With the finale of The Bachelorette season 10 in the books, it’s time for a real-time update on how the winners and loser are doing following this televised quest for everlasting love. As we all know, Andi chose hunky former baseball player Josh Murray to be her lawfully wedded future husband, leaving deep-thinking and over-analyzing Nick V. trolling in the gutter.
He apparently tried to contact her on two separate occasions, while she was vacationing in Mexico and before the Men Tell All episode, but she re-rejected him both times. Now there is nothing she can do to avoid facing the man whose heart she shattered. Let’s get to the action.
The Bachelorette Season 10 Finale Recap: Who Does Andi Choose? >>>
Nick Refuses to Concede
Poor Nick has spent the past few months pining for Andi, unable to get over her. For his mom in particular, it’s been difficult to watch the show. He told her that Andi gave him purpose, and while she was thrilled, she had a lot of anxiety over Nick’s potential of getting hurt. The aftermath has torn them all apart, and she desperately wants her son to find love.
She’s just disappointed that he has so many unanswered questions that are preventing him from moving on. He has all these things inside that he’s just holding onto, and he wanted to see Andi ahead of this live time because he was tired of having conversations with her in his head.
When Nick tried before the Men Tell All, middleman Chris Harrison passes on the message that Andi is not ready to see him face to face yet. But Nick is prepared for that, having penned a letter that he requests be passed on to Andi. As he leaves, he clings to the hope that things could change after she reads the letter.
Andi vs. Nick: Round 13 — Ding! Ding!
Back live, Nick comes out to deal with his rejection. He was blindsided, saying Andi gave him so many reasons to believe that he was the one. He’s spent all these weeks thinking about what he would say in this situation, but now that it’s here, he’s not sure he has the words.
Chris Harrison asks if he believes Andi made a mistake, and he says that’s not for him to say. Josh is a great guy who won’t take her for granted, but he’ll always wonder about the deep connection that they had and where it went wrong. He knew it’d be hard but … then he trails off.
After a strange break to reveal that Nick’s silent treatment was the season’s Most Bleachable Moment, Andi comes out to face her jilted ex-lover. She read the letter, which Nick thanks her for. In the moment, though, he doesn’t have much to say, basically just mumbling while he tries to find the words.
She helps him out, saying she doesn’t want him to feel like there was anything wrong about him getting to the final two, and she thinks he deserves that great love and someone who will reciprocate. He says, “The hard part is that,” and she cuts him off to suggest that it’s that she can’t give that to him.
No, he says, the hard part is that she did give that to him. And watching it all back, it still doesn’t make sense to him. It still doesn’t feel like it wasn’t real.
Chris Harrison asks if she loved him, and she bluntly and coldly says no, and that’s why she never said those words to him. It might be mean, she says, but how can Nick compete with a greater love? And at the end of the day, that’s what this is. Something else was more right with Josh, and while it’s tough to say to someone’s face, it’s the truth. Damn, she’s not sugar-coating anything, is she?
The Bachelorette: Did Nick Go Too Far After Being Rejected?>>>
The Difference Between Love and Sex
This is all very hard for Nick to hear, so he figures it’s time to crank up the awkwardness. He asks if she wasn’t in love with him, why did she make love to him? She calls the question “below the belt” (unfortunately, no pun intended) and says it’s something that should remain private. But I dunno, Andi, maybe you should’ve talked to him off camera when you had the chance?
She claims everything between them was real, but he might interpret individual acts differently than her. He wonders why she took it to that level when she knew how he felt, saying he had no expectations for how that night would turn out. He calls what they did “fiance-type stuff” and says that that’s what the moment meant to him. And she calls her cavalier for knowing that and still doing what she did if she didn’t love him.
She counters that that’s why she didn’t make him pick out a ring and sent him home in the morning, out of respect for him, so he wouldn’t get rejected after a proposal. It’s not much closure for him, but Chris Harrison interrupts to say that he hopes everyone got closure before introducing a preview of Bachelor in Paradise. Man, that show looks great.
Josh Rounds Third Base
It’s time to introduce the happy couple publicly for the first time, perhaps with the newfound knowledge that Andi may have gotten it on with more than one man in the Fantasy Suite. Andi is over the moon in love, and Josh comes out and plants a bit sloppy smooch on his future wife, dipping her before smiling, waving to the crowd and offering a hearty “Whoo!” He loves everything about her, and they’re just best friends. He can’t wait to get married, and “Everything feels real good.”
They both traveled around the world to find love, yet they live just five minutes apart. Luckily, that has helped them to organize some impromptu secret get-togethers. They’re excited to get a steak dinner and take the dog to the park. Oh, and Josh will be golfing with Papa Bear Dorfman next week.
Andi reiterates that she is not pregnant, though Josh jokes he is trying. They’re hoping for a wedding next spring, provided Andi can plan everything in time, and everything is a grand gesture of love.
Before we go, Chris Harrison pays homage to Andi’s frown, calling it one of the most-talked about things of the season (along with man scarves and an abundance of y’alls). As tribute, Grumpy Cat joins them on stage for a frown-off, which Andi loses because that kitty is so damn adorable. I can only hope to one day exploit my French bulldog with such a level of profitability.
The Final Rose: Josh and Andi’s Fairytale Journey on The Bachelorette>>>
Wait, What?
So the biggest news of this whole After the Final Rose shindig is that there is no revelation of who will be the next Bachelor. Farmer Chris is in attendance, too, so does that mean it might not be him after all? Who else could it possibly be? Are they giving Nick V. more time to lick his wounds in the hope he can recover in time? Would you be okay with Nick the Bachelor? Or are you Team Farmer all the way? Maybe we can find a feline companion for Grumpy Cat. I’d be all over that show.
Additionally, what are your thoughts on this Nick drama? Knowing how he felt, should Andi have avoided being so intimate if she didn’t love him? And do you believe she didn’t love him? Because I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that if she wasn’t in love, her actions didn’t match her emotions. She might have had stronger feelings for Josh, but she either loved Nick or led him on big time. And I’m disappointed they didn’t ask Josh to comment on the situation. I would’ve liked to hear his take, as well as how he felt about his betrothed’s potential Fantasy Suite double score.
Also, double ouch for farmer Chris, who now knows that Andi didn’t have to be in love to get freaky. Dude didn’t get love or action. Finally, did these last few episodes change your opinion of Nick? He was one of the most negatively-spoken-about guys this season, and maybe it’s because I wasn’t in the anti-Nick camp, but I ended up feeling sorry for him. And did the After the Final Rose confrontation change your opinion of Andi? Sound off in the comments section below, and I’ll be sure to respond.
Thanks again to all the readers for following along all season, and I look forward to interacting again when an 18th man embarks on a journey for love on the 19th season of The Bachelor (damn you, Brad Womack!). But before we get to that, it’s time for some delicious salaciousness on Bachelor in Paradise, where true love takes a back seat to all the things that make us love trashy reality television.
So prepare to close out your summer with Bachelor Pad-meets-Paradise Hotel in what can only be described as must-see TV for everyone who loves terrible things. See you then!
You can watch Bachelor in Paradise starting Monday, August 4 at 8pm on ABC.
(Image courtesy of ABC)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
Emmy-winning news producer & former BuddyTV blogger. Lover of Philly sports, Ned, Zoe, Liam and Delaine…not in that order
