Chris Harrison and Becca Kufrin; ABC/Paul Hebert(NEW YORK) — On Tuesday night, the second part of a special two-night Bachelor season finale, a live two-hour event brought Arie Luyendyk Jr. back on stage to face the final two contestants, Lauren Burnham and Becca Kufrin, so they could talk about why he did what he did and how that made them feel. And at the end of the show, the new Bachelorette was revealed.
Host Chris Harrison also welcomed some familiar faces from this season, including Bekah, Caroline, Tia, Seinne and Kendall.
After a brief review of Monday night’s events, we saw Becca go home while Arie went to find Lauren and see if they could get back together: “So, I came here today because I want a second chance and I love you very much and I want you back.”
They kissed and Lauren took Arie back, telling him, “I love you, too. Just so you’re aware, I know you think I’m, like, freaked out by engagement and everything, but I’m hoping that that doesn’t take that much longer.”
After a break, Chris brought Arie out to face Becca. Becca asked Arie when he knew he wanted to go back to Lauren. He said it came from reaching out to her for closure and after talking to her, but he kept it from Becca.
“Yeah, I mean I do regret — regret proposing that day because I wasn’t fully ready,” Arie said.
So Becca asked him, “Then why did you?
Arie blamed the pressure of being The Bachelor. Becca responded, “But you always have a choice, and you didn’t need to make that choice.”
Arie agreed: “That is totally on me. I have no excuse for that. I apologize for that.”
Finally, Becca forgave him and when the show returned from commercial, Lauren came out to join Arie on the couch. Lauren said she returned from Peru around Thanksgiving and Arie reached out to her through Instagram on New Year’s Eve.
They talked about their difficulties but said they were in love with each other. When asked about the social media firestorm against Arie, he said it didn’t matter because he was here now, and Lauren has his heart and he has hers.
Later, Arie stood up and and proposed, to which a flustered Lauren said, “Definitely.”
After the break, Chris announced the new Bachelorette…and lo and behold, it’s Becca! She told Chris Harrison that once she got over her heartbreak with Arie, “At the end of the day, the show is about finding love. That’s all I want to do..”
Then, in a surprise twist, Chris told her that filming for The Bachelorette is “starting now.” A mock set of the mansion was constructed and Becca stood ready to meet five of her new suitors: Lincoln, Chase Ferguson, Ryan, Darius and Blake.
The Bachelorette premieres May 28th on ABC.
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