Des Is Engaged to Chris!

The Bachelorette Finale began last night with the possibility that, for the first time in the history of The Bachelor, there might not be a couple in love at the end of the show. As the audience, we prepared for Des to send both men home and quit the show. We also prepared for the possibility of Brooks coming back to say he'd been wrong. And we toyed with the fantasy that Des could pull it all together and fall in love with one of the remaining men. Drew and Chris had no idea what was going on with Des in the final days of Antigua and arrived at the rose ceremony, each thinking the other would be eliminated. But Brooks was a no-show and Chris Harrison addressed the men to say something was amiss but Des should be the one to tell them. As Des broke down about Brooks leaving, the two men had to stand on the other side of a native floor rug and not run to console the woman they loved. They each got a rose, poured some champagne, hugged Des and moved on to the next stage. Meeting the parents.

But first Des needed another date with each man to see if there was anything salvageable. She wasn't sure at this point.Poor Des. She couldn't hear us screaming at the TV that she must go on, find love, forget Brooks and his hair.
A horseback riding date started poorly when Des didn't even get off the horse to greet Drew, simply saying his horse's name was Judy. They rode to the beach where a bonfire and picnic was set up in a colorful picturesque setting and as the roaring fire dulled to a small flame, so did Drew's hopes of marrying Des. She broke his heart and off he went, such a wonderful young man, so deserving of something more. Really.
Next Des met Chris at the beach but when he started off the day with a joke and made her smile, the date seemed to go in a different direction than Drew's date. They boarded a catamaran and took off on a nice, normal, lovey-dovey Chris and Des date. The kissing, the hugging, the laughing, the bare skin, it all looked pretty good as we sat on our couches with our breath held. At dinner they continued to talk about his feelings for her and then they moved to the bed with some champs and Chris pulled out a journal he'd prepared for her with his own poems and a dedication. Oh yea, and he also gave her a framed poem with all his dried roses pressed into the glass. This guy is one big romantic and was giving so much to Des, she finally opened her eyes and realized that this was the real thing with Chris. Not chasing some guy who never gave back what she offered. Chris still had no idea that Drew went bye bye and even though he was the last contestant, there was still a chance she'd be too broken up over Brooks to accept his imminent proposal. Gasp!
He met the parents but it was the brother who took over the grilling of the new boyfriend. No surprise there. My hubby was joking that the Bro should be the next Bachelor and I was telling him to be quiet so I could hear what Bro said. He liked Chris well enough to let him off easy and not risk another year of not talking to his sister. The parents were silent; was there a mother?, and after a quick blessing from Des's Dad, Chris went off to prepare his marriage proposal. Notice how Des did not speak with her parents? Didn't ask them anything? She spoke briefly to Bro but the ice was so thick in the room you could barely see them.
Next day it looked like Des would suit up for the final rose ceremony and Chris went off to 'buy' a ring. When Chris exited the limo with the ring box in his pocket, we still didn't know if Des would put him through all this only to tell him she wasn't in love with him.
And, before Chris got down on one knee, she stopped him. His face went blank as he stood to hear what she had to say. Note: Chris looks most handsome when he's serious and struggling. Anyone else notice this? Wow. Des told him that Drew was gone, had left days before, Chris was the only one left and she'd been torn up about Brooks, struggling with that this week.  until she realized what she most wants is right in front of her. She loves him. They hugged, kissed, whispered to each other and he took a knee to propose. She said "A thousand times yes!" and all across America women (and some men) were cheering. I had tears in my eyes knowing that Chris is a much better fit for Des than any of the others, according to what we saw on the show.

In the after show, Brooks stated he still didn't love Des the way she had wanted, she told him she's engaged to Chris, Drew came out in a blue suit looking sweet and hurt and we all felt terrible for the kid, I mean man. Chris joined Des on stage and they look super happy. Very cuddly and sweet. She's moving to Seattle this weekend to be with him so I'm hoping for good weather to welcome the latest Bachelorette to the Pacific Northwest. Hopefully we'll see them around town and they can double date with the Mesnicks. Something about Seattle makes great fiancees. Catherine and Sean visit too.
It was a happy ending on The Bachelorette last night and now we keep our fingers crossed that they'll make it through the engagement to the wedding. Hint: Please don't have the wedding on TV no matter how much they pay you. Read my novella The Husband Hunt -Kat's Season to see how to have a happy ending and give up the limelight after the show.
Oh, and Juan Pablo is the next Bachelor but that didn't surprise me at all. America's love affair with the Venezuelan soccer player and Daddy, proved they'd be shooting themselves in the foot over at The Bachelor if they'd chosen another contestant from Des's season. January is a long way off to wait for Juan Pablo but in the meantime, check out The Husband Hunt series on Amazon. And stare a this pic of J.P.

Kim Hornsby is the author of two novels and two novellas on Amazon. Her contemporary romance series is based on The Bachelor and titled The Husband Hunt

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