Bachelor in Paradise's third season ended with a record-breaking three couples getting engaged during Tuesday night's finale episode on ABC, but Nick Viall and Jennifer Saviano split.
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The broadcast began on the final day of Paradise. Carly woke up from her Fantasy Suite so in love with Evan, and she couldn't stop smiling. She trusted Evan more than she had ever trusted Kirk DeWindt, who broke her heart on Season 2 of Bachelor in Paradise last summer, but she acknowledged Evan was still unpredictable.
Grant woke up "feeling weird in a bad way" the next morning. He felt there were more stones to turn over in terms of difficult conversations before they should get engaged. Lace cried because Grant suddenly expressed hesitancy in wanting to propose. Grant felt strongly about her but wondered if it was smart to pop the question and just "figure it all out later."
Meanwhile, Jen woke up in love with Nick, and she fully trusted him. She could see a proposal at the end, and Nick told her that the night was better than he ever could have imagined, especially in the romance department. Nick said he could get used to looking at Jen every morning for the rest of his life and found getting engaged a real possibility.
As for Josh and Amanda, she wanted to wake up next to him forever. She had never felt "so happy" or "more content" with anything in her life. Even though Josh hadn't met her two young daughters yet, she wasn't worried about it at all. Amanda was really nervous about the final day, but Josh was "so madly in love" and said his relationship with Amanda was "so real and genuine."
However, since family is so important to Josh, he was mindful of the fact he hadn't met her two daughters yet in the real world. Josh knew his relationship with Amanda was moving very fast and didn't know what was going to happen. Josh never hesitated about wanting to spend the rest of his life with Amanda, but he was nervous.
On his way to pick out an engagement ring, Evan said he was so in love with Carly, mainly because she accepted him for who he is -- flaws, quirks and everything. Grant wasn't shown picking out a ring, saying he was "scared and confused." Nick, however, met with Neil Lane and browsed through the rings. He could see long-term potential with Jen but couldn't propose unless he was 100% certain it was the right thing to do.
Carly and Evan were the first couple to determine their fate in Paradise via the final Rose Ceremony. She couldn't picture her life without Evan in it, and then she walked toward him on the beach, where he was waiting for her with a smile on his face.
"[Our journey has been] full of twists and turns every day. It's funny that a hospital visit highlights a turning point in our relationship, and I think it just shows how special and unique we are. But since that moment, my love for you has only gotten stronger. What I feel for you is the most amazing, inexplicable, mind-blowing thing that I just, never in a million years, thought I would get," Evan told Carly as her eyes filled with tears.
"I feel like my heart beats to your soul. I want my kids to see a love like we have, and I want them to know what an amazing woman you are. Carly, I want to chase after fairy tales and go on adventures... and explore with you."
"You make me want to be fearless... You were fearless in the pursuit of me, and I know I would die for you," Carly sweetly admitted to Evan in reply, making her love known.
"I want to leave here and I want to start a life with you," Evan continued. "And I want you to be my wife. Carly Waddell, will you freaking marry me!?" Evan asked.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOWCarly said "yes" and they hugged and kissed. Evan made Carly feel like she could be any way, look any way and still be a "shining ball of light." He made her feel beautiful inside and outside. Carly asked Evan to accept her final rose, and he obviously accepted. She couldn't wait to make dinners, sit on his patio and meet his children.
"Happily Evan after," Carly said with a laugh.
Lace and Grant's final day in Paradise together was up next, and she approached him extremely uneasy, fearing she may not even get a rose -- nevermind a proposal.
"If Grant doesn't propose, I am going to be heartbroken," Lace told the cameras. "I let my guard down, and here I am, super vulnerable... He has changed my view on love."
When Lace approached Grant on the beach, she told him that he's "beyond handsome" and witty, and she realized she loved him when she wanted to stop running from him and having him chase her. She thanked him for every moment and said she was ready to move forward with him in life. Lace loved Grant but loved the idea of "Grace" even more, which is their couple name.
"The past 24 hours has been a whirlwind of emotions. I came here not knowing what to expect. I know that the conversation we had was about things that weren't answered, but sometimes, time is what you need to get those answers. When things first started with us, they were wild and crazy, but from the moment I met you, I knew that you were going to be in my life and my life wasn't going to be boring," Grant told Lace.
"I never met someone that complements me so well, and you make me feel like I can be myself... I love you when you're happy, I love you when you're stubborn, I love you when you're sad and I even love you when you're screaming at me. But mostly, I love you when you are Lace. I can't picture my life without you and I want a future with you, I want kids with you, I want to build a life with you, and I want that to start today. Lace, will you marry me?"
Lace cried and said, "Yes!" The pair agreed they deserved each other and deserved to be happy.
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Upon meeting face to face, Jen told Nick they had instant, intense chemistry, and she knew right away he was something special. She enjoyed getting to know "the real Nick," saying he brought out a side of her that wanted to be open and vulnerable. Jen hoped Nick saw potential in what they had and admitted she had fallen in love with him, asking him to catch her. Nick broke down into tears listening to her speech.
"Before you got here, I was kind of ready to leave. But as soon as you came, like you said, I instantly knew there was a chance of something really special. And more than that, I know I'm a better person today than I was when I first showed up because of you," Nick began, crying the whole time.
"I felt like I wanted to say I was in love with you, but there was something in my heart that just said I can't. I feel like sometimes you wish you could tell your heart what to do, and if I could, I would tell it to choose you. I just feel like something is telling me to say goodbye. I'm so sorry. My biggest fear is that I'm going to regret it. I just feel like you deserve better than me."
Jen hugged him and cried, but she was gracious and lovely about his decision. It was clear Jen didn't want to say goodbye, and Nick seemed to find walking away difficult as well.
"He just threw away something that could've been great. It makes no sense. I'm mad at him; I just don't get it," Jen told the cameras in her final words.
"I knew he had his wall up the majority of the time, but he was starting to let it down. I just feel like he's going to regret it. At some point, you're going to have to let go of the past and realize what's in front of you. What was just in front of him was something that could've been great. He just broke up with me and I still want to see him. I already miss him."
Nick admitted on his way out of Paradise that Jen was the person he felt closest to in a long time.
"I just hope I didn't make a mistake. The only thing I knew for sure with [Andi Dorfman] and [Kaitlyn Bristowe] is that I had no regrets. I can't say that now. It's impossible to not have those insecurities and thoughts that maybe it's me. Maybe I have that wall up, or maybe I'm in my head too much," Nick vented.
"Hearing that she's in love with me made me want to say it back. The scariest part is feeling like I'm incapable of saying, 'I love you,' to anyone. That's, right now, the biggest hurdle that I have to get over. There are no guarantees, there are no assurances that anything will work out. Sometimes I just feel like my heart's in knots and I can't untie it. I'm just trying to figure out how I can do that again."
Amanda and Josh's big moment was up next. She didn't have any questions about him despite having received so many warnings from friends. She hoped her journey in Paradise would have a happy ending for her. Likewise, there were so many emotions Josh was experiencing.
Amanda told Josh that her idea of love exists, but only after meeting him. She could tell he was excited to be a part of her life and her daughters' lives, and she knew her children would adore him as much as she did. Amanda felt so lucky and couldn't wait to leave Paradise with him and "do real life." Thinking of their little family made her heart full, and she closed her speech with, "I love you.'
"Amanda, coming into this journey, I was very optimistic on the outside, but on the inside, I was scared because I didn't want what happened in my past relationship to happen again, so I was worried," Josh told her, referencing his public split from Dorfman.
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Amanda comforted Josh as he broke down into tears and attempted to compose himself again.
"I'm being a big baby up here right now. I'm sorry," Josh noted with a laugh. "You need to know I am so excited about meeting your two girls, and I promise that I will love them just as much as I love you. I love you more than anything in the world, and I would be so blessed to spend the rest of my life with you. So, Amanda, my love, will you marry me?"
"Yes! Oh my gosh! I was so nervous, I was shaking!" said Amanda, who then asked him to accept her final rose.
Josh said there wasn't a more amazing woman in the world, and both he and Amanda agreed they had found the perfect partner.
The final episode concluded with a brief update on all the couples. Carly is moving in with Evan in Nashville, TN, this December and has met his kids. She can't wait to be "the cool stepmom."
Lace moved to San Francisco to live with Grant, and although they have yet to set a wedding date, they want to get married as soon as possible.
Josh moved to Orange County to be with Amanda and the girls, and he apparently loves the little girls. And last but not least, Nick's future "looks bright," which clearly means he's going to be the next The Bachelor star.
On Bachelor in Paradise: After Paradise, host Michelle Collins and co-host Sean Lowe welcomed Jen onto the set first. She said she has "mixed emotions" about Nick being the next Bachelor but has moved on and is doing well.
Grant and Lace revealed they will soon be moving into a larger apartment together, because up until now, Grant had been occupying a bachelor pad.
Evan said it was tough and difficult to watch Carly say mean things about him in the beginning of the Paradise season, but he thinks she's hilarious and their relationship is very strong right now. America voted for Evan and Carly's wedding to be the first that airs on television out of the three engaged couples.
As for Josh and Amanda, they are both happy and in love to this day. Amanda said Josh was always sweet and genuine to her, and when Sean pointed out that Josh speaks in an aggressive tone sometimes, Josh admitted he's a passionate person and so he can often -- and unintentionally -- come across as intense.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
