SPOILER ALERT! This post contains details from the Season 10 finale of ABC‘s Bachelor in Paradise.
Another season of Bachelor in Paradise has officially come to an end…but before we find out who found love, who got richer, and who stirred up the most drama, let’s pick up where things left off in the penultimate episode.
The episode begins an hour before the final rose ceremony, where two couples will be sent home. Naturally, everyone is on edge as they have to decide who should stay and who should go. This is when the negotiations begin, as the paradise-goers are tasked with deciding on two women who will not have the chance to hand out roses, thereby sending both them and their partners home.
Before long, Jesse Palmer is ringing his glass, bringing the cocktail party to an end. Once the votes are in, the rose ceremony begins.
Alexe is the first to hand out a rose, giving hers to Andrew. Jess is next, and her rose goes to Spencer. The final woman to hand out a rose is…Kat. Expectedly, she offers her rose to Dale.
That means Bailey and Kathy are not able to hand out roses, thereby also sending home Jeremy and Keith.
With just three couples left, Jesse promises everything is about to change. So, buckle up.
Fast forward to the next morning, it’s Day 20 of Paradise and the couples are enjoying breakfast when Jesse interrupts to let them know that they’re about to endure their most “revealing” relationship test yet. When they arrive at the challenge, they’re told that they will be harnessed onto a platform beside their partner and holding onto handles tethered to weights equal to percentages of their combined body weight. Slowly, more weight will be added and each couple will have to determine how to distribute it to best help their partner succeed. If they fail? Into the pool they go.
Whoever carries the “weight of the world” the longest will make it into the finale with their partner. The other two couples will have their fates determined later.
After 43 minutes, Alexe and Andrew prevail, leaving both Kat and Dale and Jess and Spencer vulnerable. The rest of the day pretty much becomes a waiting game as the vulnerable couples wait to find out what they need to do to stay in the competition.
Eventually, Jesse emerges to let them know how they will determine their fate — and it involves all the previously eliminated couples. This jury of peers will get to vote on if Jess and Spencer or Kate and Dale get to join Alexe and Andrew in vying for the $500,000, meaning a lot is on the line during this final cocktail party where each of the vulnerable couples get to plead their case.
Upon his arrival, Sean (still paired with Allyshia) makes it clear that he’s ready to stir up some trouble. So obviously it stirs up some nerves when he convenes the entire group to make sure that the jurors “have all the information” about the remaining couples. He says he made some phone calls to get “the real story” about Kat after she denied that they were friends shortly before Sean was voted off. So, he called her ex.
Sean says that, according to her ex, Kat’s plan was not to find love and, in fact, she’s been sending her ex love letters this entire time. He promises that he has receipts. But, to his credit, rather than turn against Kat, Dale stands up for her. In confessional, he admits he does want to figure out the truth, but for now he’s giving her space to collect herself. And while the rest of the contestants pretty much agree that Sean was out of line, he doesn’t really seem to care.
Dale eventually returns to the cocktail party without Kat to announce to the group that he’s sticking by her, revealing that she’s been writing him love letters since they connected, and he is confident in their connection.
Amid this chaos, Jesse returns to let them all know it’s time to vote on whether another couple should join Alexe and Andrew for a chance at the money. They’ll have to go to bed without answers, though, because the remaining couples won’t find out the results until the morning.
Just like that, it’s the final day in Paradise.
The remaining couples are just shaking off the events of the night prior when Jesse once again appears to let them know the results of the jury vote. Jess and Spencer are voted into the final competition, while Kat and Dale are headed home.
Alexe and Andrew and Jess and Spencer are separated for the final test of Paradise. Standing in front of Jesse and a bag of cash, they have a tough decision to make.
Money? Or love? If they choose love, they’ll be reunited and they’ll know they have a genuine relationship. But, in choosing love, they have to walk away from potentially guaranteeing themselves the money, because if one of the individuals choose the money, the one who chose love will walk away empty handed. If they both choose money, they’ll both walk away with nothing.
Andrew chooses love, but he tells Jesse he wants her to do what’s best for her, and he knows what that money would do for her by allowing her to pay off her student loans. Lucky for him, he doesn’t have to contend with Alexe choosing money, because she also chooses love!
There’s one last twist to this saga, and it’s that they now get to play a little game of roulette to see if they’ll walk away with any money as well. Jesse presents three envelopes with “large sums” of money written inside, up to $250,000. Together, they’ll pick an envelope and split the cash.
So, not only do Alexe and Andrew leave as a couple, they also get $125,000 between the two of them.
Last but certainly not least, it’s time for Jess and Spencer to figure out where their heads (and hearts) are at. Once again, love prevails, and Jess and Spencer choose each other. Luckily, they also don’t have to give up the money either, because their envelope affords them $190,000 to take home as well.
Jess and Spencer take it a step further when Spencer gets down on one knee and asks Jess to be his wife. And…she says yes!
That’s a wrap on Season 10 of Bachelor in Paradise, but Bachelor Nation won’t have to wait long for more. Season 2 of The Golden Bachelor premieres September 24.
