Reality Steve Just Confirmed Who Gets 'The Bachelorette's' Final Rose

• The Bachelorette Katie Thurston filmed her season 17 journey at a resort in New Mexico starting in March and April.

• Katie was so decisive handing out roses and sending villains home that filming finished one week early with a non-traditional ending.
  

• Reality Steve spilled all the tea on the last rose ceremony, if Katie gets engaged, and who wins.

If you can believe it, the new season of The Bachelorette is almost complete. Yep, that is what all that buzz is about as the finale approaches. (FYI, it's August 9, 2021 starting at 8 p.m. EST on ABC.) Filming in a COVID-safe bubble has kept the journey rolling right along, but it still doesn't guarantee the suitors will stick around.

Bachelorette Katie Thurston helped keep everything ahead of schedule. She wrapped filming with all her husband hopefuls one whole week early, according to Us Weekly. That doesn't mean her journey had zero drama, though. (Btw, she gets paid a $$$ salary for the ups and downs of her Bachelorette journey.) It was another closed bubble set, but everything you need to know about the finale and an engagement is out thanks to Reality Steve.

ICYDK, Reality Steve has spoiled the ending of The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, and its various spinoffs for years. His spoilers are spot-on basically every. single. time. And he fixes any discrepancies, like Katie's new final four suitors, asap. (Noteworthy exception: He didn't pinpoint Bachelor Peter Weber's chosen co-pilot until the end of the season, but to be fair, the pilot didn't either.)

With that said, what exactly is going down now on The Bachelorette? And did she find love—or not? Allow me to fill in all the blanks RN.

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD. Do not keep reading if you don’t want to know what happens during Season 17 of The Bachelorette before it airs on ABC!

Did Katie quit her Bachelorette season?

The promos certainly show her considering an exit. You also already know filming wrapped early, but it's not a Clare riding off into the sunset with Dale situation again. (Or at least it doesn't appear to be.) Katie was simply decisive. "Katie was in control and made sure the men she wanted were there and the men she wasn’t interested in, she sent packing," an insider source told Us Weekly.

Overall filming for season 17 “went great and it wrapped a week ahead of schedule."

Former Bachelor and Katie's ex Matt James had all positive things to say about her as the lead. "I think that she's going to be one of the best to ever do it, and it's not going to be a surprise to me as we watch everyone across the country fall in love with her," he told E! News. "I should've [asked] Katie for advice! She's incredible. She's going to do so well, and I'm excited for her to have this space to find her person."

But, Kaitlyn Bristowe had juicier intel: "I’m definitely not going to say much because I don’t wanna get in trouble, but I mean, maybe I can say it’s the most dramatic season yet," Kaitlyn said on the April 29th episode of her "Off the Vine" podcast. “I think it’s going to be really fun."

Does Greg come back?

The previews show more Greg, but that doesn't mean he's pulling a boomerang and returning to the set. Reality Steve has said his post-fight exit is legit.

Greg Grippo has been the frontrunner from day one, with the first impression rose, first one-on-one date, and plenty of other signs Katie was super into him. That all came to a screeching halt during hometowns. Reality Steve's Greg intel revealed it all:

"They have a blowout fight during the overnight dates which essentially causes him to leave the show and it upsets Katie a lot. Maybe she really was set to pick him but saw this side and realized better. But nothing about this fight is going to look good for Greg from everything I’ve been told. I do not know if some ultimatum was made, and I hate to pin the Luke P. label on him as well since I don’t know exactly what was said."

What the spoiler king does know: "Greg is having a real hard time understanding why she’d want to be with anyone else, and it escalates from there... So yeah, they edited it this way on purpose to “surprise” you for what’s ahead – basically a 180 from the Greg we’ve seen up to this point."

"So that’s 'what happens' with Greg and what causes him to ultimately leave the show at that point."

That's two weeks in a row Katie has had frontrunners self-eliminate. Michael Allio self-eliminated right before Katie got a chance to meet his fam.

Where is The Bachelorette filming?

The whole season, hometowns, overnight dates, and the finale all film in one schnazzy desert resort. In case you haven't honed in on the beauty shots of the property, The Bachelorette is filming and staying at the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort & Spa about 20 min outside of Albuquerque. It sits on 550 acres of the Native American Santa Ana Pueblo between the Sandia Mountains and the Rio Grande River.

The property has tons of date opportunities. There's horseback riding, equestrian yoga offerings, cycling, hot air ballooning, jeep tours, hiking, fly fishing, and much more. It also has three pools, five restaurants, tennis courts, an 18-hole golf course, and the Tamaya Mist Spa & Salon.

If you checked out Tayshia's Instagram and outings with Zac, you may have gotten some potential date previews.

The blogger confirmed the new bubble set location in February. Everyone was supposed to jet up to Canada to start filming at The Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge, but new COVID-19 precautions put a stop to that in February. "Due to the updated quarantine restrictions in Canada laid out last week, I’ve been told 'Bachelorette' will NOT be filming there next season anymore," Reality Steve tweeted.

What else happens on Katie's season as The Bachelorette?

The "sex positive" theme continues through the season to absolutely nobody's surprise. (TBD if she and her suitors will need more safe words.) Steve explains how that plays out: "They’ve already started the season with a tagline “See what the buzz is all about,” which is in reference to Katie bringing the vibrator night 1 of Matt’s season.... I can also tell you there’s a group date this season where the guys have to show their “sex moves.” So yeah, any thought that this franchise was gonna move away from the sex themed dates, or numerous sexual innuendos we see season and season out, well, you can throw that idea out the window this season. There will be plenty of talk and dates that are sexual in nature. The sex thing is played up more so than normal this season from what I’m being told."

And, Katie's talking about all those makeouts. "Seeing the promos, I am making out with a lot of guys!" she told People. "You never really see yourself kissing anyone. So it's like, 'Oh boy.'"

She continued: "Time is short. And you can't be okay with me possibly getting engaged in two months but not kissing on the first date. I've got to use my time wisely!"

Katie's not shying away from chatting Fantasy Suites, either. "We're all adults," she told the publication. "I have sex! It's an important part of the relationship in terms of the connection. But it is also our time to talk about important topics or any lingering conversations."

Who's hosting The Bachelorette?

There are two hosts along for Katie's whole journey to announce all the drama all the way through the After the Final Rose special. The longtime host Chris Harrison is taking time away away from the franchise following his controversial interview with former Bachelorette Rachel Lindsay.

Former Bachelorettes Tayshia Adams and Kaitlyn Bristowe stepped in to help during season 17. They have been rocking the roles and are returning to host Michelle Young's Bachelorette season next.

The former leads aren't the permanent new hosts.“The way that it’s been presented on the set is that Tayshia and Kaitlyn are not replacing Chris. They aren’t even referred to as hosts. It was made perfectly clear by the producers that they are not replacing him. They were brought in at the last moment,” a source told Us Weekly in April. “Their role is more experienced girlfriends to Katie and experienced contestants to the guys. They act professional, they’re on time and are helping the franchise as much as they can in this funky situation.”

"In his absence, former Bachelorettes Tayshia Adams and Kaitlyn Bristowe will support the new Bachelorette through next season. As we continue the dialogue around achieving greater equity and inclusion within The Bachelor franchise, we are dedicated to improving the BIPOC representation of our crew, including executive producer ranks."

To no one's surprise, they were top-notch hosts. "Tayshia and Kaitlyn can relate to Katie’s journey in a lot of different ways, which you’ll see play out, so it was nice to have them there to help out with whatever situation came up," an insider source told Us Weekly. “Tayshia had fun and loved doing it. She and Kaitlyn made a great team.”

When did ABC film The Bachelorette?

All the cast and crew started quarantining in early March and filming continued through the weekend of April 24. There's still a lot not officially announced, but they started right on schedule and ended with time to spare.

"They’re already there, like, at least they’re quarantining for it. There’s no pause on it," former Bachelorette Rachel Lindsay revealed on the "Bachelor Party" podcast on March 9.

Btw, if you couldn't figure out why Katie seemed cold during the evenings, I gotchu. It's actually pretty chilly in New Mexico in March and April, especially at night. The average lows hover around or below freezing.

Who are the villains this season?

You've met and Katie dispatched Thomas Jacobs, Aaron Clancy and Cody Menk, and Hunter Montgomery, who all made the villain list at some point. They also rehashed all the drama at the Men Tell All special.

Well, Katie gave a not-so-subtle hint that Greg is actually the biggest villain this season. When she appeared on Nick Viall's podcast, she said there is a villain worse than Thomas on her season. "Pretty sure it’s Greg," according to Reality Steve. Why? Oh that meltdown and giant fight that results in his exit. Katie also shared a link to an explanation of "gaslighting" in her IG stories, in case her views weren't already clear.

She wasn't the first to hint at Greg's indiscretions. "Someone is really going out of their way to come after Greg," Steve warns in his recent blog post. "So it’s really hard to know what to believe when it comes to him."

"The only thing known absolutely 100% for sure is that Greg attended acting school for 2 years in NY and graduated that school in 2019," he added." I’m sure that’ll make some skeptical of his motives, which you have a right to."

Reality Steve does have some thoughts of his own on Greg: "By the way, Greg Grippo sounds like the name of a TV villain in the 80’s, doesn’t it? “Oh, you don’t wanna trust Greg Grippo. He’s shady.” It’s bad enough the whole show has revolved around him for the first two episodes, but I just can’t shake the 80’s hair and almost-too-good-to-be-true villainous name. I half expect to see him with his collar popped bullying kids at the lunch table next week. There have been a ton of guys over the years in 17 seasons of the “Bachelorette” that have appeared. I can’t think of one who has a more evil, he’ll-steal-your-girlfriend name than Greg Grippo. If you have any other suggestions, I’m all ears."

And, the villains are all gone by the overnight dates and finale.

What happens during Fantasy Suites?

Following hometowns, it seems only Justin and Blake make it to the week of overnight dates, according to Reality Steve's latest update.

Here's Blake:

And Justin:

The cameras may not be able to capture what happens behind the closed doors, but Katie opened up to Women's Health about what went down during her overnight dates.

"I'm gonna say it because everyone always wants to know, 'did you have sex?' Yes, I had sex," Katie told WH. "I think it's important to have a physical connection, and people need to be okay talking about it because sex is normal."

Who wins the final rose and does Katie get engaged?

Drum roll please. Katie picks Blake Moynes. "I just know that Katie got engaged to Blake at the end of filming and they're still together."

"How we get to a Blake proposal in the end after that, we’ll just have to see play out. So it’s definitely not a traditional ending as Katie says, and once Greg leaves after this blowup, I’m sure there’s some weirdness on how Katie continues on because clearly she was into him and I’m sure she wasn’t expecting this blowout to happen. Stay tuned. Should be good."

Reality Steve confirmed that Katie gets engaged in the finale weeks ago. He wrote: "Katie is engaged." Now, everyone knows who got down on one knee, too.

He's been cautious about getting the deets. "All I can say is it’s been about a 7 week process since filming ended to get this info, and I’m very confident in what I’ve been told."

Katie has been teasing fans about a possible ring on that finger on Instagram since she returned from filming. She shared a short clip joking about her family looking for an engagement ring in her stories. Sure enough, her left hand is jewel-free. The New Found Glory song "All Downhill From Here" plays in the background: "You're hiding something, 'cause it's burning through your eyes"

But, don't read too much into her post-show antics on social, per Steve. "Katie and Blake are engaged and are happy. Nothing has changed. People can read into the social media stuff and dissect it until they’re blue in the face. It will get them nowhere. They’re engaged." That latest update comes on August 4, so Katie and Blake have been together for a solid three months and counting at this point.

It looks like fans won't get a spoiler straight from her anytime soon, though.

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