a better person and she made this whole thing worth it. Wow, he really feels like he's almost preparing her to dump her. Lauren is getting scared because she thinks he might love JoJo too.
Final Date: JoJo
Ben said he has not taken a step back with Lauren, JoJo has just caught up. He's felt something for Lauren since night 1, and it just took a little longer to get there with JoJo. I've really noticed a difference in their relationship. He actually seems more excited to see JoJo than Lauren. Maybe it's just the fact that he keeps saying over and over that he can be more himself with her than anyone.
They took a jeep ride through the country and went to "the blue hole". The water in this little lagoon was so blue and pretty!
JoJo brought up the future and where they were going to end up since they live in different cities. She said she would do whatever it takes to make their relationship work. She asked him if he felt good. She got worried when he couldn't answer "yes". She wanted him to share with her what he was feeling. He said it's probably what she thinks, but she wanted him to say it. He admitted that his mind is in 1000 different places and it's hard. That scared her and it blew her mind that he didn't have his mind made up. She thought they were on the same page and for the first time now, she's worried and doesn't know where they stand. She doesn't know what he could be confused about. She doesn't want to end up looking like a fool. She doesn't see how someone else's relationship with him could top theirs.
In the evening portion of her date, she told him how nervous and confused she was about their earlier conversation. She hated bringing it up again, but he said he wanted to tell her these things because he values their relationship that much to be honest. She wonders what he struggling with in their relationship. She wanted him to be totally honest. He said he wished he could find something wrong with either relationship and he can't find one. He said that would make things easier, but he can't find anything wrong or to be concerned about. He told her that she has become his best friend in a matter of 2 months.
She can tell he's doing everything he can to try to not make her worried, but she just wants a sign to let her know if it's her or not. She knows he can't fully tell her how he's feeling out of respect for Lauren. She pulled him into the bathroom and whispered to him that she needs something from him. He said he's telling her exactly where he's at. She asked if he loves her (Lauren) too, and he said he did. She asked if he's told her that, and he said he did. She said she feels foolish and thought they had something special, but apparently they don't. She wants it to be just them and she doesn't want to have to compete with someone else.
Ben left feeling horrible. He hates that he's causing the women he loves to feel so concerned and confused. He said he just feels lost.
The Final Decision
He hoped that he would have a moment of clarity when he woke up, but he didn't. I find it a little odd that he knows he's still going to propose and he's picking out a ring when he's still not sure which one it's going to be. How can you pick out a ring when you don't know which one you're picking it out for? OK good, he now admits that he knows which one it's going to be. Whew!
The choice - with JoJo, things might not always be easy, but it will always be real - she makes him a better person. With Lauren, they haven't experienced anything difficult in their relationship yet so he doesn't know how she will handle it. However, he loves her and has seen it with her from the beginning.
For the girls - obviously they both love him, they both see him as their husband and they are both terrified of losing him. Someone's about to be the happiest woman in the world, and the other one is going to be devastated beyond belief.
The Proposal
This might be a first...instead of arriving in a limo, it's a helicopter.
JoJo arrives first. She trusts him and she hopes that he won't blindside her on a day like today. She begins talking about their relationship and how much she loves him. I really wish he would have started talking first and just let her down from the get-go. If she would stop talking and look at him, I'm sure she could pick up on the fact that he's not super excited. He looks worried and contemplating what he's going to say. He tells her that everything with them has always been real. He said he found love with her, but....he found it with someone else more. He said he doesn't want to let go because he doesn't want to say goodbye. She was truly shocked. He said he doesn't question whether he loves her or not. OK Ben, this would be the time to maybe stop talking because this is not going to make her feel any better. He said he's always been honest. She said she is so confused and blindsided and she doesn't know what to say. She asked when it went wrong and he said it never did. She said she trusted him and he should have never told her that he loved her. She was able to hug him and tell him she was happy for him. This is just so heartbreaking...
Ben said JoJo didn't deserve to leave this way. He said she was always the one who supported him and comforted him when things got hard. His relationship with her is what made his decision so hard. He said he could have married JoJo and been really happy, but he loves Lauren with everything he has and he can't lose her.
We saw in the promos that Ben made an important phone call. I thought it was probably to his parents because they have been an important part of his journey. However, he was actually calling Lauren's dad to get his blessing! He passed with flying colors and her dad said he has his blessing and the blessing of the whole family.
His proposal was beautiful, let's just leave it at that. And how cute is it that they still use the Grey's Anatomy reference of "you're my person". Too cute.
After the Final Rose
Funny how Chris goes from saying there could be a wedding to wondering if Ben has doubts about his choice.
JoJo and Ben were reunited for the first time since that gut-wrenching day. Ben said he will never regret having her in his life. She said it was hard watching it, but it kind of helped her to see that it was so hard for him (not meant in a bad way). She seems to be in a really good place even knowing how much she loved him. She said the way he left things with her, he said he loved her and couldn't imagine his life without her so she was confused and that's all she had to think about for weeks. She said watching the show helped and she could see why he chose Lauren. She said she could clearly tell that he looked at Lauren differently. Ben still respects her so much. Chris tried to get him to say that he still loved her. He said he's in a different place now and he does still care for her a lot. She said she's moved on and is at peace with where things are.
She asked him what the deciding factor was for him. He said he couldn't picture his life without Lauren.
Lauren joins Ben for the first time publicly. Lauren said she is moving to Denver. When asked about wedding plans, Lauren said she doesn't want a long engagement, but she does want some dating time.
Chris puts Ben on the spot with what he said on Women Tell All. Ben's pastor comes out. Ben says "Honey...?" I knew there was no way they were going to do it. Ben said they owed it to each other to do it right and with their friends and everyone. But...Ben surprises Lauren with bringing her family out. Wait, is this going to happen after all? Close, but instead, Ben decided to propose to her again in front of her family and his family.
The end of the show was unlike any ending to a season. With the family there, the pastor and everything. Ben made a public statement of appreciation to how great Bachelor Nation has been to him. I don't think it's much of a stretch to say that Ben probably was the best Bachelor they've ever had. There have been some good ones, but Ben has been the most my type and he just seems to be such a great guy. The girls just can't say enough good things about him. And just in case you're wondering just how compatible I am with him, here was my result on the BuzzFeed quiz:
Bachelorette Announcement: the new Bachelorette is...........JoJo
All early signs were leading to it being Caila. She even filmed her intro a few weeks ago in Ohio. According to RealitySteve, (who just got wind of this a few days ago), they changed their minds at the last minute. It's kind of not normal for them to pick the runner-up. Many, many of the previous Bachelorettes were chosen from the final 3 or 4 finishers. Before tonight, I wasn't that crazy about JoJo and wasn't really excited to see her be the Bachelorette. However, I'm not sure what has changed, but I like her a lot better than I did before. Caila would have been an interesting choice, but I'm not really sure she could handle being the one in control. I just don't know that she has the maturity and the right personality to be the lead.
JoJo's season starts on May 23. Following that, Bachelor in Paradise will air during the summer.
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