Well folks, we've made it to the end of this season of the Bachelorette and it hasn't always been an easy ride but I thank you for hanging with me! There is so much to talk about tonight, both good and bad, so we might as well just dive in head first!!
First up was JP's meeting with Ashley's family and it went every way except well. I don't think JP was there for 5 minutes before Ashley's sister started attacking him, and it all seemed to stem from the simple question "Does he make you laugh?" that for some reason Ashley had a little trouble answering. Ashley's sister Krys said flat out that she didn't think JP was the one for her;she didn't feel as though Ashely was completely herself around him. When she's talking to him she is so focused on his age that I don't think she's hearing anything else he has to say. If she thinks that JP is too old for Ashley I can't help but wonder what she had to say about the age difference with Brad! JP is telling her that he is 100% in love with her sister and it doesn't seem to matter; she has preconceived notions and she's sticking to them. As you can imagine, JP came out of there feeling incredibly defeated and Ashley finds herself questioning everything. He's extremely hurt by the fact that Ashley didn't defend their relationship more which makes JP wonder if she really feels the same way he does.
Then it was Ben's turn to meet her family and that went completely different...in a very good way! I think he won them over the moment he did that dog voice...that was just too funny! I definitely see a different side come out in Ashley when she is around Ben but not knowing what she was like before all this I can't really make a judgment there. Ben tells her sister that he is 100% in love with Ashley and is completely ready to propose. Her sister reacts really well to Ben and says that she feels like Ashley is herself around Ben and that makes her really happy. Ben is completely accepted by her family and has not let his confidence in his relationship fade what-so-ever. At the very end Ashley says that she feels like she has everything with Ben but can't forget about how she feels about JP...is this foreshadowing? Keep reading to find out!
We next join Ben once again on his final date with Ashley and they are off to the healing mud baths....this is now on my to-do list (with Josh Groban....not Ben, the actual Josh Groban). Ashley is really loving the opportunity to rub mud all over Ben and probably would have kept doing it all day if they had let her...I mean she even said she wished she could go lower...hello! Right before Ben told Ashley that he loved her he was so nervous, it was absolutely adorable! He wasn't at all nervous when he asked for her hand in marriage but so scared to tell her he loves her, probably because there is a much bigger chance of rejection by telling Ashley he loves her. Ashley can feel that love with him and feels completely free when they are together...but is that enough?
JP's final date with Ashley started out on a much more serious note. After that horrid meeting with her sister, Ashley felt like she really had to ask some tough questions and there wasn't any more time to side step. JP gave her the exact answers she was looking for though and he ended it by telling her that he is madly in love with her. Ashley says that he proved himself to her today but I still don't really know what he had to prove in the first place. JP ends the night by giving her a photo album with a hand-written note that is supposed to be "the first chapter in their love story". It was so sweet and adorable and Ashley is completely infatuated with him.
This is when the big moment finally arrived...the moment where we learn for sure where Ashley's heart lies and which of these men is going to become her fiance. I had a good idea of who Ashley was going to pick, it just wasn't who I wanted her to pick so I was hoping I was wrong...I wasn't. Ben exited his sea plane first and we all know what that meant...that he was about to get his heart broken. He walks up but doesn't seem to see the look on her face that reads "I care so much about you but I'm about to break your heart into a million pieces". He got down on one knee and gave a beautiful speech and was met with complete silence. It is at this moment where his emotions turned from happy and excited to shocked and crushed. You could see the pain in his eyes and hear the anger in his voice. I think this caught Ashley a little off guard because Ben has never shown this side of him before, he was completely justified however. He just wanted to get out of there but Ashley held him back trying to make the rejection a little easier, which in turn only made it worse. I think it's safe to say that each of our hearts broke while watching this.
We then made a quick transition from the heart wrenching breakup to the fairytale ending Ashley has been searching for. As soon as Ashley saw JP she just lit up and you could see just how happy she truly was. He told her he was taking the ultimate leap of faith and in return she told him that she was in love with him and that he's the only one she ever wants to be with. He proposed with an absolutely GORGEOUS ring and she obviously said yes. It was truly the fairy tale ending she had been waiting for and the reason she went through this whole process.
The After The Rose was a much lighter gathering then the last ATR we had with Emily and Brad. We started off with Ben and you could tell that he was still hurting a little bit. He says that he still thinks about Ashley but that he has no regrets about the experience because he came out of it a much more complete person and he owes that to Ashley. He feels like he left with a little bit of dignity and that he still believes there's a chance for him to feel that way again and find love (the next Bachelor anyone?). I see Ashley and Ben being friends down the road once his heart completely heals.
Finally, after a very long wait the happy couple was reunited for the first time in public. It was overwhelmingly clear and obvious just how in love they are with each other. They both struggled for the words to express just how much they loved each other and that's always a true sign of love. Ashley's sister was there and she apologized to JP and admitted that she was completely wrong and it is obvious that he is the one for her. They revealed future plans of Ashley moving to NYC and getting a place together. There are no immediate plans of a wedding, they are just going to enjoy being able to take their relationship public. They were given the gift of a return trip to Fiji which I'm sure they will enjoy soon.
As heart broken as I am for Ben, I am very happy for Ashley and JP and wish them a long and happy life together. I hope you will all continue to read my blogs throughout Bachelor Pad and thank you for taking this reality tv journey with me!
There's a rumor that Ben is dating Brittany from Brad's season - who knows.
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