The Bachelorette star Andi Dorfman selected Josh Murray as her final bachelor and he proposed marriage to her during Monday night's broadcast of the ABC reality dating show's tenth-season finale.
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After expressing his love back, Josh got down on one knee and asked, "Andi Janette Dorfman, will you marry me?"
"Yes!" Andi replied, hugging and kissing her new fiance in utter joy.
Andi selected Josh, a 29-year-old former professional baseball player from Atlanta, GA, over Nick Viall, a 33-year-old software sales executive from Chicago, IL.
Speechless at first after his elimination, Nick finally told the cameras, "Oh, I feel like such a fool. She asked me to trust her on a lot of things. I definitely think she took things too far, but she obviously has feelings for Josh. I'd look at her and I thought we just got each other. I was so confident in what I thought we had. I was just so confident about us."
He added, "God, what is she doing?! We had something. Man, I really thought this was it. It's hard to swallow. I really thought she loved me. I mean, finding that person and having a family is the most important thing to me. That's what sucks the most -- I was so looking forward to that part with her. That's the part I was so looking forward to, and that's what I thought she wanted. It hurts."
The Bachelorette's tenth-season finale began with host Chris Harrison confirming Andi's runner-up is still not over her and he tried to see her in Mexico and The Men Tell All special -- just to be refused twice in a row. Chris said the runner-up would get to confront Andi again once and for all during the After the Final Rose special.
Nick met Andi's family first at Casa de Campo in the Dominican Republic and was introduced to her mother Patti, father Hy, sister Rachel, and Rachel's husband. Nick was very nervous, and that quickly became obvious to everyone in the room. Patti said Nick seemed very reserved. However, as the meeting progressed, Nick became more comfortable and thanked Andi's family for raising the "most unbelievable" girl he had ever met. Nick didn't feel it went smoothly at first and he hoped he wasn't coming across as "a jackass."
Nick told Andi's mother how much he loved her daughter. Nick told Patti that Andi was "it" for him and he couldn't envision himself being with anyone else. Having never loved a girl the way he loved Andi, Nick's sincerity made Patti cry. Nick promised nothing or no one would become a bigger priority for him than Andi. His openness touched Patti's heart.
Meanwhile, Andi was telling her sister that Nick was a romantic and she felt like he could see her soul when he looked into her eyes. Andi explained their connection was undeniable.
Nick then talked to Hy and asked for his approval and permission to potentially propose to Andi. Hy noted that Andi is the "most special person in the world," and he appreciated Nick's honesty. Therefore, Hy said if the two of them were meant to be, they'd be a great fit. Nick felt better after getting Andi's father's blessing. Hy said he would completely support their engagement because he had no doubt Nick was in love with Andi.
Hy found Nick very impressive and straight-forward, so Josh had a lot of work to do and a lot to live up to.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOWThe next day, Andi introduced Josh to her family, and he also, was extremely nervous although trying to act confident.
"This poor guy doesn't have a prayer," Hy joked with the cameras when the former pro baseball player arrived.
Andi's sister said, on paper, Josh was exactly her type. Andi explained how she always questioned and challenged Josh, worrying he might be "too good to be true." However, Josh's personality shined. Josh said he hadn't experienced feelings of love so strong for anyone until he met Andi, and he knew he wanted to marry her and spend the rest of his life with her. Rachel thought Josh seemed genuine and was -- or at least she hoped he was -- taking the process seriously.
Josh told Hy he was "totally in love" with Andi, as she was gorgeous, unbelievable, fun. They also had deep, serious conversations. Josh said he felt a "forever kind of love" with her and then asked Hy for his blessing to potentially have Andi's hand in marriage.
Hy admitted the fast process didn't concern him, because if the feelings were there, they were there. He also had the utmost confidence in his daughter's discernment, so Josh received Hy's approval and felt very relieved. Hy could see both men being his future son-in-law. Likewise, Josh could definitely see Andi's parents as his in-laws.
Everything went well, but Andi still feared deeply she might get hurt and the whole process would've been for nothing.
On Andi's last one-on-one date with Josh, she was hoping to find clarity -- to get rid of any or all questions she still had about the former athlete. The couple sailed on a yacht. Andi tended to overanalyze things and have doubts with Josh, but she was trying to follow her heart. Josh always managed to calm her down and give her butterflies. He explained he had an unconditional love for Andi and found it incredible that the process actually worked for him. Andi, however, was still wondering, "Is this going to last forever?"
That night, Andi was looking for a little more reassurance, considering it was their last date on The Bachelorette. Andi asked Josh how he knew he was ready to propose, and Josh said he just knew how he felt about her and there was no changing his feelings. Andi saw what they had and she said they couldn't get enough of each other, but if that ended, Andi feared, "What would be left?" Andi was clearly afraid they maybe only had a strong connection without much depth.
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Josh then read Andi a letter he had written, thanking her for the "wild ride" and saying he couldn't wait until the day he could call her his wife. He made her a baseball card with her own picture and statistics on the back. It represented all the facets of their relationship, from hilarity to romance. Andi could tell Josh was ready for marriage and Josh just couldn't imagine his everyday life without her.
The following day, Andi embarked on her last date with Nick. The couple went off-roading in a jeep. Nick said Andi always lit him up inside and made him "feel alive." They "got each other," but Nick more simply just enjoyed being around her. Afterward, they went to a private little lagoon for a picnic and recapped what it was like for Nick to meet her family. Nick felt he had made a good impression, telling Hy that their life together would always be a compromise and he wanted Andi to have the career she loves.
Spending time with Nick allowed Andi to feel things she had never felt before. As a woman ready to get married, she felt "sexy." Nick was nervous about how Andi felt about him in return, yet it was important to rid himself of any doubts in his gut.
"If she is in love with me and if I'm the person whom she hopes to spend the rest of her life with, I need her to find a way to just let me know. Because if I don't know it's me, we're not getting engaged," Nick said in a confessional.
Nick was ready to propose to Andi, but having been engaged before and it not working out, Nick had a little hesitation. If he was going to propose, there wouldn't be a doubt in his mind that Andi was the woman for him. Andi told Nick he tended to over-analyze things and he just needed to turn his mind off -- not think, just feel. She understood where he was coming from and assured him that everything was going to be alright.
While she didn't reveal she loved him, Nick was confident it would be the two of them in the end together. The way Andi smiled and comforted him gave Nick "all the signs" in his mind that she was going to pick him. Nick saw a life and family with Andi; He couldn't wait to tell their children the story of how they met and fell in love.
At the end of the night, Nick gave Andi a necklace which featured a vial of sand from the beach where he first told her that he loved her. She loved his meaningful gifts and said Nick was everything she had been looking for in a man. Nick couldn't imagine Andi having anything close to what they had with anybody else. Nick was completely ready to get down on one knee and ask Andi to marry him.
Later on, Andi reflected on her relationships with both Josh and Nick. Andi had a strong physical connection with Josh and he made her feel young and vibrant. He made her happy and allowed her to challenge him. Andi admitted it was a struggle between her heart and her brain with Josh. As for Nick, she felt "intense feelings" for him. She believed there was an intellectual, emotional and passionate bond between them.
Andi then revealed she had made her decision and letting go of one of the guys was going to be one of the hardest moments of her life.
Meanwhile, Nick was overwhelmed and excited to propose to Andi. Josh felt anxious and admitted it was going to be the biggest day of his life. He was vulnerable, imagining she could say "no," but his heart was open.
Josh then picked out an engagement ring for Andi, and when viewers were led to believe Nick was going to do the same, Andi knocked on the door to his hotel room. Nick looked very pleasantly surprised until Andi said she wanted to chat, because then his face dropped.
Andi told Nick she hadn't slept, replaying something in her mind that Nick had told her. When Nick planned to propose the first time to his ex-girlfriend, he woke up that morning and could tell something wasn't right.
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"For like...?" Nick asked.
"It's clear to me that the things I see in you and the things I see with us is ultimately not what I think is best for us," Andi noted in tears.
"When did you start feeling this?" Nick questioned.
Knowing the intensities between them, Andi told him that she just felt she worried and overanalyzed too much with him. She said she couldn't have fun and relax with Nick. Andi envisioned them both overanalyzing everything in their future together. Nick said that when he told Andi he loved her, based upon the way she reacted and looked at him, he couldn't believe she was sitting there telling him all this. Andi insisted she had meant every kiss and every word yet she never told him that she loved him.
"Is this more about us or is it about someone else?" Nick asked Andi.
Andi shrugged her shoulders, and all she could get out was an, "I'm sorry."
Nick said he woke up so confident and excited, and he found the situation "so f-cked up." He told Andi she took it too far at times, like the moment they had together "in the water" when she said she wished she could say things back -- which was the moment when Nick had expressed his love to her. He explained there were certain things he wished she hadn't "said or done."
"I know this was hard for you. I just hope that you're a million percent sure -- and not scared," Nick said.
"I do too," Andi noted, eventually hugging Nick goodbye.
Nick threw out all the roses he had kept, packed his things and left.
After Andi got all dressed up, she awaited Josh's arrival at the final Rose Ceremony. A true love with Josh was staring her right in the face, which she found scary. Josh said he was happier than he had ever been in his entire life. He wanted a future with her so badly.
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In reply, Andi revealed Josh was her great love. Andi said it was all crazy, a journey unlike she had ever expected. From the first time she met Josh, she was scared. And while it took a lot of thought for her to get to the end, she realized that feeling from Day 1 was love.
After Josh proposed and Andi accepted, The Bachelorette star offered her fiance the season's final rose.
During The Bachelorette: After the Final Rose special, Josh joined Andi onstage. He said they're best friends and can't wait to get married.
"It feels so good to finally let it out!" Josh yelled.
The couple called it fate that they're both from Atlanta, GA, because Andi found love in her own backyard. They plan to have a steak dinner out somewhere with no more sneaking around.
"We're madly in love and the show works," Josh said. "Everything happens for a reason and I'm very blessed to be with her."
As for what's next, the couple is going to enjoy being engaged for a while and then plan a wedding. Josh is hoping for a spring wedding in six months or so, and Andi said as long as she can plan it in that amount of time, she's onboard.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
