An Ending Like Never Before... Actually - The Bachelorette - Finale

Lessons I learned from the conclusion of this season… My wife is always right and I should have listened to her in the first place. Obviously, this has to do with our reactions to the Bachelor Nation’s newest villain, Devin. 

As the iconic Steven A. Smith once said, “We have been hoodwinked, bamboozled, led astray, run amok, and flat-out deceived.” I don’t think Jenn or us viewers could ever relate more to that quote. I mean it was seriously jaw-dropping and gut-wrenching at the same time. Usually when the producer/Jesse Palmer says something like, “This ending is something you will never see coming”, I brush it off. Well… they did not lie. I did not see that coming at all. 

Now knowing how everything has transpired, I can’t help but awkwardly laugh at the live crowd cheering on Devin at the beginning of the episode. We’ll get to that in a short bit. 

It was nice meeting Jenn’s Family! Especially Jenn’s brother who has become a Bachelor Nation legend overnight. I think it’s fair to say that nobody knows you better than your own family. Therefore, it was good to see them lovingly call out Jenn! Her brother did an awesome job at being the perfect blend of encouragement and accountability. I love how they recognized the magnitude of the moment as well. This is a huge commitment to engagement/marriage and it wouldn’t be glossed over. It’s realistic! They didn’t come for the fame of the TV show, they came for answers!

The fact that Jenn’s brother called out that they were both emotionally unavailable men… then being right was kind of iconic too. 

I guess I should have seen Devin’s downfall coming when he walked into meeting Jenn’s family with his shirt unbuttoned and chest fur showing. Besides the fact, he did walk into the conversation with her family pretty authentically and openly. Even his nerves at the beginning seemed pretty genuine too. They quickly jumped into talking about some pretty difficult topics. Like dating within the Asian culture, and being able to provide/protect Jenn despite them both coming from fatherless families and asking for their blessings. Devin didn’t shy away from their questions and boldly proclaimed that he loved Jenn to them. He even went further to let them know that he would be heartbroken if he wasn’t picked in the end. 

At the moment, you’re thinking that he’s still making a good case for himself. Despite not even getting their blessings or any ounce of confirmation from Jenn’s family. However, It goes without saying, that all of this is now super disappointing after what happened. Not only did he lie to Jenn, but he lied to her family too. Making promises and giving false hope that he could not provide. It’s a gut punch for them too. 

Recounting everything with Devin and Jenn’s family just has me wondering when was he being truthful? How much of that was real and how much was fake? I mean you can ask these same questions about their last date too. Like the gifting of the necklace, or the fact that Devin shared he was letting go of all the fears regarding the relationship. He said things like he would always be there for her and ready to fully commit to her… that wasn’t true. 

Now, It was Marcus’ turn! I truly think that Jenn’s family liked Marcus as a person and sympathized greatly with his story. Yet, I also got the feeling that they had less confidence in their relationship due to him not being able to confess feelings of love. Both things can be true at once. You could tell that her mom, aunt, and brother were waiting for him to be vulnerable about their dating relationship. Yet, they never got it. Instead, they got uncertainties which probably validated their opinions of them together even more. 

You can be a great person, but not a great fit for marriage. Honestly, I think that summarizes Marcus’ entire segment with Jenn’s family. 

Props again to Jenn’s brother for asking great questions about Marcus and her relationship. Is Marcus giving you the love you need? How long are you willing to wait? Is he emotionally unavailable? These are the right questions! Even if they can be difficult questions or ones that she may not want to hear. Ultimately, he is just trying to look out for his sister and it’s truly heartwarming. It’s clear they have a special bond. 

I felt like you could sense that Jenn was losing hope in Marcus the more this process went on. As if she knew he wouldn’t get there. She wants to hold onto the good things she’s had with him but clearly doesn’t like the feelings of confusion this late in the game. After Marcus met with Jenn’s family, I came to the conclusion that Devin would probably win.

Ultimately it led to his sad departure. Which, from my perspective, was probably the right thing to do. I am glad that Jenn took the initiative to go to him. Not just waiting during the date or brushing it aside any longer. To be honest, It didn’t seem like he was going to be able to get there after one more date with Jenn before engagement. It would probably just be a waste of time. 

Similar to how he’s reacted all season long, his fears and anxieties have just taken over him. Arguably they’ve gotten worse as the season has gone on. They weigh so heavily on them that I am convinced he believes those fears will inevitably come true. It’s fair to conclude that Marcus really likes Jenn. However, does his liking of her outweigh the feelings of fear? Ultimately, I don’t think so.

Eventually, Marcus said he did love Jenn. It just seemed like it was too late and the damage had already been done. Marcus even seemed understanding about Jenn’s decision to let him go. It’s a bummer because Marcus seems like a good guy and he deserves a love like this. Also, I hope he finds the help he needs to overcome the anxiety that he fights. Wishing him the best!

Which it was nice to see in the live portion of the show that he was grateful for the experience on the show and with Jenn. He’s had plenty of time to reflect and be honest with himself. Both Jenn and Marcus learned a lot through their relationship despite how it unfolded.

Devin meeting with Neil Lane was funny too… because he didn’t have any blessing at all from Jenn’s family. 

Well I can’t delay it any longer, it’s time to get to the depressing end of this season. I feel like I need to formally apologize for defending Devin at all this season. Not only was Jenn played, but so was I. As soon as you saw how emotional Jenn was, you knew something had taken a turn for the worse.

When you think back to his battles against Sam M, Thomas N, and Aaron…I thought he was still being authentic. Like I was convinced that even if he was boastful/cocky… he was still being genuine. Words can’t express how fooled I was! What an absolute con artist.

You have to be a messed up, cynical person to apply to a show where you are hoping to get engaged at the end… share the deepest parts of yourself… “fall in love”… to then basically say like at the end. Also, Breaking up over the phone is simply not a good idea. Are you stupid, or dumb?! To say that he regretted getting engaged or that he didn’t love her anymore left us flabbergasted. 

There’s a good chance we won’t ever know if he was faking it during the show! However, seeing all the love he gave suddenly gone in a heartbeat is super suspicious. How is this possible? Here are some of my ideas:

1. He was only there to build a fanbase or brand… which might be hard now considering he’s a villain. 

2. I was wondering if Jenn proposing to him was something that really tripped him up. It’s awesome that Jenn felt called to do that on her own. Though, I feel like some gentlemen might be thrown off by that, and how they might not like that as much. It might mess with their mojo… or ego. 

3. With how quickly the relationship fell apart, I wonder if something happened that was detrimental after they got home. I know there were rumors of a possible affair, that would seem like something drastic enough.

4. This probably isn’t the fun answer… but there’s a possibility that going back into the real world affected them for worse. Devin might have noticed that they weren’t under the bright lights anymore or in luxurious places around the world. They were in the honeymoon phase and then quickly realized that time was over. 

Then to make matters even worse, it’s brought up that he followed Maria on Instagram only a short bit after breaking things off with Jenn. First, I want to know how Jenn figured that out because it’s incredible detective work by her. Secondly, Devin, are you stupid or dumb? After what you just did to Jenn, it’s another layer of betrayal to go and do that. Lastly, it’s now been multiple times where aspirations of Daisy/Maria for Bachelorette. It’s just such a bad look for the men who were cast and ABC.

While I don’t like how they announced Grant as the next Bachelor, it now makes total sense why they announced it when they did. You won’t receive applications from people who don’t want it to be Grant. You won’t run into awkward situations where contestants are underwhelmed or faking it for the competition aspect. After how this season panned out, it all makes sense now.

At least when they brought him out, he did somewhat acknowledge that he failed Jenn and that he couldn’t be what she needed. It still doesn’t make up for how everything transpired. He doesn’t really have any reason for excuses either. Jenn said it best when she asked, “Where was the fight for our relationship?”

If anything, I wish we got a little more of an explanation from Devin’s point of view. I don’t really feel like Jesse, the producers, or Jenn allowed him to share that fully. Also, that was absolutely brutal by the producers to pretty much force Jenn to watch the proposal right next to Devin. That should have at least let her walk off instead of visibly sobbing while it was playing. That was cruel.

It’s a disappointing end to what has been mostly a positive season of the Bachelorette. I won’t lie, at first, I was skeptical of Jenn. I didn’t know if she would have what it takes or make the right decisions. At points, I thought she was a little wishy-washy of what she was looking for. In the end, she made the right decisions and followed her heart as a strong woman! Remember, it was Devin who let her down. Not Jenn. 

I think it shows that Jenn is so deserving of finding her person and I am confident she will sooner rather than later. 

In regards to the show in general, I think they could do a little better with how they cast gentlemen. Making sure that they know exactly what it is they are signing up for. I’ve harped on this a lot already…but we need some more creativity when it comes to the one-on-one dates! I will give props to the show for picking Jenn! Allowing the Asian community to be celebrated like that. 

It was an honor to cement myself into the Bachelor Nation fandom. Watching every Monday alongside my wife was super fun. Looking forward to what’s next! 

You can expect the Big Brother blogs will continue and you can look forward to Survivor content coming shortly. :)