The various seasons of The Bachelor are never short on drama, especially in the season finales when the leading man must choose which of the remaining contestants he wants to spend his life with. Season 22 star Arie Luyendyk was conflicted between Becca Kufrin and Lauren Burnham until almost the very end, although he ultimately delivered the rose to Becca. The controversial twist came at the end of the episode, when it was revealed that Arie had changed his mind and intended to break up with Becca and rekindle his romance with Lauren.
Arie decided to break up with Becca by tricking her into believing that they were going on a romantic getaway, then breaking her heart on camera. Viewers were understandably not happy with Arie for how he handled the breakup, but Arie got the chance to explain and defend his decision on the Bachelor: After The Final Rose special, saying this to Becca about why he did what he did:
We had talked about the struggles that I had and how I was thinking about that breakup and how it was hard for me. There was a lot of guilt and a lot of shame and we were close and I wanted to express everything to you but I wanted to be sure before I put that out there. I think that the reason why I did it in the way that I did it was because I wanted everyone here and at home to know that this was on me and it wasn't on you. I think there's a lot of questions on why I did it the way I did it. That's why.
According to Arie, he was so guilt-stricken and ashamed of his decisions that he wanted to take steps to guarantee that everybody knew he was to blame for the end of his relationship with Becca. For him, the reason he needed to set Becca up to be dumped on camera was so the Bachelor finale would make it clear that the breakup was on him rather than on her, which... is an explanation. Becca wasn't exactly overcome with gratitude at his explanation while sharing the couch with him on Bachelor: After The Final Rose in what may be a sign that his explanation wasn't quite sufficient for her, even if she has been publicly magnanimous about his controversial move.
Fans have been pretty furious at Arie on social media for what he did to Becca, and his comments on After The Final Rose probably won't win many of them back. His apology for his actions in the season finale wasn't exactly impassioned, and his behavior in the rest of the special made it seem like he didn't actually feel all that bad. Arie revealed that he didn't watch the finale, which means that he didn't see the big breakup that was broadcast to the entire country. He also had this to say about his new status quo with Lauren:
As long as we're happy, that's all that matters.
Arie was down on one knee to propose to Lauren by the end of After The Final Rose, and she happily accepted his proposal. Fortunately, Becca got her time to shine in the special when host Chris Harrison broke the news that she would be the next leading lady on The Bachelorette. She even got to meet several of the hunky men who will attempt to woo her on the show, which will debut later this year.
The Bachelor is done for Season 22, but you can catch The Bachelorette back on ABC with Becca in the spotlight on May 28. If you're still in the market for other shows now and in the not-too-distant future, be sure to check out our 2018 midseason TV premiere schedule and our 2018 Netflix premiere guide.
