‘The Bachelorette’ Finale Recap: Kaitlyn Bristowe And Shawn Booth Get Engaged

The Bachelorette finale saw Kaitlyn Bristowe‘s two remaining suitors Nick Viall and Shawn Booth meet her parents, a pair of final dates, a proposal and a tense “After the Final Rose” special.

The Bachelorette Finale Recap

Now in Malibu, Kaitlyn visits with her family and gives them a brief recap of her season thus far. Her mother is none to pleased to find out that Nick of Andi Dorfman‘s season fame is one of her last remaining men. When Nick arrives at the house to meet the family, Kailtyn’s mom doesn’t waste any time before grilling him. She wants to know why he returned to the show and what her daughter could possibly see in him. To Kaitlyn, she calls Nick “possessive” and “arrogant.” Eventually, however, she comes around to calling Nick a teddy bear after he sheds a few tears, and gives them her blessing. Kaitlyn’s father follows suit.

When it’s Shawn’s turn to meet the family, he softens them all up with gifts – including ones for Kaitlyn’s sister’s kids. Though Shawn has had some trouble opening up over the season, he launches into telling everyone how he came on the show for the sole purpose of meeting Kaitlyn and gave a toast about love and family. He also deftly navigated a question from Kaitlyn’s mom about being jealous of her sleeping with Nick and managed to win over Kailtyn’s sister, who’d been a big Nick fan. Both of Kaitlyn’s parents give Shawn their blessing to propose to their daughter.

For their last date before the final Rose Ceremony, Kaitlyn and Nick go sailing and talk about how they can fit seamlessly into each other’s lives. Kaitlyn says that Nick is different from anyone she’s ever been with because he’s so emotional and sensitive, which she loves about him. At dinner later, Kaitlyn tells Nick that she’s happy that he showed up and surprised her on the show. In response, he gives her a gift of a picture of them on their first one-on-one date and an accompanying poem about his feelings for her.

Kaitlyn’s last date with Shawn takes place at a winery. The bachelorette is so anxious she can hardly get herself ready for the date, but she’s happy to get some time with Shawn.They’re both so much in their own heads that they hardly even speak to one another, making it one of the more awkward dates in recent memory. Kaitlyn’s silence is giving Shawn a pit in his stomach and making him think that maybe he’s not the one. Thankfully, the night goes a bit better and Shawn gives Kaitlyn a memory jar filled with mementos and letters from their short courtship.

Leading up the final Rose Ceremony, Kaitlyn is crying because she loves both Nick and Shawn and claims to not know who to chose. Meanwhile, both Nick and Shawn, equally intent on proposing, head off to select a Neil Lane engagement ring for their potential future bride.

Final Rose Ceremony

The first limo pulls up, and Nick is the first person to arrive at the proposal spot, spelling heartbreak for him. Before Kaitlyn can speak, Nick tells her about how much he loves her and wants to spend his life with her through tears. Just as he’s about to take a knee, Kaitlyn grabs his hand and stops him, then tries to explain that while he’s not the one for her, everything they had together was real. He doesn’t want to hear about how she loved him because she clearly doesn’t feel about him the way that he feels about her. She apologizes and walks him to his limo. Crushed, Nick throws Kaitlyn’s ring followed by his own ring before calling himself the world’s biggest joke.

Shawn, unknowingly victorious, steps out of the limo and makes his ways towards Kaitlyn. He tells her that he loves her and wants to marry her because she’s his best friend, partner in crime and love of his life. In response, Kaitlyn seems to give her own proposal, outlining all the reasons she wants to spend the the rest of her life with him. After hearing that, Shawn gets down on one knee and shows her the Neil Lane engagement ring. She says yes.

After the Final Rose

Chris Harrison pulls Nick up on stage first. He defends having sex with Kaitlyn, explaining that they had a foundation for a relationship before the show and were open about the possibility of falling for each other and getting engaged. Nick also tries to downplay the drama with Shawn, even coming to his defense. When Shawn came out to be with Nick, the tension between the two men is still there and Shawn claims he was the victim of a jealousy edit. In the end, both agree that they looked immature on TV and would have preferred to have handled some things differently.

Shawn exits the stage to give Kaitlyn and Nick time to talk for the first time since that Rose Ceremony. Nick wants to know why she told him that she loved him, and she tries to explain that while she felt love for both him and Ben H., no love for anyone was as strong as the love he felt for Shawn. Nick also interrogates her about why she let him pick out a ring and propose to her. Kaitlyn admits that she could have handled it better, but that nothing was malicious. Nick wishes her well.

Kaitlyn and Shawn, on the couch together with Chris Harrison, revealed that they’re just ready to be a normal couple – heading to Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts and Tim Horton’s. Shawn also said he’s happy that he can finally publicly stand up and defend Kaitlyn after months of having to be silent while she was bullied for her decisions on the show.

Bachelor in Paradise kicks off next Sunday on ABC.