"The Bachelor" finale lived up to the hype.
After telling both of his finalists, Lauren Burnham and Becca Kufrin, that he loved them, bachelor Arie Luyendyk Jr. went into the final day of production unsure as to who he would propose. It wasn't until that morning, after he had already introduced both women to his family and continuously expressed his love and reassurance to each of them, that he made up his mind.
He proposed to an ecstatic Becca and completely blindsided Lauren by breaking up with her at the site of his soon-to-be proposal.
That's when "The Bachelor" broke format.
Showing viewers home footage of Arie and Becca during their secret rendezvous after filming wrapped, the winning couple appeared to be happy. But Arie confessed during a never-before-seen, post-show one-on-one that he had decided to call off the engagement and breakup with Becca in hopes of a potential reconciliation with Lauren. He then delivered his second blindside of the night to his now-fiancee, Becca, who must have been told that producers were filming their reunion for a segment for the "After the Finale Rose" reunion special, which will air tonight. Their breakup played out unedited with split-screen footage to give both Arie and Becca their proper exposure.
Just weeks after the proposal, Becca never saw the ambush coming. When making a brief live appearance at the end of the episode, she was shaking watching it back. "Brutal," she said. "When it all happened, I feel like I kind of blacked out and so much was going through my mind that I couldn't take it all in or really even focus on what I wanted to say. To watch that back now, of course I had feelings for him and I loved him, so it's a hard heartbreak."
She revealed that she and Arie have not spoken since that day: "After he left I went through all the emotions. I stayed in L.A. and cried for probably four days straight and grieved the loss of that relationship and the future that I thought we were going to have. I'm angry at times. I feel betrayed for a lot of the time because I feel like I was lied to for so long."
Tonight, Arie, Becca and Lauren all come face-to-face in front of a live audience.
Source: People, Hollywood Reporter