Every year, Chris Harrison claims that we are in for the most shocking season of The Bachelor. This year, this assertion may actually be true. With the insane twists that happened in the past few weeks, Bachelor Nation has been left in awe.
If you haven’t kept up with this season, it features Colton Underwood, a former NFL player and the first virgin Bachelor. He’s also a former Illinois State University Campus Cutie!
Throughout the season, there was the usual drama between girls which usually got “resolved” in a one way or another (even if it meant just sending them home). However, the most intense drama of the season began a few episodes back. As several of the girls left, they hinted that “some girls aren’t here for the right reasons.” When multiple girls brought this up, this sent Colton into a state of confusion and did not necessarily cause him to end up weeding out the right people. Tayshia and Kirpa came forward, claiming that Caelynn and Cassie were the ones who they believed were not there to find a husband. At first, it seemed as if they were just stirring the pot, but the events of the past couple episodes reveal that they may have been telling the truth.
In the hometowns episode, tons of twists occurred. During this episode, Colton went on hometown dates with the final four girls: Caelynn, Hannah G., Tayshia, and Cassie. Caelynn, 2018 Miss North Carolina and a girl who normally tries to stay out of drama despite being dragged into it a whole lot, had her hometown visit first. Caelynn’s hometown visit may have been the most emotional of them all, having a sweet moment with her stepdad who went on to give permission for engagement to Colton. After the date, Caelynn told Colton that she was “fully in love” with him and felt as if he fit in very well with her family. Next, Colton traveled to Alabama for a date with Hannah G., a sweet 23-year-old model and photographer who received the first impression rose from Colton for “reminding him of home.” They started their date off with an etiquette class to build his southern charm. During the time with Hannah’s family, her family saw how much Hannah truly loves Colton. Her father ended up giving Colton his blessing as well. Moving on to Santa Ana, California, Colton started his hometown date with Tayshia, a 28-year-old phlebotomist who has had a ton of chemistry with Colton in recent episodes, off with skydiving—really trying to get Colton out of his comfort zone! After this, they went to meet Tayshia’s family. As Tayshia’s previous marriage did not end well, her family was initially concerned. At first, her father was hesitant about giving Colton his blessing. However, after telling her dad that she really wanted this and that she was truly ready, he ended up giving his permission to get engaged to his daughter. Colton made his final stop in Cassie’s hometown of Huntington Beach, California. Cassie, a 23-year-old speech pathologist who was one of the contestants accused of ‘not being ready for marriage,’ revealed to Colton that she could not say she was in falling in love because she did not want to say it until she was sure. Even her family questioned whether or not she was ready because she could not clearly decide how she felt about Colton. Her dad was especially skeptical of their relationship and refused to give Colton his blessing. Despite Cassie not being able to know or express how she felt about Colton and the lack of her father’s blessing (previously deemed as ‘very important’ to him), Colton gave her a rose and eliminated Caelynn.
During the Fantasy Suites episode, where they took a trip to Portugal, the final 3 left were Cassie, Tayshia, and Hannah G. The episode started by focusing on Colton’s date and overnight with Tayshia. Even though their date and relationship seemed to be going along very well, Tayshia revealed, to her disappointment, that Colton did not lose his virginity during their Fantasy Suite. The second date of the episode was Cassie’s. After Cassie continuously could not figure out her feelings, Colton drops the bomb that he did not receive her father’s blessing to propose to her. This revelation definitely made Cassie even more unsure of her feelings. Later, her dad *casually* travels to Portugal, stopping by her hotel room to discuss the situation with her. He further expresses his concerns, stating that she must be sure about her feelings before she decides to get engaged. This causes Cassie to realize that she truly does not feel ready to make this commitment. Later that night, she reveals to Colton that she loves him but is not falling in love with him. Colton tells her that he wants it to be her at the end of this and does not care if get engaged right away. However, this is still not enough to prevent her from leaving, and Cassie makes herself the fourth self-eliminated contestant of the season (the most a single season has ever had).
In response to Cassie’s departure, Colton breaks down when he realizes what he stated was his ‘biggest fear’ all season, falling in love with someone and not having them feel the same way, has come true. The moment everyone has been waiting for all season arrives, and it was definitely worth the wait: Colton throws himself over an eight foot fence and vanishes into the Portuguese wilderness. The episode ends with Chris Harrison attempting to track down Colton and not appearing to succeed. Meanwhile, Hannah G. did not even have a chance to have her Fantasy Suite date and Colton remained a virgin.
After declaring his love for Cassie, he could not just decide to propose to Tayshia or Hannah G. After being tracked down after jumping the fence, Colton returned to the show and broke up with Tayshia and Hannah G.—telling them both that he couldn’t be with them while he was in love with someone else. Instead of completely ending the show, Colton finds Cassie to try to win her over once again. Surprisingly, Cassie seems more easily persuaded to get back together with Colton than expected—seeming shocked and pleased when he tells her he sent the other girls home. They almost immediately take a trip to Spain to meet his family. His family seems skeptical about whether Cassie is really in love with him, but they end up talking it through and recognize that Cassie needs some time besides the show time to know whether she’s meant to be with Colton. She starts to open up to the idea of them being together more during their dinner date and they spend the night in a Fantasy Suite.
The night was full of huge reveals. Chris Harrison no longer needs to wonder whether Colton will “remain a virgin forever” because it’s pretty clear that he lost his virginity while in Spain with Cassie! Plus, the next Bachelorette was announced to be Hannah B. and she even met some of her season’s contestants on the show.
Even though people have very mixed opinions on Cassie and Colton ending up together, you have to admit that this season was one of the most surprising. Despite Colton narrowing down his number of girlfriends to zero at one point and the show not ending with an engagement, he is currently in a relationship with Cassie and they are “super in love.” At least there was some closure and a happy ending after the fence jump in Portugal.