Temptation Island featured Erica Washington dumping Kendal Kirkland before he left the island with Alexcys Homan, Julian Allen and Kristen Ramos getting engaged, and Chelsea Orcutt and Thomas Gipson choosing whether to stay together or split during the USA revival's Season 3 finale broadcast Tuesday night on Lifetime.
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Part 2 of the finale kicked off where Part 1 had left off, with Erica telling Kendal that she needed to love herself more than she loved Kendal and put herself first.
Erica therefore announced that she wanted to leave Temptation Island alone and single.
"Oh," Kendal noted, seemingly in shock and disbelief. "Interesting. You sure you don't want to try to make it work ever?"
"Right now, I stand firm in my decision," Erica firmly stated.
After a little back and forth conversation, Kendal questioned, "Are you positive?"
"The Erica that came into this is not the same Erica right now, and I stand firm in that decision," Erica confirmed.
Kendal said as a result, "I guess I'll just leave the island with Alexcys. Peace out!"
Kendal hugged Erica goodbye and struggled to let go, but Erica put an end to it and left Temptation Island "out of [her] shackles" and "really proud" of herself.
Kendal told Temptation Island host Mark L. Walberg that he's glad Erica had grown during the process and her decision was to be expected.
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Alexcys then arrived at the final bonfire and Kendal explained he had an in-depth conversation with Erica and they decided to part ways. Kendal therefore asked Alexcys to leave the island with him, and she replied, "Of course I would!"
Alexcys said she was excited to start a new journey with Kendal in the outside world and see where things could go between them.
Kendal claimed he had made the right decision in leaving with Alexcys, and she gushed about being able to open him up emotionally during the season.
Heading into the final bonfire meeting, Chelsea said if Thomas wasn't willing to change his flirty ways, it didn't make sense for them to be together and he could find another woman who doesn't mind the way he naturally is.
Chelsea initially wanted to see if she could trust Thomas on Temptation Island, but she said he was "flirtier than ever" and so she had yet to make up her mind about what to do.
Meanwhile, both Thomas and Kristen said they didn't know what they were going to do in terms of their final decision either, but Julian was set to arrive at the final bonfire with an engagement ring in his pocket.
When Thomas and Chelsea reunited in front of Mark, Thomas said he originally came to the island with the intention of proving he could be a committed boyfriend and Chelsea didn't have to worry about him around other women.
Thomas pointed out that while he hadn't broken any of their rules, Chelsea did -- and her behavior shocked and disappointed him.
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"You cheated on me. You broke the rules. I literally trusted you more than I trusted myself... You broke that trust and now I no longer have that," Thomas explained.
Thomas said once he saw Chelsea kissing another man, Dr. Blake Eyres, his approach to the process changed.
Chelsea told Thomas that she didn't want to come to Temptation Island to begin with and never thought she'd make a connection with a single man.
Chelsea said after she saw a clip of Thomas smacking a girl's butt, she changed her outlook and stopped crying in a corner. Chelsea said she decided in that moment "to do me" and take full advantage of her time in Hawaii.
Chelsea revealed she had kissed Blake a few times and didn't regret it.
"I felt you wanted to be single," Chelsea cried to Thomas. "I just can't believe we're here honestly because I didn't want to come here. And when I did that [with Blake], I felt guilty right away."
Chelsea acknowledged she was more confused than ever and wasn't sure whether love was enough for them to move forward as a couple.
Chelsea justified her relationship with Blake by saying she owed it to herself to explore that connection because she could envision herself being with him. Chelsea apparently didn't want to rob herself of the experience but insisted she didn't fall in love with Blake.
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Thomas explained he had initially avoided the woman he was most attracted to, Sophia Perez, so he wouldn't be tempted to cheat but he tried to push his flirtiness to the limit to understand why he's like that.
Chelsea pointed out her trust issues were now worse than ever, and Thomas replied, "Same."
Chelsea then revealed her final decision. Chelsea said she walked into final bonfire thinking she was going to do one thing, and it appeared she had changed her mind.
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Thomas recalled having an amazing relationship and solid foundation with Chelsea but her actions showed disregard for his feelings and a lack of care for their relationship.
Thomas, however, said, "It's a no-brainer -- I want to go home with you. You are coming back to my villa with me tonight."
The couple hugged and kissed, and Chelsea told the cameras she was leaving the island with more confidence and she intended to bring that into her relationship.
It then became time for Julian and Kristen's meeting at the final bonfire.
Julian was hoping Kristen would finally forgive him for being unfaithful and believe he's the man she wants him to be for the rest of her life.
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Julian was allowed to speak first and said the experience had humbled him in ways he never could have imagined. Julian said he realized what's important in life and he remained loyal to her and respectful throughout the journey.
Julian revealed the couple had more issues than just him being unfaithful in the past. He broke down crying and explained that he had opened up emotionally to some "amazing" single women at the villa who had challenged him to be uncomfortable and talk about his past mistakes.
Kristen asked Julian how he could have forgotten about her in the moments he cheated, and Julian explained he was lacking self-worth and battling his own insecurities at the time.
Julian promised Kristen his mistakes had nothing to do with her and he had taken his frustrations out on her.
"You gave me all of you and I took it for granted and I took you for granted, and I realize how painful that is for you still to this day... I can leave here knowing that I'm better than the way that I came," Julian said.
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Kristen said it felt so good to hear those things from Julian.
Kristen felt she had given their relationship all of her love and effort, which is what she had also done for her brother Kenny, who died from a drug overdose. Kristen said both men hurt her -- although they loved her -- and so she associated love with pain.
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Kristen explained such pain resulted in her shutting down and distancing herself emotionally from everyone in her life.
"I know that me hiding my pain doesn't lessen the hurt on you... I'm done avoiding and I'm not afraid anymore," Kristen shared in tears.
Julian acknowledged he felt good about them moving forward together and that they should be able to get through anything as a team.
When given the option to leave as a couple, with someone else or alone, Julian said there's no one else in the world he'd rather leave the island with.
"I want to leave with you," Julian confirmed.
Kristen responded by saying her love for him hadn't changed and he's "one in a million." Kristen therefore wanted to leave side by side as well.
With that being said, Julian kissed Kristen and the pair walked off together to an area on the beach where red rose petals were in the sand.
Julian said he didn't want to live another day of his life without Kristen and that he had promised Kenny before he died to take care of his little sister always and forever. Julian revealed that he had promised Kenny to always make Kristen feel appreciated, valued and loved like she always deserved.
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"A thousand times yes, Julian!" Kristen replied.
"I love you, baby girl!" Julian said, before he picked Kristen up and hugged her.
"I love you!" Kristen gushed.
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During the reunion special for Temptation Island's third season on USA, Julian and Kristen revealed their wedding date has been set for July 24, 2022, which will be the anniversary of when they started dating.
Chelsea and Thomas also stayed together and promised to continue working on their issues.
Erin and Corey, however, broke up during the reunion special because Erin revealed she and her boyfriend had fallen into the same trap once they got home of Corey not being the strong, confident man she needs.
And Kendal and Alexcys also ended their romance after the show and were barely on speaking terms.
Alexcys expressed anger over the fact Kendal had only left Temptation Island with her after getting dumped by Erica. It appeared Alexcys was upset over being Kendal's backup choice.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
