After a controversial season, ABC's The Bachelorended their season with ratings high.
The season finale reached 6.1 million viewers last Monday, and the "After the Final Rose" special was seen by 5.67 million.
The pre-recorded finale featured host Chris Harrison, who recently came under fire for defending a contestant's past racially insensitive actions and since has announced he would be stepping away from the show. The after special was hosted by Harrison's replacement, Emmanuel Acho.
While it's unclear if Harrison will ever make a comeback to the show, the hosts for next season of The Bachelorette have already been announced. Two former contestants, Tayshia Adams and Kaitlyn Bristowe, will be picking up the hosting duties for the show.
While the ratings for Matt James' The Bachelor have been down, there has been an uptick in views for the past couple episodes. During the "After the Final Rose" special, James revealed he had since broken up with Rachael Kirkconnell upon the controversy of her past racism.
The franchise recently announced there will be back to back seasons of The Bachelorette, starting in summer 2021.
A spoiler alert warning is fairly put in place for anyone who wants to watch The Bachelor (2002-) finale for themselves before checking out the highlights from the historic night.
Meeting the James'
Finalists Michelle Young and Rachael Kirkconnell met Matt James' mom and brother during last night's finale. Both of the women did very well under pressure, in fact it was Matt who was asked the hard-hitting questions. After the women and Matt's family privately talked about past relationships and their love of Matt, Patty and John James asked Matt if her was ready for the seriousness of what marriage truly is.
Matt bore his soul out last week in a conversation with his father where he revealed he would never want the relationship he experienced his parents had. Due to this, Matt walked into the finale completely unsure.
Sweet, Sweet Michelle
Michelle may have experienced the only one-on-one of the finale, but that does not mean she was the winner. After a day of building climbing, the two met up at the estate to talk. Michelle gave Matt a couple of gifts and Matt in turn broke things off with the teacher. The breakup was emotional and tearjerking, as audiences could truly feel Michelle's love for Matt.
After the Breakup
Devastated, Matt cancelled his date with Rachael leaving her completely in the dark. All Chris Harrison told the graphic designer was Matt is having doubts, but not about what exactly.
Although disheveled and confused, the bachelor still picked out a ring in case he could magically figure everything out in 24 hours.
So, there's a winner, right?
I guess there's a winner... Well, at least there was a recipient of the final rose: Rachael. However, the bachelor did not get down on one knee. Matt is so keen on building a strong relationship before any serious milestones, but he assured Rachael that he wanted to build that with her.
The two rode off into the sunset with one another and led us right into present time with the "After the Final Rose" special.
Michelle and Matt Hash Things Out
Hosted by Emmanuel Acho, the "After the Final Rose" special brought Michelle back onto stage where it was revealed she was hurt and heartbroken.
The biggest thing for Michelle was she asked for a conversation with Matt after their split for self-peace and closure and was denied by Matt. Matt is apologetic and let's Michelle know how much he really cares for her.
Rachael Speaks Out
In case you didn't know, racially insensitive images of Rachael at an event surfaced on the internet and took Bachelor Nation by storm. Rachael has apologized and spoken out via social media, but this is her very first televised encounter since then.
Rachael admits she lived in a state of ignorance without putting the blame on anything, not wanting to form an excuse. Kirkconnell goes on to explain that she took so long to apologize as she wanted to fully understand the meaning of her apology and educate herself.
It was earlier revealed by Matt that the two were no longer together. When asked by Acho on the breakup Rachael stated,
"My, you know, initial reaction was I was very confused. I was very blindsided, but once that initial reaction went away, I thought about, you know, how strong I thought our relationship was, so for him to end things, he must've been very very hurt by everything."
The Two Reunite for the First Time
When asked by Acho why their relationship can't work out, Matt expressed how he dates to eventually marry and he can't marry someone who fully doesn't understand his blackness. He believed he had to take a step back to allow her to do what she needed to do.
Matt expressed,
"The most disappointing thing for me was having to explain to you why what I saw was problematic and why I was so upset."
Rachael understood Matt's perspective, but said she doesn't believe she could have these same feelings for anyone else. When asked by Acho if the two could ever reconcile Matt stated,
"The feelings that I have for you don't go away overnight and seeing you like this hurts, but then I ask myself like I don't want to be emotionally responsible for those tears because it's like the work and the reconciliation that needs to be done is work that I can't do for you and I know that you'r capable of doing it"
Matt call for Rachael to not be cancelled out, but rather brought in to put in the work on her own.
Meet Your New Bachelorette(s)
After that emotional reunion, Acho brought back contestants Katie Thurston and Michelle to announce their upcoming seasons on The Bachelorette (2003-).
If you've come along for all of my recaps on this season of The Bachelor, it's been quite the ride. To see if my predictions for yesterday's finale were correct, click here.
Well, it's been an eventful season to say the least, but it's not over yet! Last week, we watched bachelor Matt James meet the families of his remaining contestants. With Serena taking herself out of the running, James is now down to his final three- Rachael, Michelle and Bri.
But this week, we're taking a little break from the romance to dive into all of the drama! ABC has brought back the cast of season 25 to discuss all of the controversy... Calling Queen Victoria and all escort shamers!
The BachelorTV host will also address his decision in stepping away from his job with the franchise, as he initially shared in an Instagram post from February 13.
Just days earlier, Harrison apologized after he first came under fire for defending a frontrunner contestant of the season for problematic actions and social media posts from the past. He said in an earlier Instagram post:
"While I do not speak for Rachael Kirkconnell, my intentions were simply to ask for grace in offering her an opportunity to speak on her own behalf. What I now realize I have done is cause harm by wrongly speaking in a manner that perpetuates racism, and I am so deeply sorry for that."
Harrison had originally defended racist actions of Rachael Kirkconnel to "Extra" correspondent and former star of The Bachelorette, Rachel Lindsay, in an interview. He seemingly condemned cancel culture in the interview, saying:
"I saw a picture of her at a sorority party five years ago and that's it. Like, boom. I'm like, 'Really?'"
Harrison since addressed his apologies to Rachel Lindsay, the Black community, and Bachelor Nation.
Now, Harrison wants to clear all this controversy up, and will have his chance later this week on Good Morning America.
