From the first moment of The BacheloretteIn the season 21 finale, host Jesse Palmer assured viewers that the next three hours would include something that had never happened before on the show. As the finale unfolded, one thing became clear: The show's host wasn't exaggerating.
Going into the finale, this season's lead, Jenn Tran, was deciding between two men, Marcus Shoberg and Devin Strader. However, just over an hour and a half into the finale, Tran dropped a surprise in the form of a final breakup shot between her and Shoberg. Much of the first half of the episode focused on whether or not Shoberg was ready to commit to Tran after he failed to say he loved her. The finalist is finally able to tell Tran that he loves her, right before he gets dumped.
The second, which led to the biggest surprise of the night, came when Tran, confident in her decision to be with Strader, announced that she was going to tell him that he couldn’t propose to her because she was the one who proposed to him. However, before viewers could even see Tran propose, Palmer cut out the pre-recorded Hawaii segment to tell the audience that it wouldn’t be appropriate to show the proposal until they’d heard from the star herself.
Tran with his latest pick, Strader.
DISNEY/John Fleeno
Tran joined the live audience and immediately broke down in tears, revealing that after the show ended, Strader broke off their engagement via phone call. The breakup wasn’t the franchise’s first: Arie Luyendyk Jr. Short degree the season ended with him proposing to his ex Bachelorette Party star Becca Kufrin before changing her mind, breaking up with Kufrin and proposing to Lauren Burnham during the live After the final rose special.
In an emotional and tense segment, Strader finally took the stage with Tran. “I don’t even know where to begin,” she told Strader to kick off their conversation. “I just feel like this conversation that’s going on between us is not what I wanted and it’s not something that’s going to be meaningful to me.”
Tran, who was visibly angry and upset throughout the conversation, accused Strader of spending the months between the taping and the live finale distancing himself from the relationship before finally calling it quits.
The 26-year-old told her ex-boyfriend that she understands that someone can change their mind, but that she didn't understand what he did after their engagement ended. She said Strader followed Tran's ex Short degree castmate Maria Georgas the morning after their engagement ended and instead of being upset about their relationship, she was “in New York clubbing with Jeremy.”
“He said, 'Oh, I need time and space to process my emotions. This makes me sad,'” Tran recalled. Strader chimed in after an audible surprise from the audience: “I think this is a little different from the conversation I was hoping to have with you. I went on a business trip. I met with a client.”
“In the club,” Tran added.
The former couple went back and forth before Palmer brought up the proposal, telling Tran that no one could take away its historical nature. “I know you haven't seen it yet. What do you think? Should we all watch it?” the host asked Tran, Strader, and the audience. “Do I have a choice?” he retorted as the clip began to play.
The first marriage proposal of its kind, when it finally aired, was a beautiful, romantic moment between Tran and Strader, with Tran telling Strader she was proposing and him proposing right back.
After watching the clip, Tran told the audience that she thought it was the happiest day of her life and that she was proud of herself for choosing a man who gave her what she deserved in that moment. “I don't regret proposing to that man over there,” she said. “That man is gone and the truth is, I'm still the same woman I am.”
To wrap up Tran’s story, Palmer offered to share with the reality star what he hoped Strader had learned from the experience. “I hope you learn that your words matter and that if you promise something, you should be able to follow through on those promises,” he said.
“I just couldn't have done what you did in that position,” she continued. “When I love something, I nurture it and appreciate it, and I don't throw it away the next day. I hope you find whatever it is, wherever it is on your inner journey, I hope you get there one day.”
The finale concluded with an imminent glimpse of Joan Vassos, the first-ever Golden Bachelorette. Vassos, a 61-year-old grandmother and school principal from Rockland, Maryland, revealed herself as the next senior looking for love when she made a surprise appearance at Disney’s initial presentation to ad buyers on Madison Avenue in May.
In the clip, Kelsey Anderson, who got engaged to Joey Graziadei during season 28 of The Graduategreets Vassos as she prepares to meet her cast of potential suitors. The 26-year-old gushes about her experience on the show before introducing Vassos to her father, Mark Anderson, who will be a contestant on the show.