Spoilers ahead for the Season 17 of The Bachelorette on ABC.
The latest season of The Bachelorette has come to an end to finish Katie Thurston's second Bachelor Nation search for love, and she was much more successful this time around, as the finale saw Blake Moynes go down on one knee and propose. That's not to say that the whole three-hour finale was full of laughs, and not just because Justin Glaze was sent home before getting one last shot. Greg Grippo returned for the "After the Final Rose" portion of the finale to reunite with Katie for the first time since his dramatic departure, and Katie had some big accusations to throw at him with some shocking reveals.
Viewers will undoubtedly remember that Katie Thurston was so devastated by Greg Grippo's abrupt and confusing decision to leave in the penultimate episode after Hometowns that she was ready to hop on a plane and fly home, but the Katie who was sobbing to co-host Kaitlyn Bristowe after he left was not the same Katie who confronted him on the couch in the finale. Apparently, Katie learned some things about Greg since her journey as Bachelorette ended, and she discovered that Greg may have been in Season 17 because of the dreaded "for the wrong reasons."
Katie Thurston alluded to Greg Grippo using her to get "the exposure" and "the acting practice" at her expense, to the confusion of the studio audience and probably plenty of viewers from home. Kaitlyn Bristowe stepped in to ask Katie to clarify for those in the dark where her "acting" accusations were coming from, and Katie was only too willing to oblige:
You know, once we got out, a lot of things I was hearing was not only ‘Did he go to acting school,’ which is fine, you can be an actor and wanna be on the show. That’s not the problem. The problem is if you’re acting with me, and so what I’ve been hearing is that Greg’s not this shy guy act that he was doing on the show, that he’s actually this very confident, cocky boy from Jersey who knows that he’s hot [bleep], and, like, this is an act. And so paired with those rumors and acting school, I really don’t know if I actually know who Greg is. It’s not even about the acting. What it really comes down to is… The way you treated me, the way you said that you were so in love with me, I filled a hole in your heart, and the small second that things got awkward for you, uncomfortable, you ran. You’re a liar. You did not love me. And if you think that’s love, you don’t know what love is.
Damn, Katie, tell us how you really feel! Greg Grippo denied her accusations and maintained that he left the way he did because he felt that she wasn't on the same level as him regarding their relationship. He then said that he was sorry that she felt that he was talking down to her, which I would say is just about the worst way to apologize if you're hoping for any closure. Katie Thurston evidently agrees with me, as she responded:
Gaslighting, I think, is probably a better word.
Kaitlyn Bristowe again stepped into the conversation to note that "'gaslighting' is a very strong term" and ask Katie Thurston to explain it. Once more, Katie was quick to oblige and explain both what she meant by "gaslighting" and how she feels Greg Grippo was guilty of it:
Gaslighting is when you try and make someone else feel like it’s their fault, and you came at me as if I did something so horrible that you had to leave, yet when I’m watching back there, you’re pretty much admitting, like, ‘Oh, I just didn’t feel the same,’ and, ‘Oh, we were just on different pages.’ Like, you could’ve just been a man and had a normal conversation instead of being so rude and dramatic and leaving without even saying goodbye.
The audience in attendance seemed to be on Katie Thurston's side, and she and Greg Grippo went back and forth over his behavior and whether not he was being genuine in what he said when he was leaving or instead just acting. Still, by the end, they were able to each say "I wish you nothing but the best." Admittedly, Katie didn't exactly look like she meant it from the bottom of her heart, and I do wonder if her response would have been different if she wasn't on national television and if the season hadn't ended with her getting happily engaged.
I do think it's safe to say that Greg Grippo won't be asked to become the next Bachelor, but it's up to interpretation as to whether or not he truly joins the ranks of those like Jed Wyatt who joined Bachelor Nation for the wrong reasons. I think we can just all be happy that Katie Thurston is happy with a ring on her finger and Blake Moynes by her side. Congratulations, Katie! What a way to end another season of The Bachelorette.
Of course, the end of Season 17 of The Bachelorette doesn't mean that ABC is about to go into a Bachelor Nation drought. Season 7 of Bachelor in Paradise will premiere next Monday, August 16, at 8 p.m. ET with a whole bunch of familiar faces trying once again to find love on reality TV. Another season of The Bachelorette is already on the way as well, centered on Michelle Young and featuring Kaitlyn Bristowe and Tayshia Adams back again as co-hosts... for now, at least.
