‘The Bachelor’ Finale Ends In Proposal—And An Absolutely Gut-Wrenching Rejection

Grab your hankies, “Bachelor” fans! Monday night’s finale was even more emotional than expected.

After 10 weeks of playing the reality TV dating field and saying hello to 30 contestants before saying goodbye to 28 of them, Zach Shallcross finally got down on one knee and proposed to one of the two finalists on the Season 27 ender.

But who he proposed to might come as a surprise to anyone who paid attention to the love-match drama on the previous episode—even if it didn’t come as a surprise to the woman who walked away with plenty of tears and no ring.

After all, just last week, the show’s leading man stumbled his way through the Fantasy Suite dates, first promising to keep sex “off the table” before proceeding to put it right in the middle of the table with Gabi Elnicki, and then awkwardly telling Kaity Biggar all about it.

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So, obviously, Elnicki, a 25-year-old account executive, seemed like a safe bet to get his final rose, right? Well…

Even she wasn’t so sure about that, kicking off the finale with concerns that Shallcross might have regretted their earlier night of passion. But he assured her he didn’t, not even a little, which gave her some measure of confidence before going on to meet his family.

But Biggar, a 27-year-old ER nurse, seemed confident meeting his family, too, and she hit it off with them just as much as Elnicki did. So who was in the lead in the race for Shallcross’ heart? The leading man claimed that he didn’t know, and that’s exactly what put Elnicki on edge.

In one scene, as she professed her absolute love for him, he seemed to hedge, telling her he was truly torn about who he would choose, and adding, “I want you to know how serious I’m taking this.”

Immediately after that Elnicki said that he didn’t allay any of her fears, which is why she headed to her big moment with Shallcross, the one where she’d find out if he had a ring for her or not, with a “gut feeling” it wouldn’t go her way.

Shallcross shared some sweet words for her as they stood before each other, but as soon as he demeanor changed and he words stared to sound sympathetic, Elnicki said she knew what was about to happen and asked him to stop.

He didn’t.

“I don’t want to hear it,” she pleaded of the breakup moment, unable to hide her pain.

Shallcross walked her back to her car, and offered up a quiet “sorry,” to which she firmly told him, “I don’t need an apology. I don’t want it and I don’t need it.”

The most heartbreaking part of it, happened when Elnicki finally had a moment alone in the car and completely broke down.

“That was f—-ing humiliating,” she said with tears streaming down her face. “I’ve been strung along now this entire time. For what?! What really pisses me off is I f—cking knew. I knew. When your gut speaks, you should listen to it. I stuck around thinking, maybe it’s all the things you fear, maybe it’s all the things you hate about yourself, maybe it’s not your gut. No, your gut’s always right.”

It got worse as the ride continued and Elnicki berated herself amid her grief.

“I put my heart out there again, and once again, I’m not good enough,” she cried. “If I were, I would not be here. I’m so unlovable for whatever f—-ing reason. There’s something wrong with me.”

And it was after all of that transpired that fans of series were left trying to find a way to feel happy for the other finalist, as she approached Shallcross to find out her fate.

“Now I’ve been faced with an impossible decision. It’s been really hard, and I can no longer say that I’m falling in love with you,” he told her, taking a longer-than-necessary pause to gain a reality TV fake-out moment. “Because Kaitlyn, I am so in love with you. You are my world. The love I feel for you is something I could never imagine.”

Cue the knee drop, the ring and a big “absolutely” from Kaity.