It’s the final episode and Chris is stuck between choosing Becca or Whitney, but the ultimate test will be seeing his family in Arlington, Iowa. The first one up is Whitney, who greeted Chris with all the love in her heart and was so excited to meet her potential future in-laws. When they all sat down to eat, Whitney told the Soules family how much she cared for Chris and got really choked up and it seemed really, really genuine. When she sat down with the sisters, they asked her if she really could make the change to the small-town life and she insisted that she could be a nurse anywhere, and love and family were her priority right now—she even had the sisters tearing up a bit. Then Chris sat down with his sisters and they asked him to pick apart what he likes about each woman to try to help him make a decision. Ultimately, it seemed like even though Whitney was the sure thing in terms of feelings (among other things), Chris was just another guy who loved the chase. Mom was a little bit of a harder sell, but when Whitney started talking about what an amazing son Chris’ mom raised and how she wants a chance to call someone Mom and Dad again, Whitney had won her over. After a few more kisses and “I love you’s,” Whitney’s date was over.
Next up was the elusive Becca. At dinner, Becca was on a bit of a roll making Chris’ family laugh, but when she sat down with his sisters, it was time to talk about serious matters. Becca said she was starting to fall in love, but she didn’t want her not being ready to get married to be the be-all and end-all of her relationship with Chris. She admitted that she wanted to date for a bit longer so she can be absolutely sure before she moves to Iowa. Becca sat down with Mama Soules and she imparted some serious wisdom about love for the innocent woman and turns out, Becca may be more in love with Chris than she thinks… After a long talk with the family and some more smooches, an overwhelmed (but possibly in love) Becca left Chris not knowing what was coming next.
Before Chris made his final decision, he got one last date with each lady in hopes it would help him make up his mind between the two. Starting with Becca, Chris wanted to relax with her to hopefully talk through some more logistics of their relationship and see if the spark is enough to take a chance and make it work. Playing the cautious card, Becca couldn’t give Chris a direct answer as to “when” she would want to get married and what she really, really wants with him—ultimately, she wasn’t even sure what she wanted, other than him at that exact moment. Things were getting kind of tense and Chris even asked her to be very honest and open about what she wanted and what she felt she still needed to figure out in terms of what could be—that included what Becca would do in Arlington in terms of a career. Chris didn’t feel any surer after his date with Becca, but there was no denying either of their feelings for one another.
Next up was Whitney and Chris brought her to his farm to help him harvest some corn and show her his home and would could potentially be their future family home. Whitney was so sure about everything she was feeling, and seeing Chris’ life in Arlington just reaffirmed her feelings and her future with Chris, even though she was still scared it was all happening so fast. They talked seriously about their future and Chris said his feelings were “reciprocated” (because you can’t say L-O-V-E), but of course, there’s still one other person Whitney needs to get past first before she gets her Iowan homestead.
And finally, it was time for Chris to make his decision—on the ring, of course! Once he had the ring secured, it was time to face his real decision—the one we’ve been waiting 11 episodes for. Becca was the first one to get out of the limo at Chris’ barn (because where else would he propose?) and it seemed as though Chris was still on the fence about his decision… but in the end he said that he wasn’t the guy to give Becca what she needs, when she eventually needs it. While they were both falling for one another, their timing was off and they had to part ways.
Whitney arrived and gave her little spiel about how much she loves Chris and all that stuff she’s said soooo many times, but ultimately it brought her to this point, because in the end, he said “I love you” right back and got down on one knee and asked the winning question: “Will you accept this rose?” Kidding! He popped the real question and she said yes!
After the Final Rose
The newly engaged Chris Soules came on stage to see Chris Harrison and started off by discussing his feelings for Becca and his need to “catch up” with one another’s feelings and that they were never really on the same page. He admitted if Becca’s feelings had been stronger or more sure, he may have gone in a different direction, but right now he just wants to look forward to his life with Whitney.
Chris got to see Becca again for the first time since the final episode and they both admitted re-watching it brought up some old feelings and reminded them of how hard a decision it was to make for both of them. At the end of it all though, Chris had no regrets.
When Whitney came out, both of them were beaming and gushed about one another, to one another quite a bit. Whitney talked about how she made the decision not to watch the show, but that her and Chris were really open with one another. They were excited to move forward, but that didn’t entail rushing to Iowa for Whitney… but they just wanted to be “normal” for a while. They showed a clip of the post-proposal reunion with Chris’ family, which was actually pretty sweet.
On last week’s The Women Tell All episode when Chris Harrison asked Ashley S. if she would go on Bachelor in Paradise and she never really responded. Not one to take a half-answer, Chris Harrison asked her again live, and her response: “I suppose I could be there.” So at least we have some crazy to look forward to this summer. Jimmy Kimmel made another appearance and asked uncomfortable questions (as he does), wedged right in between Whitney and Chris and got them a cow named Juan Pablo.
Finally, the reason we had all stayed up late, to hear who the new Bachelorette was going to be. Britt or Kaitlyn? Well, this time they’re not deciding—they’re having two Bachelorettes. On the first night, the 25 hopefuls will decide which one is wifey material and that will be the Bachelorette. Weird? Absolutely.
