The Bachelorette featured Rachel Recchia breaking off her engagement to Tino Franco and running off with Aven Jones after Tino cheated on her, and Gabby Windey accepting a marriage proposal from Erich Schwer, who addressed an ex's alarming allegations during the Season 19 finale that aired Tuesday night on ABC.
|
ADVERTISEMENT
|
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)
With two Bachelorettes in one season, Jesse said producers thought they were doubling their chances of having a happy ending -- but things just didn't turn out that way.
"This season has been brutal for Gabby and Rachel. It feels there's been more scandal and betrayal than true love, and now it looks like happily ever after is a million miles away for both women," Jesse revealed.
"But there's always hope. Maybe Tino can convince Rachel that his indiscretions were just a momentary lapse of judgement. And maybe Erich can explain... those damning text messages sent to his girlfriend just a few days before stepping out of a limo on Day 1."
Once Jesse welcomed both Gabby and Rachel live onstage, footage flashed back to the women's final days filming The Bachelorette in Mexico. Tino and Erich had already met Rachel and Gabby's family, respectively.
Erich had told Gabby that he'd like to continue dating after the show rather than getting engaged at her Final Rose Ceremony, and so Gabby was preparing herself for rejection.
Gabby decided to hear Erich out in case she wanted to walk away, but Erich insisted that he loved Gabby and what they had together was "genuinely real." Erich said he was being 100 percent honest with her and really wanted it to work.
"Let's figure this out. Let's try," Erich pleaded.
Gabby said she wanted to leave the show engaged, but she only wanted it if it was going to be with Erich.
Gabby said it was clear she and Erich really loved each other and that's what mattered most to her.
"I love Erich, and I want to be with him forever. But it's scary, because it can be taken away at any second," Gabby noted.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOWMeanwhile, Rachel had settled on Tino, whom she really loved, and she just hoped they were on the same page heading into her Final Rose Ceremony.
Rachel told Tino that her family really liked him and thought they could be a great match, and Tino told the Bachelorette that she was made for him.
"I think you truly are my perfect match. My family and friends said the same thing, and you are the only one here," Rachel shared. "It's you, and I've been so excited to tell you."
Tino said he felt like he was on top of the world and would be willing to bet everything he had that they'd be together forever. Rachel also believed that Tino was definitely ready for a marriage proposal, and so she felt relieved and overjoyed.
Gabby and Rachel then got together and discussed their final picks. Gabby said she hoped it was going to be Tino for her best friend, and Rachel said a man had never shown her a love like Tino's before.
Gabby shared how Erich was always willing to fight for her but she wasn't sure if he was going to pop the question.
"I feel like all my dreams are coming true," Gabby cried.
"We're about to be engaged to our dream guys," Rachel gushed.
ADVERTISEMENT
Going into her Final Rose Ceremony, Rachel -- wearing a beautiful ivory, floral embellished dress -- said that she had no doubts at all about Tino, adding that if Tino is not the man for her, then she doesn't think there's another guy out there for her.
When Rachel and Tino met face to face, Rachel expressed how she was "madly in love" with him and wanted to spend the rest of her life with him, and Tino said the last thing he'd ever want to do is break her heart.
"But there's something I've got to say. This is never going away," Tino teased the Bachelorette.
Tino said Rachel had given him confidence and The Bachelorette journey made him believe in fate. He called her "the most beautiful woman in the world" and complimented her compassion, wit, charm and intelligence. Tino said Rachel made him feel like the center of her universe -- and so she'd always be the center of his.
"This is as real as it can be... Rachel, I love you so much, and I'm going to love you until the end of time... I want to dedicate the rest of my life to making you feel cherished and loved, as you deserve," Tino said.
Tino called Rachel the woman of his dreams, and then he got down on one knee and presented Rachel with a beautiful engagement ring.
"I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Rachel Recchia, will you marry me?" Tino asked.
"Yes, a million -- a million times," Rachel replied, before offering Tino her final rose.
The couple kissed and embraced, celebrating their engagement and what they thought would be the happiest days to come.
Jesse then asked Rachel live to catch fans up on what happened after that magical day in Mexico.
Rachel said she had so much hope for the future and things were great for a while -- but then there were "natural growing pains" in her relationship as they continued getting to know each other long distance.
Rachel shared how she and Tino went through a difficult time around The Bachelorette premiere in July but she never stopped trying. Rachel hoped her man would stand next to her and support her, but she wasn't feeling it at that time.
ADVERTISEMENT
Rachel said a couple of weeks after she and Tino got on the right track, Tino approached her about past relationships coming back around, "alluding to certain things." Rachel said she was willing to talk things out and get past it but Tino was allegedly secretive.
Rachel recalled receiving a phone call from Tino later on, during which he, once again, alluded to previous relationships and things coming to light. Rachel said she slowly begged Tino to tell her the truth and divulge more details, and so he did.
"It didn't really work out. He cheated on me," Rachel announced.
Rachel admitted she wasn't doing okay and the whole situation was "heartbreaking," especially because she thought she was going to start a family with Tino. She said a person shouldn't leave a relationship just because there's a crack in the glass and Tino had broken her trust.
Bachelor Nation then watched the first conversation Rachel and Tino had after his cheating scandal, which was filmed for the show.
Rachel said she didn't know the full truth, and she confided in Gabby first. When the woman spoke, Gabby clearly had a big rock on her left ring finger, giving away she and Erich must have gotten engaged.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW: WHOM DID 'THE BACHELORETTE' STARS AND THEIR BACHELOR PICKS ULTIMATELY END UP WITH?! (PHOTOS)
Rachel, who wasn't wearing her engagement ring, expressed how she never thought this was Tino's character, and she said small events and little lies tumbled into a big mess.
"He was only caring about how he's going to look," Rachel told her friend.
"That's the only thing he cares about right now. He was literally like, 'I regret telling you.' And you can't be forgiven when you're not sorry for what you did... He's never been like, 'What I did was horrible and I messed up... and I want to work on this.'"
Rachel said Tino had asked her not to tell anybody about his infidelity so he could seemingly protect his image, and Gabby pointed out how Tino only wanted what was best for himself.
ADVERTISEMENT
"So he doesn't even have that ground to stand on," Gabby noted, adding, "F-ck him and kick him in the f-cking balls. You don't deserve this!"
Once Gabby left, Tino arrived, and he seemed distraught and was breathing heavily.
Tino asked Rachel if she wanted to talk first, and she immediately threw the ball back in his court.
"I messed up. I kissed another girl. But the second I did, I knew I belonged with you," Tino revealed. "I'm not taking away from that at all... but I tried to get past it."
Rachel demanded to know everything, and Tino shared how there was a girl before the show he was clearly interested in but never officially started dating due to his The Bachelorette stint. Tino said once the show ended, nothing really came of it.
Tino claimed he ran into the woman at a bar, and then when The Bachelorette premiered, he called Rachel that week. Tino said he had heard some stuff that week that really bothered him.
He proceeded to read things in his journal Rachel had allegedly told him. Rachel allegedly said that she was in a bad place and didn't know if she and Tino could bounce back. Rachel allegedly said that if she and Tino reunited on a Happy Couple weekend, she didn't want to sleep in the same place.
"[You asked me] jokingly, 'Would you be the next Bachelor?' That hurt," Tino recalled.
"Do you really want to bring that up when you answered it like you would?" Rachel asked.
"I absolutely didn't. I told you I wouldn't do it because if it didn't work out with us, I wouldn't believe in this process," Tino said.
Tino recalled Rachel allegedly wanting to give back her engagement ring and shooting down the idea of couples' counseling or individual therapy.
ADVERTISEMENT
Rachel said there was context missing from the story, such as how she was doing press at the time and was so exhausted that she just needed to rest. Rachel said Tino should've supported her through that and offered his help in any way possible.
Rachel confirmed she and Tino were in a bad place but he was throwing things in her face. Rachel said they never officially broke up and she was going through a hard time, which had nothing to do with him or their relationship.
Rachel also insisted she had never said that she'd give the ring back, adding, "I said, 'If we go back to dating, then I'm not wearing it at AFR.'"
Tino disagreed, and the pair continued to bicker. Rachel said Tino simply cheated because they were in a bad place, which didn't justify his actions in the least.
Tino didn't want to keep circling back, but Rachel just wanted to hear, "I'm sorry."
Tino therefore repeated how he was so sorry and it was "a one-time mistake" that had been
"haunting" him and made him realize he needed to be with her. Tino "100 percent promised" it was just one kiss, but Rachel wasn't buying it.
Tino asked Rachel if there was any shot they could end up together, which prompted her to ask, "Do you really think you deserve to be with me?"
"Yes," replied Tino. "Absolutely."
Rachel said Tino owed her a lot of answers before they came to any type of conclusion, and then Tino walked outside and attempted to take his microphone off. Tino complained to a producer how Rachel just wanted to beat him up and throw him under a bus.
Tino could be heard saying that Rachel was "crucifying" him and just wanted him to look bad.
"Just tell her to break up with me!" Tino cried. "Let me out!"
ADVERTISEMENT
"You are straight up shattering everything you promised me, and then you come in here and are turning it around on me!" Rachel vented.
Tino said he was proud of Rachel for going to therapy but had been under the assumption that their relationship was pretty much done when he kissed another woman. He called the kiss a "tiny" problem -- although he could understand it was an emotional betrayal -- that he didn't want "to pile on" to Rachel's other issues.
Rachel couldn't believe her ears and that Tino would call his cheating a "tiny" mistake. Rachel also said the woman in question had told her that Tino said, "I am engaged," right after they kissed, which contradicted Tino's prior claim he thought Rachel had broken up with him.
Rachel begged Tino to tell her the truth if he had any respect for her, and then he walked out of the room again and called someone on his phone. Rachel asked Tino why he did what he did as well as the timeline of events, but Tino just repeated how he loved her.
Tino said he panicked when he thought he was going to lose her, which is why he immediately regretted telling her the truth about the kiss. Tino promised that he wanted to spend the rest of his life making it up to Rachel, insisting she's the only woman he wants and needs.
"I'm done," Rachel said. "This is such a big deal for me. I wanted to do this one time."
"Then don't give up," Tino begged.
"I'm done," Rachel concluded, before giving Tino her engagement ring back.
"You deserve somebody amazing, who doesn't do this. That could've been me, and I let you down, and I'm really sorry," Tino said on his way out.
Rachel told Jesse live in the studio how it was so hard to go from feeling so sure about Tino to "that" result. She said it was tough to be on another finale night single again and it was heartbreaking.
Rachel said she went into that conversation with Tino feeling totally confused, without her mind made up. Rachel said she wanted Tino to explain himself and apologize but he wasn't apologetic at all and flipped the fault onto her.
ADVERTISEMENT
"He did send me a letter [after that conversation], taking responsibility and saying sorry," Rachel revealed, adding that she hoped for an in-person apology later in the evening.
Rachel and Tino then reunited on After the Final Rose, and the audience booed Tino as he walked onstage.
Tino immediately apologized to Rachel and said he owned his actions and never meant for it to come off like he was putting any blame or responsibility on her. Rachel didn't like how Tino suggested things "came off" that way, pointing out how he still wasn't sincerely taking the fault for his mistakes.
Tino said Rachel was the best partner he ever could've asked for after the show but then they got distant and things got hard.
"Our conversations did get a little tough... When we started letting our conversations get into, 'I can't love you anymore,' or when you said..." Tino began.
"Do you want to get into that?!... You just projected it onto me again with no context. We were going through a really hard time that's deeply personal to both of us, and maybe we don't want to air that out," Rachel shared.
Rachel said personal things happened that led to them both being in a bad place and she couldn't believe Tino was bringing them up again publicly. Tino said he was just trying to explain his mindset, not justify his actions, and his insecurities took over -- and led to the bar kiss.
Tino confirmed they were never on a break but they agreed to give each other space. Tino repeated how what he did was wrong and she deserves better, and Rachel said there's absolutely no excuse for what he did and he broke her heart.
Rachel accused Tino of talking in circles and not making sense, and she insisted that she never said she was going to return her engagement ring. Tino and Rachel argued over the phrasing, with Tino saying he thought Rachel was done with him at that time.
"What you did is just absolutely inexcusable, and I don't really have words right now," Rachel concluded.
Suddenly, Jesse announced there was someone backstage demanding to speak with Rachel, and Aven Jones walked out onstage. As the audience cheered and roared with applause, Tino looked dumbfounded and unhappy.
ADVERTISEMENT
"I would love nothing more, actually," Rachel said.
Tino then asked Jesse, trying to leave, "Am I good?"
Rachel and Aven walked off together and embraced backstage, leaving Tino in their dust.
Gabby then joined Jesse onstage and gushed, "God bless, Aven, she deserves him and more!"
Footage then returned to Mexico, with Gabby's Final Rose Ceremony. Gabby said she loved Erich more than she's ever loved a man before, and she said being with Erich at the end was everything she had ever dreamt of and everything she never thought she could have.
When Gabby and Erich joined hands at the Final Rose Ceremony, Gabby opened up about how Erich had fought for her and he meant the world to her. Gabby said she initially thought Erich was too good to be true, but now he was only "true."
"I want to love you as long as you let me, and I'm sure much longer after that," Gabby noted.
Erich said it was hard to articulate his feelings and he wasn't sure if he could measure up to her expectations. Erich said Gabby deserved an unconditional love and he wanted to be that person for her.
Erich said Gabby brought out the best in him and fate played a role in his appearance on the show, which led to their "insane" connection and the ability to be himself in a relationship.
"At the time I didn't know it, but I had met my soul mate... You make me feel like I'm the only person in the world, and I will fight every day for the rest of my life to keep that feeling. I love you, Gabby," Erich said.
Erich shared how he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, before getting down on one knee and presenting Gabby with an oval engagement ring.
ADVERTISEMENT
Erich accepted Gabby's final rose, and Gabby boasted about how their relationship had overcome so many odds. With that being said, Erich asked for his fiancee's phone number.
Jesse then welcomed Erich onstage as Gabby's fiancee, and the couple embraced and shared a big kiss in front of everyone, proving they are still together and in love.
"It's going to be okay," Gabby assured Erich as she kissed him.
Jesse had to break up the couple's sweet kisses by reminding them how this is "family TV."
Erich confirmed that he and Gabby had "a happy ending," although he had been hesitant about proposing marriage after meeting Gabby's family. Erich said emotions were just running high on the show and he felt confusion towards the end just because things move so quickly in that environment.
Gabby was so glad that Erich had stepped up for her, but the couple has been through some challenges together since filming ended. Gabby said they're still learning about each other.
With that being said, Jesse brought up allegations from Erich's ex claiming he had left her to go on The Bachelorette for "an opportunity."
The woman, Amanda Kaylor, claimed that Erich had planned to resume dating her once he got back home from filming and he was just using The Bachelorette for "clout" and to boost his career.
"The reality is, I moved [from New Jersey] to California and started dating when I was 29 years old. You go on dates and you try to find your person. I met this girl about a month before this all started, and I had no idea I was going to come here," Erich explained.
"And ultimately, I realized it was not a connection long-term and it was about the same time the show reached out. So I handled it poorly, 100 percent, I led her on -- and I want to own that. I have no hard feelings towards her at all and I understand the reactions."
Erich said he had taken "the easy way out" to avoid a hard conversation but he learned a lot from that "mistake."
ADVERTISEMENT
Erich explained how he had taken the cowardly way out and used the show as an excuse to leave the relationship. Erich said he didn't see a future with this woman and he entered the show thinking, "[Hopefully] I make it past Night 1. Let's see what happens."
Erich said he had only watched one episode of the show before his appearance and then once he met Gabby, he only cared about her and wanted to see where things could go with her.
Erich insisted he fell in love through the process, adding, "I wouldn't change anything. If I could do it a million times over, I would, but the one thing I am sorry for is the beginning of it. I do want to own that, but I do love [Gabby] with all my heart."
Erich said his relationship is "100 percent real" and he "never expected it."
"I want this to be forever," Erich said.
Gabby said this scandal was hard to handle but Erich had told her about the text messages even before they leaked on social media, trying to be honest and transparent with her. Gabby said she and Erich had conversations about this "time and time again" and they continue to have good communication.
"I do believe what he says, not saying he was right in his actions. You were kind of an assh-le to her, but his honesty and [willingness] to take accountability is all I can ask for and want in a partner," Gabby declared.
Gabby shared how she and Erich are trying the best they can to make it work and she's chosen to forgive him.
Once Erich left the stage, Gabby said she was so proud of Rachel and "glowing" about her own romance.
Gabby told Jesse that she feels she can conquer anything with Erich by her side but she's not sure what's next -- other than starting a life with her fiance and having shared experiences. Gabby is currently competing on Dancing with Stars, and fans are probably hoping they'll see Erich in the ballroom.
The Bachelorette: After the Final Rose ended with Zach Shallcross being announced as The Bachelor star for Season 27, and he said he hopes to fall in love with his best friend.
ADVERTISEMENT
America was given the chance to tweet out their favorite's name and choose the recipient of Zach's First Impression Rose, and the rose went to a woman named Brianna.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)
Interested in more The Bachelor news? Join our The Bachelor Facebook Group!
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
