The Bachelorette ended in shocking fashion on Monday night.
During the September 3 finale, Jen Tran chose Devin Strader over Marcus Sjoberg.
She also decided to adopt a romantic attitude towards her ambitious husband.
“You’ve always been constant, our love has always been there, and I never for a moment doubted how much you loved me,” Jen told Devin in the episode.
“I love you so much, Devin, but I’m not going to let you propose to me. I’ve decided to choose myself on this journey, and the best version of me is when I’m with you…
“I want to fight for you every day. You’re everything I ever dreamed of but never knew I could have. I want to wake up every day and choose you for the rest of my life.”
Tran then proposed with a wedding ring in an oyster, to which Devin said he would “absolutely” marry her “a hundred times.”
Wow, right?!?!? What a happy ending, right?
It is wrong, friends.
ABC aired the After the Final Rose ceremony, with Jesse Palmer sitting in the studio with Tran.
“It’s been a really hard couple of months. We left Hawaii so happy to be engaged. It was the happiest day of my life,” Tran said, explaining what happened after the fairytale ending.
“As soon as we left Hawaii things just fell apart. It was like he was pulling away from us, all the promises he made to me that we wanted to go somewhere together and plan a future were gone.”
Jane added: “The efforts were inconsistent. He wasn’t calling as much, not texting as much. I was confused.”
The first Asian-American Bachelorette did her best to speak through tears, and said that Devin eventually called and broke off their engagement.
“He basically said he didn’t love me anymore and he didn’t feel the same way and he felt something was wrong,” she said. “He regretted getting engaged and I had no idea.”
Wow, right?
Devin himself also showed up, seeing Jen for the first time in weeks. The tension between the former lovers was palpable.
“I don’t understand what you did after we broke off our engagement,” Jen said, adding that she began following former Bachelor contestant Maria Georgas on social media.
“Not only is it disrespectful to everything we shared together, but I also don’t understand why you would do something like that. It completely invalidates the entire relationship.”
Devin didn’t respond directly to this criticism, but he also didn’t hide what a big mistake he had made.
“I let you down,” Devin said. “And there’s nothing else I can say. But everything I felt for you was real.”
However, Jen was suspicious of his intentions and feelings, and explained how Devin had previously asked for “time and space” to “express his feelings”, but then he went clubbing in New York City.
Devin responded, “When we left the show, I had a lot of doubts. I told you clearly about that.”
Devin argued that he “hid all these feelings of doubt” while on The Bachelorette and immediately after filming ended.
“It is difficult to deny the allegations you are making against me while sitting here,” he said. “I am sorry I was late in telling you. I can only take accountability for my shortcomings while sitting here.”
To her credit, Tran kept things real and factual in this discussion.
“I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you, I wanted to have a family with you, and you didn’t realize that,” she told Devin. “You had one foot out the door the whole time. … It breaks my heart to see the lies you told me on TV every Monday night.”
Devin said after the ad break:
“I’m not here to save my reputation. I have nothing to gain by being here except to make sure you’re okay, and that’s what I’m here to do.”
He admitted his mistake and said:
“I watched this beautiful girl blossom. It was amazing to watch you. I found myself falling short in the real world. … I watched you grow and then I watched myself contribute to your decline.”
At the end of the finale, Palmer praised Jane for her strength throughout her journey — despite the heartbreaking conclusion.
“You showed us all what a strong and powerful woman is,” the former Bachelor lead added.