It's been a wild ride for Becca Kufrin on The Bachelor. She went from being the recipient of the first date on Arie's season of The Bachelor, to being engaged to him, to being broken up with on national television, to becoming the next Bachelorette, all within the span of a few months. And to top it off, on After the Final Rose, Becca met five of her Bachelorette contestants early.
It certainly was emotional whiplash not only for viewers, but for Becca herself. Despite the fact that she said she was "doing well" when she came out to face Arie at the start of the After the Final Rose special, it was understandable that she appeared to still be deeply shaken by the fact that her ex-fiancé had humiliated her on national television and then left her for another woman. After all, it had only been roughly two months since she was in L.A. with Arie on what she thought would be a romantic post-engagement getaway, but which actually turned out to be an excruciatingly drawn out breakup filmed by multiple cameramen and producers.
When Becca got a chance to speak to Arie for the first time since he broke off their engagement, she didn't mince words, though she treated him with respect. "All I asked for was just honesty from you, and I feel like I didn’t get that," she said. "I feel like there was a lack of respect on the end for me, for your fiancée, where you went to not having, not giving that clear resolution that you needed to have my back."
Needless to say, Bachelor Nation sympathized with Becca and rallied behind her (both with emotional and monetary support) which led to the announcement that she is officially the next Bachelorette. And, just as it happened on Rachel Lindsay's season, that meant there was one final surprise for her: Some of the men came to introduce themselves early.
A clearly surprised but nevertheless ecstatic Becca was eager to roll with the punches. First she met Lincoln, a dapper man with a bow tie, an accent, and a ton of natural charisma. After a heartfelt speech about how much he respected Becca's resilience in the face of Arie's disrespect, he called the Bachelor a "wanker," to the audience's delight. (Watch out, Arie, this is just the beginning of what's ahead for you.)
Next up was Chase, who echoed Lincoln's sentiments, and understandably appeared nervous appearing on live television. He was followed by Ryan, who made quite the entrance: While many previous contestants have made their limo exit with a guitar, he was perhaps the first to introduce himself to a Bachelorette with a banjo in hand. Becca seemed charmed by his song, patterned suit jacket, bowtie, and dimples.
Not to be outdone, Darius entered and profusely complimented Becca's appearance and her strength of character, before going all in apologizing on behalf of his gender for what Arie did. And if all these emotional declarations couldn't be topped, Blake, the final Bachelorette contestant, decided to just go all in on the fairy-tale imagery, bringing out a live horse and telling Becca that the best way to get over heartbreak is to "get back on the horse," before actually lifting her up and literally putting her on said horse. It was a fitting end to a two-part finale that at times got uncomfortably real. What happens next for Becca as she embarks on yet another "journey" to find love is anybody's guess, though we'll find out soon enough: Chris Harrison announced that her season will premiere on May 28.
