We knew going into the season finale of The Bachelor that it could not be anything but heart-wrenching. Ben said “I love you” to both JoJo and Lauren B., but he could only propose to one woman. And when he did we were totally over it. Here’s why:
1. Ben could not make up his mind until the very last minute
We had no idea what Ben was thinking heading into this finale. And neither did he, apparently. Even when Neil Lane asked about his future fiancée, he was speechless. That is, until he saw the engagement rings. Yep, after all this time and suffering, an array of massive Neil Lane diamond rings is what caused Ben to finally choose a woman for the rest of his life. Shocking, right?
2. He let JoJo make that heartfelt speech knowing he was about to dump her
JoJo was so confident in what she and Ben had. She greeted him with a warm and extremely emotional speech about their journey of love. And Ben just nodded along, all while figuring out how he was going to reject her. He easily could’ve stopped JoJo before she started talking; it would’ve saved her a lot of hurt and embarrassment.
3. We kept trying to warn her, but she couldn’t hear us
The moment we realized JoJo was the first to exit a helicopter we started screaming at the television. But then we remembered that’s not how TV works and proceeded to yell at our televisions for another solid 15 minutes.
4. Ben said “but”
Everybody knows you’re not getting that final rose when the “but” comes. When Ben uttered that fateful word in his speech to JoJo, our hearts sank even further. Somehow we hoped it had been just an awful nightmare.
5. He broke her freaking heart into a million pieces
Ben destroyed JoJo. It was unbelievably difficult to watch, and we were all questioning our allegiance to Team Ben as it was happening.
6. And he couldn’t even make eye contact while he was doing it
Ben never really looked JoJo in the eye when he was saying goodbye. We expected him to be a man about it and own up to his part in this mess. Alas…
7. He blindsided her after he promised he wouldn’t
Ben promised he would never blindside JoJo. Come to think of it, he said that to every woman he blindsided this season, but it should’ve been different with her. Especially since the two exchanged ILYs. We thought she meant more to him than that pitiful sendoff portrayed.
8. Ben kept on saying how much he loved her despite the fact that he was about to propose to Lauren B.
Although Ben knew he was about to propose to the woman he supposedly wants to spend the rest of his life with, he still kept telling JoJo how much he loved her. How is that fair? Earth to Ben—it’s not!
9. But then he told her he loved Lauren B. more
Never. Don’t even. And how is that even a justification? That’s the only reason he could come up with for choosing Lauren B.? We still don’t get it, Ben.
10. After a quick commercial break, he was over it and ready to pop the question
Just like that, Ben called Lauren B.’s dad, asked for his permission to propose and got to it. Yes, Ben probably had longer than a three-minute commercial break to process what happened with JoJo, but things took way too sharp a turn for viewers.
11. Their proposal was super cute but kind of hard to be happy about after watching JoJo get devastated on national television
We just weren’t into it at that point, obviously. How could we be? We’re sure they’re an amazing couple, and we wish them nothing but the best. But come on, we were shattered. Can you blame us?