The Bachelor finale recap: Zach goes from 'freak-out mode' to picking a fiancée
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We made it, rose lovers! Tonight, Zach's "incredibly emotional" journey ended with a proposal to the woman we all pretty much thought he'd choose. And based on what we saw on The Bachelor: After the Final Rose Rose, the happy couple is still happy… for now.
Let's recap!
We begin in the Tealight Candle Thunderdome, where host Jesse Palmer makes a brief nod to "the tragic events in Nashville" — vote for common sense gun laws, everybody! — and then gets things moving. First up, it's time for Zach's third runner-up, Ariel, to hit the stage and share her thoughts on her goodbye with Zach and his whole Fantasy Suite week debacle. No surprise: She looks incredible.
ABC Ariel graces the Tealight Candle Thunderdome stage
Looking back on her breakup with Zach, Ariel says that though she "emotionally shut down," she also tried to "keep composure" and "display gratitude" to the Bachelor for their relationship. It wasn't until she got in the van that all of the emotions of the split hit her. Of course, at the time of said breakup, Ariel had no idea that Zach had broken his vow of chastity and then confessed the blunder to Kaity. Rose lovers, when Ariel saw the episode, she did NOT love it.
"I'm really hurt. It really hurts to find everything out on TV when everyone else does with a partner that you've shared so many intimate moments with," she tells the host. "I was really disappointed in the way the whole week was handled." You and the rest of Bachelor Nation, ma'am!
Palmer announces that Ariel is going to have her chance to talk to Zach about all of his Fantasy Suite failings… right now! I'm surprised we don't have to wait until later in this three-hour ordeal to see Zach face the music. Please welcome the Bachelor to the stage!
ABC Ariel and Zach
Ariel greets her ex with a cheeky joke: "It's good to see you again. I'm sure you just came off a 30-minute shower scene." But that's where the fun and games end. She prefaces her speech with a few pleasantries ("I look back on our relationship with such gratitude") and then launches into a full-scale takedown. "It was really difficult to see that you weren't honest with me. I committed to being in an open relationship" — reader, when she said this, I squealed with delight — "and when the parameters of an open relationship change, I should be the first to know."
She goes on to scold the Bachelor for having "ample time" to tell her about what happened with Gabi, but still neglecting to do so. "I just really want to know why the other women were given grace and honesty," Ariel continues, "and why I wasn't given that grace?"
The audience bursts into "you go, girl!" applause before Zach can begin his answer. When he is finally allowed to speak, the Bachelor says he "absolutely" looks back on Fantasy Suite week with regret. "You're right, I should have told you, probably first," he says. "I do owe it to you, an apology, for not telling you at all, and that's on me… There's no excuse for it." Ariel agrees. "You owed me so much more than that," she says. "I think by putting sex off the table, you made the entire week about sex, and it didn't need to be like that."
Read him, Ariel! Read him for filth!
"I just want you to understand that you took away my agency in that night and that conversation," she says. "If you had waited, you'd have found out I was on the same page as you." More applause for Ariel. The crowd is loving this dressing down, but eventually Ariel and Zach bring their conversation to an amicable conclusion. "I'm not here to drag you through the mud. I'm not here to make you feel worse," she says. (Could have fooled us, honey!) In fact, Ariel wants Zach to know that she still looks back on their relationship "fondly."
With that, it's time to head back to Krabi, Thailand for the final leg of Zach's "journey." Heading into this proposal week, our Bachelor has to deal with the fact that his final two women, Kaity and Gabi, are still mad at him for fumbling Fantasy Suites. "I want to try to fix and alleviate the mistake I made," says Zach. Sir, don't you mean mistakes, plural? You vowed not to have sex with anyone (1), then broke that vow by sleeping with Gabi (2), and then made both women feel bad by telling Kaity what happened (3). Can't wait to see how he explains this mess to his family.
ABC Zach and his family
"We don't need details!" says Megan, Zach's mom, when he begins to explain what happened during overnight dates. He does not go into specifics; instead, he tells the family that he "tried to do something that was trying to help everyone out and it didn't. It honestly bit me in the ass."
That it did, sir. Before bringing in his first potential wife, Gabi, Zach tells the family that he does not have "a clear path" in his mind as to which woman to choose.
Little does Zach know that Gabi isn't even sure if she wants to meet the family. The Bachelor's speech at the rose ceremony — in which he talked about feeling like a "failure" — did not sit well with her. "Hearing his overall takeaways of regret, disappointment, failure, I felt like I was in The Scarlet Letter," says Gabi. "I want to make sure that his feelings toward me haven't changed… It feels like there's some regret there."
For that reason, Gabi wants to speak to Zach before going inside to meet the family. She needs to let him know that his rose ceremony speech sent her into a spiral. "I'm feeling blindsided and that I feel like I've committed some sort of crime."
To that end, Gabi sits Zach down and asks if she's the reason he felt like a failure. He tries to assure her that isn't the case, saying that the failure was all his in setting up unrealistic "rules" about Fantasy Suite week. "Like, it's nothing with, like, us," he says. "Seriously." It's not enough to make Gabi feel better. "I'm feeling very guilty, because I feel like I was an accessory in a crime," she says. "I felt like I was in the f---ing Scarlet Letter, if I'm being honest."
ABC Gabi gets to the point.
"No!" Zach replies. "No, not at all!" The Bachelor really, really wants Gabi to know that she is not the cause of any pain. In fact: "In my heart, like, it's love. I want you to know that."
Wait, so did he just essentially tell Gabi that he loves her? It sure sounds like it. No surprise, then, that Gabi feels "a lot better" about her standing with Zach and is now excited to meet the family.
Zach's dad, Chapman, pulls Gabi for a chat first. (Unrelated: I sure hope poor Chap was able to get his retirement money back from that busted crypto bank.) Initially, Gabi does most of the talking; she goes on about how important family is to her, how excited she is to (potentially) be a part of their family, and how she hopes to have a marriage of partnership like the one her parents share.
Chap says his relationship with Megan was built on the hard times, like when Zach was born, and the hospital told them he was not going to survive. "I was a father who had no idea what to do, but what I did know was that I loved my wife," says Chap. "This was going to be tough times, and we had to get through it."
ABC Chap and Gabi
From there, Gabi sits with Zach's sisters, Payton and Sammy. "I had my reservations about him going on the show last season and of course this season," says Sammy, adding that she worries about Zach because he's always so busy "filling everybody else's cup" that he doesn't always make the time to care for himself. "I come from more of a protective sister background." Sammy starts to tear up, as does Gabi when she tells Zach's sisters how in love she is with their big brother.
The visit goes smoothly — so smoothly, in fact, that Gabi feels comfortable telling Zach "I am in love with you" after it's all over. "I didn't realize it until I was in there talking to your sisters," she adds. And he LOVES it.
ABC Zach and Gabi
What a comeback story, rose lovers! From The Scarlet Letter to "I love you" smooches.
Somehow, Kaity might be picking up on those "happily ever after" vibes between Gabi and Zach. It's the morning of her meeting with Zach's family, and Kaity says she's really "in my head" about everything that happened during Fantasy Suite week. "I'm being very cautious with my heart," she admits. "I'm just going to be me and hopefully that's enough."
Megan, Chap, Sammy, and Payton greet Kaity with the same warm hugs they gave to Gabi. Everyone has a big smile on their face except Payton, who doesn't show her teeth to just anyone.
ABC Sammy and Payton
I respect it.
Megan, who says that Zach and Kaity's interactions "seem very natural," pulls the ER nurse aside for the first one-on-one chat of the day. She wants to know how Kaity "processes" the fact that she's in competition with another woman for Zach's heart. "It's not, um…" Kaity pauses and starts to cry. "I don't know why I get emotional." Megan goes full mom and pulls the poor woman in for a hug.
ABC Megan and Kaity
"It's okay to be emotional," she assures Kaity. "This is huge. You put your life on hold, and you took this huge risk to look for love, and it's okay." Producers probably ran immediately to Sammy and Payton and were like, "Ask Kaity how she'll feel if Zach doesn't choose her!" — and that's exactly what they do. Once again, Kaity gets so emotional she can barely answer. "It would be very tough, obviously," she begins, before choking up. "I honestly didn't think that I could find somebody so amazing?"
The sisters seem pleased with Kaity's answers. Payton even smiles a few times! Chap sits down with Kaity next, and he reiterates what he said to Gabi. "It is my strong belief that relationships aren't made in good times," he says. "They're made in bad times." Kaity explains that she didn't have a strong parental unit to look up to as she was growing up — and once again, she starts to cry. Chap isn't fazed. He reveals that his own father wasn't someone he could "model after," but he says it made him the man and father he is today.
"It was a really good conversation with Chap," says Kaity. "I could absolutely see him being a dad to me." She had no trouble telling Zach's dad that she's in love with his son, so now it's time for Kaity to tell Zach himself.
ABC Kaity puts it all out there
"Oh, my God," gushes Zach, before leaning in for a smooch.
Welp, it's time for the Last Chance dates. Zach says he's "still torn" over which woman to choose. "They're both so different," he says. "It's literally the hardest decision that I'll have to make."
Kaity goes first, and she meets the Bachelor in the middle of a lush national park in Krabi. No one told Kaity they were going to be hiking, however, so now she's forced to pick her way through the rocky trails in flat sandals.
ABC Kaity and Zach
Later that night, they snuggle in Kaity's hotel room and talk about the week ahead. "It's tough," she says. "It's going to be hard decision for you. I've gotten to know Gabi and she's an unreal girl… I can't imagine the position you're in." That said, Kaity wants Zach to know that she's really, really hoping that she won't have to experience "heartache" again. "I hope that I can be somebody that makes you happy for the rest of your life." The Bachelor says he's "trying to figure this out," which isn't a particularly comforting thing to say, of course. Kaity is left feeling scared and unsure.
ABC Kaity is sad
If it's any consolation, honey, Zach isn't going to give Gabi anything to hang onto either. "Right at this moment, I am not sure who I'll be getting on one knee for," says the Bachelor. "I hope that my heart's leading me in the right way." He and Gabi meet up for a lovely horseback ride through the jungle — though it does take Zach a few minutes to earn his horse's trust. Gabi, however, is one with her ride almost instantly.
ABC Why the long face?
It also takes a few minutes for the engineers at ABC to fix the sound, which suddenly cut out at the beginning of Gabi and Zach's Last Chance date. After an extended commercial break, the technical glitch is fixed, and the Bachelor and his date arrive at the beach. They frolic and make out in the surf, and Gabi is feeling super confident about Proposal Day. "I'm ready for all of this to be done, and it's scary for me," says Gabi, as she and Zach sip champagne on the sand. "But am I so excited for us to, like, start our lives together hopefully? Yeah." Everything is going great. And then…
ABC The three words every woman wants to hear
"I don't know where I'm going to be fully in two days," Zach continues. "But I feel so good that the right thing is going to happen." Do I even need to tell you, rose lovers, that Gabi does NOT love it? She sits up and sips her champagne in silence. Once in her confessional, she vents her anger: "I was doing just fine until he was like, 'I have a very tough decision.' Well make the f---ing decision! I was feeling great until then." Now, Gabi adds, she has a gut feeling.
ABC Gabi has a feeling
Aw, man. Poor thing. You ARE enough, Gabi! Don't let Zach or any other guy tell you different. (But if you can't love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else?)
Still, Gabi pulls it together for the evening portion of the Last Chance date in her hotel suite. Zach arrives and asks her how she's doing, and Gabi does her best to share her feelings diplomatically. "I guess I just thought, or hoped, that your heart would maybe lead you more one way or the other way," she says. "It's really scary to think about what if you're not the one?"
There's nothing the Bachelor can really do to make it clear to Gabi that she is, in fact, still in the running. "Just know that I wouldn't be here right now, going this far, if I wasn't sure that there was a future with us," he says. "I truly hope you know that." Gabi's like, Okay, then why haven't you made a decision yet? (I'm paraphrasing.) Zach doesn't have an answer for her. "I'm trying so hard to figure this out," he says, choking up. "I'm sorry, but… I'm trying to figure it out."
Man, this show has done more to debunk the "we all have one true soulmate" myth than logic or cynicism ever could. Zach could probably have a perfectly nice relationship — maybe even a marriage — with either woman. I'm not sure he's going to have the "A-ha!" moment he's clearly hoping for. Before heading out for the night, the Bachelor reiterates to Gabi that he's "falling in love" with her and that he can "absolutely" see a future with her. But Gabi is not convinced.
"All of my fears were not relieved," she says in her confessional. Her voice is barely above a whisper. "He can say he's falling in love, but if his heart is in two places, he's also falling in love with Kaity."
Indeed, he is! The Bachelor says every part of his body is "in freak-out mode" as he struggles to make a final choice. Sleep well, buddy. You'll most likely have a fiancée in the morning.
And we're back in the Tealight Candle Thunderdome. "Apologies for the technical difficulties earlier," says Palmer. "But don't worry, because you didn't miss anything — except for another shot of Zach in the shower." Good one, Jesse! Before we can move on to Proposal Day, we must honor a time-honored Bachelor finale tradition: Inviting former franchise stars on stage to share their thoughts-slash-kill some time! Please welcome, Sean and Catherine Lowe.
ABC Catherine and Sean Lowe
Awww, these two are adorable. (Side note: Did you know there are currently 31 Bachelor Nation couples who are still together?) Sean and Catherine are Bachelor "royalty," as Palmer says, but that does not mean I care AT ALL what they think about Zach's "journey." I'm just gonna skip over this part, rose lovers. (That said, I do agree with Sean's assessment of how Zach handled Fantasy Suite week: "Terribly.")
Proposal Day has arrived! As both women get glammed up, Zach heads out to pick a ring from… Jesse Palmer???
ABC Jesse Palmer fills in for Neil Lane
"Obviously, Neil Lane couldn't make it today," says the host. "But I am going to help you pick out a beautiful ring." Wow, Neil Lane must have had a true emergency if he passed up a chance to be on television. Godspeed, buddy.
Having picked out a rock, Zach heads to the Proposal Platform™ where he must crush one woman's dreams before proposing to another. As viewers, we know that the first woman to get out of the SUV is the one who's going to get dumped — and in this case, the woman in said SUV knows it, too.
ABC Put down a mat or something!
"That's a really muddy spot! Y'all shouldn't pull in right there," says Gabi, scolding some off-camera producers. "When it actually matters, when Kaity arrives, don't do that to her." Looking resplendent in yellow, Gabi makes her way down the muddy path to where Palmer is waiting. "How you feelin'?" he asks. Gabi smiles wistfully and is silent for a second before answering.
ABC Gabi's gut has feelings
Awww, man. Poor Gabi. And it's even worse that she must stand there and listen to Zach's obligatory Rejection Preamble™, where he says a bunch of nice things about their relationship before pulling the plug. "All of our moments have been life changing, and there's so much I love and adore about you," says the Bachelor. "Falling in love with you has made me a better man…" You know what's coming next, rose lovers.
ABC The dreaded "but"
Ooof. "I know," whispers Gabi. "You don't have to say it." And yet, Zach keeps going. "As much as I was falling in love with you…"
Gabi cuts him off. "I don't want to hear it!" she cries, her voice tight with emotion. And yet… Zach! Keeps! Going! "You deserve a man who picks you every day…"
ABC Don't make her ask a third time, dude!
For the love of God, man, SHUT THE FUDGE UP! It's Gabi's turn to talk now.
"I knew it was coming. I've known it was coming," she says, wiping away tears. "What I don't know is why you wouldn't tell me when you knew." Zach insists that he didn't make the decision "fully" until the night before, in bed. She doesn't buy it, and I don't blame her. "You've known," she snaps. "You've known. You've known. You've known!" Even in the midst of her devastation, Gabi wishes Zach well and says Kaity is "a really special person."
As they walk back to the Reject Van, Gabi tells Zach that he can save his apologies and his promises not to forget their times together. "I don't need you to say that, Zach," she says, waving him off. "I'll find love somewhere, somehow. It's okay." Yes, you will, Gabi! Maybe not as the next Bachelorette — but there's always season 21?
Once in the SUV, Gabi takes off her torture heels and just lets loose. "That was f---ing humiliating! I've been strung along now this entire f---ing time, for what?" She begins beating herself up for not listening to her gut and leaving when it became clear to her that Zach was going to choose Kaity. "Your gut's always right," she says tearfully. "Yet again, I'm not good enough. If I were, I wouldn't be here… There's something wrong with me!"
There, there, honey. There's something wrong with all of us. But you are not unlovable. Your other half is out there, and you will find him. Zach freaking Shallcross is not the be-all and end-all of romantic options, I promise.
We cut right from that tearful ride in the Reject SUV to this shot of a tearful Gabi in the Thunderdome:
ABC Gabi takes the stage
"How are you feeling in this moment watching that back?" Palmer asks, even though it is freaking obvious how she feels. "It's honestly worse watching it back," says Gabi, "because you feel those emotions and… I don't even have words right now. It just hurts, because I had a little bit of hope going into that day, and I never thought that someone who said they were falling in love with me would make me go through that."
And by "that" Gabi means the final day of filming, which consists of prepping a Proposal Day speech and going through "hours and hours and hours of interviews," and so on. "You spend all morning waiting and waiting and waiting," Gabi continues. "And I remember having the thought in the back of my head, 'Zach would never make you go through this…' I didn't think somebody who cared about me would make me go up there and go through all of that stress and anxiety… I felt humiliated."
Gah, my heart just breaks for this poor woman. Palmer wants her to know that she's currently receiving an outpouring of "love and support" on social media — which is true — but I'm guessing that's pretty cold comfort for her. When it comes time to broach the "sensitive topic" of Fantasy Suite week, Palmer keeps it simple: "How difficult was that week for you?"
Gabi says she felt "so many emotions" during that week — and they weren't all negative. "There were also so many happy moments that I had, and there were so many conversations that Zach and I had that were so important to me," she explains. "I felt very supported by him. In that week I felt so connected to him, and I felt very in love and safe. And we made the decision together because I think we were feeling in love. That's something that for me, it's a part of me that I'll never get back that I shared with him, and it's extremely violating that the entire nation knows everything."
At first, I was like, Okay, but girl… the entire nation was going to know everything no matter what happened! How could they not? It's a television show. Then Palmer brings Zach out to the stage to talk to Gabi for the first time since that brutal breakup, and I'll admit her version of events really changed my perspective.
ABC Gabi and Zach on 'The Bachelor' finale
"I'm sad, I'm hurt, I'm still hurting. I'm hurting even more, honestly," she says. That final day, she continues, "There was so much to our night that wasn't aired. We spent so much time talking about emotional health, mental health, therapy, our own insecurities, and how we both connected on that." The sex "was consensual," she adds, "and we decided it was going to be between us. We said that that night. I remember I was brushing my teeth, you came up behind me, you kissed me on the back of my head, and you said, 'This is just between us.'"
Given all that, Gabi was understandably "blindsided" when Zach came to her hotel room and said he was going to spill the beans to the other women. And here's where things get really gnarly: "What I wish would have happened is that you warned me that you were going to use my name and you were going to tell everyone what had happened," she says. "I didn't know you had told everyone until I watched it last week."
In other words, rose lovers, Gabi thought that Zach was just going to say "I slept with one of the women," or whatever — not that he was going to announce to the whole world that she was the one he had sex with. And she found out BY WATCHING IT ON TV. The audience in the Tealight Candle Thunderdome is SHOOK by this bombshell:
ABC Whaaaat?
Same, lady. And Gabi is not done making Zach feel her pain. "I feel ashamed," she says through tears. "I wish you would have just sent me home and saved me all the pain that just went on and on. I'm living it all over again but way worse than it was when I left Thailand, because I'm seeing it from a different point of view. I just thought it was between us… I get it, like, sex sells, but now I've become a narrative, and it's really painful."
At this point, Palmer interrupts — the live TV clock is ticking, and he wants to give Zach a chance to respond. (Also, I'm sure producers didn't love Gabi's "sex sells" comment, and they were probably yelling in the host's ear to SHUT IT DOWN.) For his part, the Bachelor gives the boilerplate apology he's been reciting since the Fantasy Suite debacle went down. "The way I handled things was completely wrong," he says. "There's no excuse for the way I handled things… The last thing I wanted to do was hurt you like that."
Actually, bro, I think the last thing you wanted to do was put anyone else's needs and feelings ahead of your own — but potato, potahto. Also, I really do think Gabi could make a good Bachelorette in a year, once she's had more time to recover from this emotional beating and develop a deeper sense of self-worth. (Then again, it's probably easier to do that off-camera.)
Now for a truly uncomfortable segue: From a brutal breakup to a romantic proposal! We're back in Thailand for the final leg of Zach's "journey," and he's explaining to us via voiceover how he figured out that Kaity was The One: "I thought of who could I not live without? Who do I want to wake up to every morning? Whose face do I want to see every day?"
Kaity arrives to the Proposal Platform wedding ready in a slinky white cut-out gown. Unlike Gabi, Kaity gives a little speech about how wonderful their relationship is and how he helped her believe in love again. "Zach, every moment I've spent with you, my walls came crumbling down," she says. "With every kiss, with every laugh, and with every 'Hello, hello.' I'm so in love with you… and I want to spend the rest of my life with you."
The feeling is mutual. But Zach must get one last producer-prompted fake-out in before letting her know. "I can no longer say I'm falling in love with you. [absurdly long pause] Because Kaity Lane, I am so in love with you!" Okay, then… put a ring on it!
ABC Kaity and Zach
Her answer is quick. "Absolutely!" In case you were wondering, Kaity also accepts Zach's final rose. Congrats, you crazy kids.
Please welcome Kaity to the Thunderdome stage.
ABC Kaity and Zach
"You both look so in love!" bellows Palmer. "How great does that feel?" Kaity says they've been "counting down the days" until they could go out in public together. Of course, they've had some tough times since production wrapped — specifically, seeing all the Fantasy Suites drama unfold on TV. "It was definitely a tough episode to watch back, I'm not going to sugarcoat that by any means," says Kaity. "Am I ever going to watch that episode again? Nope! Definitely not. Um, but Zach and I have amazing communication, we pride ourselves on that... We have phenomenal communication and loyalty to each other, and we came out stronger."
There are no wedding plans in the works right now, because, as Zach says, he and Kaity are just looking forward to enjoying their time as a couple for a while. They will be moving in together this summer, and for now they're imagining a wedding in 2025 or thereabouts. That's gonna be hard to pull off when they break up in six months. I kid! I'm sure this relationship will last FOREVER.
For some reason, producers thought we'd care how Nate — who was on Gabby and Rachel's season of The Bachelorette with Zach — feels about Zach and Kaity's engagement. We don't, so I'm just going to glide right past that, too. Let's turn our attention to the new Bachelorette. At the top of the show, Palmer promised a preview of Charity's first night on the job, and here it is:
ABC Charity begins her Bachelorette 'journey'
Our queen looks amazing, doesn't she? The preview clip is sort of silly; it turns out that Charity's older brother, a handsome man named Nehemiah, goes undercover as a suitor on night one to get the real skinny on which men are there for the Right Reasons™ and which ones should be taken out with the trash. His disguise is... not great.
ABC Nehemiah goes undercover
Then again, the guys will probably be so focused on themselves that they won't even notice.
Holy guacamole, rose lovers... that's it! We've made it through another Bachelor season together. Even though this one ended with an engagement and the couple still seems happy, it's hard to ignore all of Gabi's misery, especially since it continues on to this day. At least we know she's already a strong proponent of therapy, so I hope she's able to take the time she needs to get over this reality TV trauma. Before you go, rose lovers, tell me: Do you think Zach and Kaity will last? Are you excited to watch Charity's season of The Bachelorette (premiering June 26)? And what the hell are you going to do with your Monday nights for the next three months? Post your thoughts below!
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