On Monday night The Bachelor gave viewers an unusual and entertainingly awkward finale that we haven’t seen in years. You can get all the juicy details here but the gist is: Juan Pablo rejected Clare but not before saying something sexual and insulting her. In the end, he chose Nikki but offered a rose instead of a proposal. Juan Pablo then refused to say the L word Chris Harrison so wanted to hear him say to Nikki during the After the Final Rose special and basically said he’s done with the show. This certainly gave viewers something to talk about over the next couple of days. So how did Bachelor nation react? Read on to find out.
On Chris Harrison’s Entertainment Weekly blog, the Bachelor host insisted that he’s not angry at Juan Pablo though he’s confused about how everything turned out.
“I want to start off by saying I’m not mad about how the season ended nor am I angry with Juan Pablo,” Chris Harrison wrote on his blog. “For some reason I feel that there is some notion that I dislike him, and that’s just not the truth… I also know that when we chose him we truly believed he had the qualities that would make him a great Bachelor. But from the beginning something just didn’t seem right and something didn’t fit. We can debate over what that is, but the truth is that is irrelevant. The only thing that matters is this was a struggle for Juan Pablo and it was a struggle almost all the way through. I, along with all of our producers, tried as hard as we could to figure this out and make it easier on him, and I know he tried to find those answers himself. At times, he did seem to let his guard down and enjoy and embrace the process, but overall it was a struggle.
“The interview with Juan Pablo and Nikki was just a bit odd,” the Bachelor host said of the After the Final Rose special. “I know it was orchestrated by him to not say how he feels about Nikki… Most of you understood last night it wasn’t about getting Juan Pablo to say he loved Nikki. It was about getting him to really say anything of substance about a woman who had professed her love for him and had hoped for a proposal from him. I knew our audience wasn’t going to take his behavior well, but I thought if we could at least show that in the end he’s happy and in love and I could get him to show some real emotion or feelings, it might help. But that was just not to be with Juan Pablo and Nikki. When it was over, the two of them got up and walked off stage in complete silence. There was no cheering, no booing, just confused silence as to what just happened… I was very sorry to see it end like that because it didn’t have to. That was a choice made entirely by Juan Pablo. I will wrap this up by saying again, I’m not angry at Juan Pablo nor do I dislike the guy. Am I often confused and puzzled by his behavior and his thoughts? Absolutely, but that doesn’t anger me. I wish he and Nikki well.”
Meanwhile, other stars from The Bachelor/Bachelorette franchise expressed how they felt about season 18 finale on Twitter.
Jillian Harris: “Ugh. I don’t even know what to think about that #bachelor finale. My heart hurts a little for everyone on that season right now.”
Ali Fedotowsky: “Whoaa! I’m shocked by what Juan Pablo said to Claire. Hold your head high Claire. I respect the way you handled that #Bachelor.”
J.P. Rosenbaum: “Wait a second!!!! We don’t HAVE TO propose?!?!?!? #TheBachelor.”
Ashley Rosenbaum: “I’m so shocked over this all, I’m tweetless. #TheBachelor.”
Trista Sutter: “I’ve loved @Clare_Crawley all season. Tonight solidifies that love, & respect. Heartbreak sucks but I KNOW better things are in her future!!”
Courtney Robertson: “Congratulations @JuanPaGalavis & my favorite @Nikki_Ferrell You’re free at last.”
Tenley Molzahn: “For the record, I’m not upset about no proposal, in fact, I respect that as they still have tons to get to know about one another, BUT Juan Pablo just did not show any respect tonight, especially towards the people that have walked this very unique & exciting experience with him for several months. Whoa. This was the weirdest ?#‎Bachelor? Ever!”
Sean Lowe: “This is painful to watch. #TheBachelor.”
As for the star couple, Nikki and Juan Pablo, they’ve broken their silence by lashing back on their haters.
Nikki Ferrell: “Being in the public eye does NOT give you the right to say what you want to me. Your words hurt no matter what. Be ashamed of yourselves. “
Juan Pablo Galavis: “Throw me to the wolves and I’ll come back leading the pack.”
In addition to those tweets, Juan Pablo also shared a selfie of himself and Nikki after The Bachelor: After the Final Rose.
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(Image courtesy of ABC)
Staff Writer, BuddyTV
