The Stories Behind Gabby Windey's and Rachel Recchia's Engagement Rings on the Bachelorette Finale
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Craig Sjodin/ABC/Getty; Courtesy Neil Lane Couture
This post contains spoilers from Tuesday's finale of The Bachelorette.
Another season of The Bachelorette has officially come to a close, and the drama continued through to the very end. Season 19 started off with a bang by naming two women as Bachelorettes, and both Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia finished the season with rings on their fingers.
Rachel, 26, was drawn to Tino Franco immediately, giving the 28-year-old California native her First Impression Rose at the start of the season. She kept him around throughout the season, but when it came time for hometown dates, the couple hit a real snag in Tino's parents, who were wholly unamused by their relationship and Tino's appearance on the show.
RELATED: 'The Bachelorette' 's Rachel Recchia Thinks She Found 'My Happy Ending' After Last Hometown Date
Courtesy Neil Lane Couture; Craig Sjodin/ABC
"I just have a hard time believing that what you can do on a whirlwind fairy tale trip is really going to prepare you for marriage," Tino's father, Joe, said during their hometown date.
Rachel and Tino made it to the end, though, and Tino dropped to one knee to process his love — and Rachel said yes.
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"You're the most beautiful woman in the world," he said in his proposal. "Your compassion, your wit, your charm, your intelligence make me fall in love with you more and more every time I see you. Every time we're together you make me feel like the center of your universe and I'm here today to make sure you'll be the center of mine. This crazy love is going to look too good to be true to some people, but it's as real as it can be and quite frankly, the only person I care about understanding that is standing right in front of me right now."
Courtesy Neil Lane Couture
Tino proposed with an emerald cut diamond ring with an 18k handcrafted gold band, designed by longtime Bachelor franchise jewelry designer Neil Lane. The diamond was supported by a hidden halo of 24 smaller round diamonds and further accented with eight yellow small diamonds with a total weight of approximately 3.25 carats.
After his big proposal, the couple rode off on a white horse together.
Courtesy Neil Lane Couture
RELATED: Bachelorette Gabby Windey Worries 'My Person Might Not Be Here' During Fantasy Suite Week
"When I sat with Tino there was the usual excitement and nervousness that you would expect on such a big day," Lane tells PEOPLE exclusively. "He seemed to be genuinely in love with Rachel and wanted to select the perfect ring for her. He was really curious that the shape of a diamond could have a special meaning."
In the end, Lane shares that Tino was torn between two rings — the oval-cut diamond with a diamond halo set in platinum and the emerald-cut diamond set in gold.
"There was a moment when I was almost certain he was going to choose the platinum ring and then all of a sudden he switched and picked up the emerald and gold ring and said, 'This is the one.'"
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Courtesy Neil Lane
RELATED: Bachelorette Gabby Windey Feels She's 'Been Led On' After Final Fantasy Suite: 'Ready to Be Done'
Gabby, 31, also had her fairy tale ending in the Bachelorette finale when Erich Schwer got down on one knee to propose to her. Their relationship wasn't without its own bit of drama, especially during Fantasy Suite week. The two had their own Fantasy Suite date, but before allowing Gabby to move on to another suitor, 29-year-old real estate analyst Erich told her he didn't want her sleeping with anyone else, which made her question their relationship.
Ultimately Erich proposed in the finale, and Gabby said yes. He picked a custom Neil Lane ring with an 18k handcrafted gold band centrally set with an oval-cut diamond supported by a hidden halo of 22 smaller round diamonds and further accented by eight small yellow diamonds with an overall approximate weight of 3.25 carats.
Courtesy Neil Lane Couture
"Erich seemed to be in such a joyous mood," Lane tells PEOPLE of working together to pick a ring for Gabby. "He expressed his love for Gabby and certainty in the relationship. There was a seriousness in his selecting the ring. He wanted to know about the shapes of the diamonds and the design, he seemed to really absorb each ring. He kept on going back to the gold ring with the oval-shaped diamond. At one point he just held it up in reverence as if imagining getting down on one knee and proposing.
Craig Sjodin/ABC/Getty; Courtesy Neil Lane Couture
Lane adds that the ring Erich ended up with felt symbolic of their journey.
"Erich's choice of the ring was a perfect one as the design and style he picked for Gabby was not only just what she had hoped for but a perfect illustration of their love," he tells PEOPLE. "A beautiful and simple love that from the outside shines but when you look beneath you see more of its intricate beauty."
Courtesy Neil Lane
Lane, who has worked with ABC on The Bachelor, The Bachelorette and Bachelor in Paradise for years, had his work cut out for him this season in having to design rings for two Bachelorettes.
"It was challenging to design six rings each having its own style and wow factor, not one outshining the other," he says. "Both of the girls shared the style of ring they had hoped for at the beginning of their journey as Bachelorettes. Unbeknownst to one another, the two desired very similar designs and both were in the selection of rings for the men. It almost seems poetic — kismet given the beautiful bond and friendship these women have that they would have desired similar yet totally unique ring styles. A beautiful nod to their friendship and their connection as The Bachelorettes."
Courtesy Neil Lane Couture
RELATED: Bachelorette Gabby Windey Calls Her Situation with Remaining Suitor Erich a 'Big Fat Dumpster Fire'
This season of The Bachelorette wrapped filming in May, and while both Gabby and Rachel said yes to their suitors when they got down on one knee, only Gabby is still engaged. However, since the season started airing, Erich has faced backlash from a high school photo of him in blackface resurfacing on the internet. Shortly after it was posted, Erich took to Instagram to issue an apology.
"I wholeheartedly apologize for the insensitive photo of me in Blackface from my high school yearbook that has been circulating," he captioned a photo of a blank black square, adding, "What I thought at the time was a representation of my love for Jimi Hendrix, was nothing but ignorance."
RELATED: The Bachelorette's Rachel and Tino Get Engaged — Then Split Following Infidelity
Rachel and Tino have broken off their engagement since the show wrapped.
During the After the Final Rose live special, Rachel revealed she and Tino experienced "some difficulties" in the weeks following their engagement due to his past relationships that had come forward.
"I slowly was pulling on that string and revealing more and more. It really didn't work out, he cheated on me," she told host Jesse Palmer. "It's just heartbreaking. This is the person I thought I was gonna spend the rest of my life with and start a family with."
