‘The Bachelor’ Finale Recap: Who Does Joey Graziadei Choose?

Katie Campione
·5 min read
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SPOILER ALERT! This post contains details from the Season 28 finale of The Bachelor.

The time has come! Joey Graziadei is an engaged man.

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Monday night’s finale has all the answers we’ve been waiting for this season. Who does Joey propose to? And why was he crying on the beach during (before? after?) his engagement? The episode includes all that and more, but audiences have to strap in for a whopping three hours to get there.

It’s also time for Daisy and Kelsey A. to meet Joey’s family. Daisy is up first, and she comes across exactly as she has all season — genuine and kind and loving. Joey’s sisters think they’re seem in love, and Daisy is really eager to get their approval.

Daisy tells his sisters that she is finally ready to tell Joey that she loves him and she is prepared to say yes to a proposal, which is good news for the sisters. She also has a great conversation with his mom, admitting she was pretty closed off at the beginning of the process but she’s come around with Joey and thinks he’s worth risking her heart for.

When Joey talks to his sisters, he says that he’s struggling with the idea of hurting someone at the end of this, since he cares for both Daisy and Kelsey. But, of course, he’s got to choose. And fast!

First, Kelsey needs to meet the fam. Joey lights up just talking about her, and he says he’s excited to see if she fits in with everyone.

Kelsey’s conversation with Joey’s sister doesn’t go over as well. They seem to really like her, but she admits that she’s not really on a timeline to get married, and her sisters get a bit worried about that — knowing that Joey is scared he would propose to someone who isn’t ready to marry him. They tell Joey about the differences in their responses, and Joey seems a bit nervous about Kelsey’s response.

Meanwhile, she does seem to win over his parents. She cries talking about the possibility of getting chosen by Joey at the end of the process. She says she is struggling with the idea of either her or Daisy’s heart getting broken, because Daisy is also her good friend, but she ultimately can see a future with Joey and is hoping he does too.

Overall, a positive experience for both women. Now, Joey gets to spend a little more time with each of them before making his decision.

Daisy’s final date is up first, and she and Joey do a bit of a spiritual cleansing to kick things off. It wouldn’t be a season of The Bachelor without a sauna moment. Pilot Pete, anyone? Their experience is more awkward because Daisy is in her head and is contemplating telling Joey that she loves him, but she tells the producers that she thinks he’s not sure of her. At one point, Joey tells her that he wants the best for her, even if it’s not the two of them at the end, but that just sends her into more of a spiral.

During the nighttime portion of the date, Daisy chooses to have a better mindset about things and not think about the fact that Kelsey is still in the picture. She finally tells Joey that she loves him, and he doesn’t really give her much in return. The way he speaks about their relationship starts to make her think he isn’t thinking about a future with her. But again, she’s choosing to think positively.

For the record, Joey says in his confessional that he still has no idea what he’s going to do or who he’s going to choose.

On to Kelsey’s final date…The first half of their day is all about relaxation. They give each other massages and spend a ton of alone time together. That night, they share an intimate dinner where Joey brings up the conversation she had with his sisters when she said she thought she was ready for an engagement. Kelsey reiterates that she is sure about him, which seems to ease his mind. Overall, their date goes a lot smoother than his date with Daisy, and they both seem to be on the same page.

Just like that, it’s proposal day! Before she makes her way down to the beach, Daisy stops by Kelsey’s room. They check in with one another, and Daisy asks Kelsey for some details about how her final week with Joey went. Kelsey talks highly of her week with Joey, but Daisy tells Kelsey that she felt “off” after her date and didn’t receive any validation from Joey. Daisy starts to think she shouldn’t feel this way leading up to the proposal.

In a shocking turn of events, the women show up to the beach together. Yes, you read that right. The live audience gasped as the camera revealed Kelsey and Daisy inside the SUV on the way to Joey, sitting next to each other with their hands interlaced.

Thankfully, they don’t walk down the sand together. Daisy is first, which Bachelor Nation knows usually means she isn’t the one. Ultimately, Daisy is the one to end things. She tells Joey she loves him, “but the thing is, you’re not going to choose me.” She says she realized over the last few days that she isn’t his person, and they both know it. The admission makes them both cry, as well as everyone in the studio audience. And that, dear readers, is why Joey is crying as the SUV drives away.

Kelsey is standing by the car waiting to comfort her, and Daisy tells Kelsey that her mom is looking down on her so excited to see her engaged. It’s a really beautiful moment that doesn’t generally happen on this show between the final two women.

Joey proposes to Kelsey, and even though she’s pretty sure where it’s going the moment she approaches him, she lets him get the first (and last) word. Kelsey gets the ring, and the final rose.

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