Spoilers ahead for the finale of Hannah Brown's season of The Bachelorette.
Hannah Brown's season of The Bachelorette was hugely melodramatic even by Bachelor franchise standards, with Luke Parker freaking everybody out, a bunch of guys being there for the wrong reasons, and spoilers revealing that Hannah would choose a guy who had a girlfriend back home before joining the show. The season finale was a wild ride that first saw Hannah accept Jed Wyatt's proposal after tearfully sending Tyler Cameron home, then break up with Jed after learning the truth, and then reunite with Tyler for a moment that felt straight out of a rom com.
As expected, the live portion of the finale reunited Hannah with both the "winner" and the runner-up of her season of The Bachelorette. Also as expected for fans who kept up with spoilers, Hannah was done with Jed, and his apology on live TV didn't change her mind or soften her heart toward him. As was definitely not expected, Hannah was all smiles and blushes when Chris announced that she would reunite with Tyler next. She bashfully commented that her feelings for Tyler didn't just go away, prompting the audience to erupt in deafening cheers. Could Hannah have a happily-ever-after after all?
Here's what happened. Hannah was positively glowing when Tyler walked out, and the way he looked at her made it clear that he wasn't holding her choice of Jed against her. Then, in a twist that seriously would not have felt out of place in the final act of a romantic comedy, this exchange happened:
Hannah Brown: I know that with Tyler, he's been so supportive and so respectful of me. Not just on our journey together, but even afterwards. I don't know. It's just like that relationship, our relationship, was real to me. And special and everything I said, I meant and I felt, and it didn't just go away. I still have feelings.Chris Harrison: And what are those feelings?Hannah Brown: I'm really confident in who I am now and in being on my own and growing and really taking everything that I've learned and what I want in a next relationship, but... I don't know. I've always said... God. Yeah, I want somebody to be bold and I'm bold and I make bold moves. [To Tyler] You're an incredible guy, and I'm a single girl. So, I don't know, I just thought maybe we could go for a drink and just hang out.
Way to be bold, Hannah! She was smiling and laughing and blushing through her whole speech, and it was honestly wonderful to see her so happy and so confident about a guy who hadn't been called "psychopath," hadn't concealed a relationship despite getting engaged, and hadn't done anything to make it hard to root for her love story with him.
Because this was a happy twist and not Arie and Becca 2.0 or something as uncomfortable as what went down between Bachelor in Paradise's Kamil and Annaliese, Tyler's response was perfect. He said this:
Tyler Cameron: I would love to. Just tell me when and I'm there.
Excuse me while I swoon! Seriously, I needed the catharsis of seeing Hannah smiling and happy by the side of a guy who wasn't surrounded by rumor and controversy.
Chris Harrison seemed as surprised as anybody by the turn of events, although he wasn't shrieking with joy like some of the audience members. He did volunteer to send a date card, a helicopter, a limo, and a hot air balloon, prompting Hannah to promise no horses. Harrison's final comment was that he thinks he can speak for everybody by saying that "we can ship this."
Yay for Hannah! For most of the two-night finale, it seemed like there was no way Hannah could have a happy ending when it was clear that she was going for Jed rather than Tyler. She was even visibly uncomfortable when she reunited with Jed in the live interview portion of the finale, and that could have set the tone for the rest of her night. Instead, she lit up around Tyler, boldly asked him out on a date, and clearly intends to give their relationship a shot without the pressures of a reality TV show.
So, I think it's safe to say that Tyler won't be turning up on Bachelor in Paradise or starring in the next season of The Bachelor! The new Bachelor leading man wasn't announced, and Chris Harrison explained why. For a fix of Bachelor franchise action moving forward, you can catch the season premiere of Bachelor in Paradise on ABC next week.
