Bachelor in Paradise's fourth season ended with two happy couples -- and one of them got engaged -- during Monday night's finale broadcast on ABC.

ADVERTISEMENT

The two-hour finale of Bachelor in Paradise featured the remaining footage of cast members' last day at Playa Escondida in Mexico, including a night of Fantasy-Suite dates, as well as an in-studio reunion hosted by Chris Harrison.

The two couples who are still together today are Taylor Nolan and Derek Peth, and Raven Gates and Adam Gottschalk.

The lovebirds who got engaged were Taylor and Derek!

When Chris welcomed the pair onstage, Taylor and Derek gushed about their love and explained their relationship had been tested since they moved past the honeymoon phase in Paradise. 

Taylor and Derek both said they are "in love" with each other, and then footage played of their last moments in Paradise together. Taylor was shown saying she adored Derek and appreciated how much he cared about her, not to mention he was "open and vulnerable" with her, following their night in the Fantasy Suite.

"I did not expect this. It doesn't feel like real life. It was really nice," Taylor told the cameras after her private night with Derek, who was clearly head over heels for her.

After Paradise wrapped filming, Derek spent about three weeks with Taylor in Seattle, WA. They made a commitment to spend as much time together as possible, even though Derek lives in Iowa.

Chris then asked Derek if he had anything else to say before the finale concluded, and Bachelor Nation probably saw what was coming next.

"Taylor, you are so intelligent emotionally and intellectually. You have such a big heart and you are absolutely, stunningly beautiful. Is she not beautiful!?" Derek stood up and spun Taylor around for the audience.

"Taylor," Derek noted.

"What are you doing?" Taylor asked with tears in her eyes.

"I love you," he said.

"I love you too," Taylor noted.

"I'm so nervous right now," Derek said as the audience laughed. 

"I've been searching for my equal; I know you phrase it differently and that you're not searching for someone who completes you but that complements you. And I think we literally and figuratively do that. Early in our relationship, I literally built a fire for you even though you're a strong and independent woman that didn't need a man," Derek said.

"Don't need no man!" Taylor yelled, snapping her fingers jokingly.

"And figuratively because you've since lit a fire in my heart. I choose to love you this minute, this hour, this day and every day from here on out. So," Derek said as he got down on one knee and the audience roared with applause. "You make me the happiest man on this planet. Will you marry me?"

Taylor had tears streaming down her face and couldn't manage to utter a word. She just nodded her head yes, and the couple kissed and hugged.

Raven and Adam are also very happy together, even though Adam didn't pop the question. When Chris checked in with the couple, they were very snuggly in the hot seat.

Footage played of the couple's last moments together in Paradise, and it became clear they left the show as boyfriend and girlfriend.

In fact, Adam said he liked Raven so much that an engagement could definitely be a possibility down the road, and Raven couldn't stop smiling after her night with Adam. Raven loved Adam's company and couldn't even imagine arguing with him. She found he has more and more of the qualities she's looking for in a life partner as she gets to know him.

"Everyone deserves an Adam," Raven proudly said of her man, although she was skeptical about finding love in Paradise initially.

"We continued seeing each other after the show. We've traveled coast to coast... There's nothing that I don't want her included in my life, and it's so fun to have her a part of it... We've been very open in our communication as far as what we see in each other and what we see in the future, and it feels great to be loved by this person, and Raven does that," Adam explained.

The pair said, "I love you," to each other onstage, and then Raven revealed she was going to be meeting Adam's family that upcoming weekend. (The reunion taped on Wednesday, August 30 prior to Labor Day weekend).

Raven then surprised Adam by bringing her parents out on the stage to meet her boyfriend for the first time.

Moving on to the not-so-happy endings -- or arguable disasters -- of Bachelor in Paradise's fourth season.

Dean Unglert told Kristina Schulman and Danielle Lombard that he never acted with malice in Mexico and it "really, really hurt" him to watch the season back on TV and observe his own actions.

"To see Kristina so emotional, it killed me. To watch someone cry because of you is an absolutely horrible feeling," Dean explained. "Those emotions are still there [for her]... I still have very strong emotions for her."

Kristina told Dean that she hoped he wouldn't treat the next woman he enters a relationship with the way he had treated her. Kristina said she felt a love for him, but his behavior pushed her to the point of having to say goodbye. As Kristina spoke, Dean's eyes filled with tears, but she said she'll always have "a special place" in her heart for Dean.

But Danielle wasn't just going to sit back and be invisible. Danielle pointed out that Dean left the show saying he was in love with Kristina, but an hour later, he called her!

"You came over and then we had a relationship that unfolded after Paradise," Danielle revealed. "But you're saying you loved [Kristina], so did you just want to get with me and then go back to her? I don't understand."

Kristina said she tried talking to Dean again after the show as well, and Dean admitted his "indecisiveness carried on" after Bachelor in Paradise.

"Enough is enough," Kristina griped.

Dean apologized to both women for stringing them along for as long as he did. He said they're both incredible people and they didn't deserve that.

Chris then welcomed Amanda Stanton on the stage. She revealed how Robby Hayes had been very sweet to her in Paradise, like preparing her breakfast every morning, but she wanted to be realistic in Mexico and leave him behind as a summer fling.

But since Amanda and Robby live so close to each other in California, Amanda said she wanted to give their relationship a chance upon returning home, and then Robby quickly asked her to be his girlfriend.

Amanda said that once she began dating Robby in the real world, they didn't talk a lot and only spent time together "when it was convenient for him," which wasn't okay.

"I gave him, probably, 20 chances," Amanda admitted. "He's just not ready for a relationship."

The twins, Haley Ferguson and Emily Ferguson, then called Robby out for allegedly cheating on Amanda, saying photos exist of Robby with another girl.

Chris then had Robby join Amanda onstage, and he claimed that while they had a great time together, there are certain needs, wants and expectations in a relationship that neither of them satisfied completely for the other person.

Robby also insisted rumors he was unfaithful to Amanda are "false" and that "never" happened. The twins asked Robby about pictures that were sent to Amanda of him with another girl, but the bachelor said the pictures showed him "being close to a girl" -- not cheating on Amanda.

"The picture did look like ya'll were making out. Let's be honest," Amanda said courageously. "It looked like it. It did look like it though, but he was there, not me."

Robby said that being in the spotlight, rumors circulate, and then Amanda reiterated how the pair had different expectations of being in a relationship and that's why they didn't work out.

Robby replied with a big smile, "That's why we're not together... I understand that," in a bit of a smug manner. Robby, however, did not vocalize his side of the story.

Once Amanda and Robby left the stage, Lacey Mark was welcomed to join Chris in the hot seat next.

Lacey disclosed how she met Daniel Maguire at Vinny Ventiera's birthday party and how a fun night led to a casual hookup. Lacey said she became close friends with Daniel prior to appearing on Bachelor in Paradise, and that's why she was so excited to see him arrive at Playa Escondida this summer.

"We had our alone time in the Fantasy Suite and it did come to light that Daniel was lying to me about his feelings and he did tell me those things -- not because he actually felt it. I asked him about it because when he told me that he was falling in love with me, something just didn't feel right. In my gut, something just felt wrong," Lacey explained.

Lacey confessed she was truly in love with Daniel and it's possible he just strung her along in Paradise so he could stay on the show.

Daniel then had a chance to explain himself. Daniel said they had a "decent and relaxing night" and he asked her to be realistic about the situation and play it by ear since he lives in Vancouver and she's from New York. Chris noted that the two stories weren't adding up, and then Lacey called Daniel out for trying to look good on the live show.

After Lacey told Daniel that she was falling in love with him in Paradise -- and he said the same in reply -- Bachelor in Paradise played footage of Daniel venting to a producer outside of their hotel room how he could never change his status on Facebook to "in a relationship with Lacey."

Daniel couldn't really cover up his tracks, but he said that "after sleeping on it" in the Fantasy Suite, he realized Lacey couldn't be his girlfriend "after five days of hanging out."

And the situation worsened when Lacey said that Daniel came to New York for six days but only spent one hour with her alone. Daniel said he invited Lacey to visit him in Vancouver but she wasn't interested after "the sh-t he pulled." Lacey quipped that Daniel may never be able to love a girl as much as he loves Vinny Ventiera.

Before Chris hosted the in-studio portion of the Bachelor in Paradise finale, the episode kicked off with the cast members' last day at Playa Escondida.

Taylor said that, despite going through a lot this season with the original cast, she was grateful and appreciative to have met Derek on the show because they had an amazing journey together.

Chris then explained to the group of bachelors and bachelorettes that each couple had the chance to choose whether they'd like to go on another date, and potentially accept a Fantasy Suite that night, or leave Paradise -- either alone or with someone else depending on whether there was real potential for romance once cameras would stop rolling.

Each couple had a serious decision to make, but it was easy for Lacey, who had a cute and weird love connection with Daniel.

"I'm in love with Daniel for sure... the more alone time we can get, the better," Lacey said.

Jack Stone also wanted to spend more time with Christen Whitney, but he said it would be wrong to go in the Fantasy Suite with her since she's a virgin and they were just starting to get to know each other. However, Jack could see Christen as being "the one" and the future mother of his children. He was falling in love with her.

Jack then asked Christen to leave Paradise with him as a couple and see what happens, but she couldn't do that. Christen confessed they were just friends -- more like "acquaintances" even. Christen said every conversation she had with Jack was "swirly," and while she wasn't opposed to getting to know him better, they definitely weren't going to leave Mexico a couple.

"Been real, been fun, catch ya later," Christen told the cameras of Jack. "He's on the page of like, 'Let's hold hands and skip out of here,' and I'm like [shaking my head no]."

Jonathan "Tickle Monster" Treece then told Jasmine Goode that while's she's a cool and down-to-earth girl, he thought it would be best for them to part ways. Jasmine seemed to agree because the pair sweetly hugged goodbye.

Meanwhile, Adam felt that he was in a really good place with Raven, but she still had questions.

"I could see myself falling in love. So I don't want to break up with Raven. I want to take what we have and continue it through the night and keep progressing it forward. I just hope she wants to do the same," Adam said in a confessional.

Adam pulled Raven aside to chat and told her that they had a fun and easy relationship and they had so much more to talk about and explore.

Raven, however, didn't want to give her hopes up and go into the Fantasy Suite again with a guy in fear the relationship would not work out. After all, she had just recently been in this situation with former The Bachelor star Nick Viall, who dumped her for Vanessa Grimaldi.

But Raven agreed to go on the date with Adam because she wasn't ready to say goodbye to him yet and he had some of the "top qualities" she's looking for in a husband.

"I know we're compatible, but are we compatible enough to be long term?" Raven questioned in a confessional.

Meanwhile, the cast thought Dean and Danielle were growing stronger and stronger every day as a couple. They had been connecting to the point where Danielle thought he was committed to her and wanted to be her boyfriend after the show.

Little did Danielle know, however, that Dean was getting ready to break up with her.

Dean pulled Danielle aside and said she was the only person he was excited about meeting in Paradise. He thought Danielle was "amazing, fun, beautiful and interesting," but then Dean dropped a bomb on her and said that he was devastated the morning after Kristina Schulman eliminated herself from a Rose Ceremony.

"I kind of realized that I care a lot about Kristina, and I love her, and I think I owe it to her for us to walk away from this separately so that Kristina and I can talk about it. I don't know if it's going to turn into anything, but I think we should leave separate," Dean told Danielle.

Danielle acted sweet and understanding about the situation, but she was clearly heartbroken.

"Sorry for being an idiot," Dean told the bachelorette.

"It sucks. I really, really liked him," Danielle admitted on her way out of Paradise. "I would've loved to see where things went, but he didn't see a future with me. I know what I have to offer, and if they don't see that and want to pursue it with me, then I don't want to waste my time either."

Dean cried to the cameras, saying it killed him to wake up in Paradise without Kristina the morning after she left the resort, knowing he had no way to contact or communicate with her.

"She's so amazing. Everything she has done and said to me had been the most pure interaction I've ever received from someone in my entire life," Dean said of Kristina.

"And that's enough for me to feel f-cking awful for the decision that I made. I'm actually in love with this girl, but I lost that to pursue someone else. I'm sorry for crying but I literally hate myself right now. I'm sorry and she deserves better than me. Because she does."  

Meanwhile, Dominique Alexis hoped that Kenneth "Diggy" Moreland saw the same potential in their future that she did. Diggy had a great time with Dominique in Paradise, but he revealed to the bachelorette that he wanted to leave separately.

Diggy seriously considered his feelings and realized that he wanted to build something with Jaimi King instead, something "that could definitely go the distance." Diggy thought Jaimi would be ecstatic to leave Mexico with him as a couple, but instead, Jaimi admitted she just wanted to leave as friends.

"I'm definitely bummed I'm not leaving with Jaimi, but she felt otherwise," Diggy said.

As for Robby, he felt very confident in what he had with Amanda. He said they spent all but two days together the entire time the show filmed.

"Coming into Paradise, I didn't expect this. It's been great. It's been slow moving and that's a change for me. I respect [that] patience is a virtue, and slow and steady wins the race. I definitely like the girl a lot and I want to continue this all the way back home to the States. And something great, something forever, could potentially come out of this," Robby explained, adding that he'd love to start a family soon.

Once Robby shared his feelings with Amanda, she cried because -- while they had a lot of fun together -- she did not see their romance working out in the real world. Amanda didn't want to end up in the same situation she did last year, with her ex-fiance Josh Murray.

Robby told Amanda that their love story was totally different and they deserved each other, but Amanda wasn't budging. She called Robby sweet and said he did nothing wrong, but she wanted to go back to California alone.

"I wanted to leave here with you hand in hand," Robby told Amanda in tears as she repeatedly apologized.

Robby vented to the cameras about how the single mom was just "f-cking giving up" on something special.

"To not move on to the next chapter makes no sense in my head at all," Robby noted.

Amanda felt guilty for blindsiding Robby because he was so excited to have the conversation about leaving together. Amanda explained in a confessional she was just trying to be realistic and not get ahead of herself. Amanda, however, said breaking up with Robby was one of the hardest things she ever had to do.

That left three couples in Paradise -- Taylor and Derek, Raven and Adam, and Lacey and Daniel. Chris hoped their apparent commitment to the process meant they could envision spending the rest of their lives together.

Lacey and Daniel's Fantasy Suite date was shown first. Lacey was terrified because she was falling in love with Daniel and noted there's always a chance something so great could disappear. Lacey therefore needed to hear Daniel confess his love before she could spend the night with him.

Daniel did tell Lacey that he was falling with her -- although he wasn't expecting to feel that way. Lacey asked Daniel if he wanted to leave Paradise in a "titled, committed relationship," and he said he didn't want her to go back to New York and date someone else, so that meant they should definitely be in a relationship together.

Lacey knew Daniel wasn't an emotional person, so his vulnerability made her feel amazing. Lacey thought their romance was "real and tangible," and Daniel agreed it was "the start of something great."

"I do love him a lot, and if he proposed, I would say yes. It's not even a question," Lacey gushed. "Literally, nothing could go wrong. We're just on Cloud 9."

Taylor and Derek's Fantasy Suite date was shown next. Taylor admitted she couldn't say she was falling in love with Derek without having experienced certain things with him, such as sex. Taylor explained that sex is an important step in a relationship for her because it means connecting emotionally and spiritually.

Derek couldn't wait to get to know Taylor in that way, and he knew there was a possibility they'd wake up the next morning together and Taylor would be "very much in love" with him. Derek considered the idea "scary but exciting" at the same time.

And then footage was shown of Raven and Adam's last date together in Paradise.

Raven said serious conversations needed to be had with Adam, and Adam told her that he was falling in love with her. Adam said he never felt this way before about a woman, but Raven was hesitant to let herself fall for him given she had her heart broken by men she loved in the past.

Raven saw potential to fall in love with Adam if she spent the night with him, so she had her reservations. Raven didn't want to ruin the romance by spending the night with Adam too soon, but she also didn't want to ruin their relationship by skipping out on what could be a magical night together.

Raven didn't think Adam would hurt her, but she was very skeptical. And the in-studio portion of the finale picked up at this point. 




About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

FOLLOW REALITY TV WORLD ON GOOGLE NEWS