The Bachelor star Colton Underwood is dodging questions about the empty ring box he was shown holding in the recent teaser trailer that aired for the show's Season 23 finale.
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In a preview trailer ABC released for the ending of Colton's The Bachelor season last week, the 26-year-old charity founder and former professional football player could be seen preparing himself for what appeared to be the final Rose Ceremony and ultimate marriage proposal.
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Footage showed Colton standing in a beautiful courtyard while staring into a ring box -- but eagle-eyed viewers noticed the ring box did not contain a ring and was empty.
"They show this empty ring box. They're trying to get in people's heads! Because I'm like, 'How many times have you seen in a preview them showing something and it doesn't actually play out in the next episode?'" former The Bachelorette star Kaitlyn Bristowe pointed out to Colton during a recent episode of her Off the Vine podcast.
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"So I'm like, 'Are they trying to get in our heads? Why do we see somebody crying in a limo? Why is there an empty ring box?' What is the play here?! What's happening?"
"There was a lot in that teaser. It's just a lot to take in," Colton replied.
Kaitlyn then jokingly asked Colton whether he even knew what's going on and what will air on The Bachelor in upcoming weeks.
"Honestly, I'm sort of confused and I lived it!" Colton noted. "I mean there's parts of it that, you know, you know what goes into filming those days."
Kaitlyn then explained that when there were three men left in her journey to find love on The Bachelorette's eleventh season, producers asked her to explain what she loved and also what worried or concerned her about each man.
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"They need all angles of everything," Kaitlyn recalled.
"When I was talking about [Nick Viall], [Shawn Booth] and [Ben Higgins], I was like, 'Okay, I love this about Ben and here's what concerns me.' And then, 'I love this about Nick and here's what concerns me.' Same thing with Shawn."
"But they only showed what concerns me about Shawn and what I love about Nick!" Kaitlyn continued.
"So people were like, 'Wow, she really loves Nick and she's questioning Shawn.' But really, they just need options and different angles."
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Kaitlyn therefore asked Colton whether he filmed B-roll with the ring in the box and without it in the box as well.
"There were lots of takes," Colton replied. "And my whole thing is rings aren't meant to stay in boxes! I mean, they are meant to be on fingers!"
"So maybe it was on a finger and not in the box," Kaitlyn suggested.
"Yeah, I mean, there was a lot that went into that day," Colton teased. "It was a little crazy."
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The Bachelor host Chris Harrison was also evasive about the phantom ring during an interview with Entertainment Tonight earlier this week.
"What does that mean? Does it mean that Neil Lane didn't give us one this season? Could be," Harrison teased.
"Could it be that Chris Harrison stole it? I have a whole chest of rings. People wonder where the old rings go. At night, I just put them all on."
Colton gushed in ABC's trailer he's "madly in love with" one woman, the bachelorette with whom he shared a romantic night with in the Fantasy Suite.
The editing of the promo clip even allows fans to think Colton lost his virginity to this unidentified woman of his dreams.
"When you share that part of yourself with somebody, there's no going back," Colton says in a confessional.
"I've never loved somebody as much as I love her. I'm excited and I'm nervous, because today is the biggest day of my life. I am getting down on one knee and asking her to be my wife."
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However, Harrison, Colton and even ABC executive Robert Mills have all teased an "insane," dramatic, and "off the rails" ending like no other. A traditional marriage proposal at the Final Rose Ceremony therefore wouldn't cut it.
To read spoilers on how Colton's The Bachelor season allegedly ended and what's the current status of his love life, click here.
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski