No contestant goes into “The Bachelor” finale expecting to get their heart broken, but perhaps no contestant has been more blindsided than Season 29’s runner-up Litia Garr. That’s right, during the live season finale, “After the Final Rose,” it was revealed that Bachelor Grant Ellis proposed to Juliana Pasquarosa, and while the couple got their happily ever after on-screen in a beautiful proposal, Grant didn’t manage to end the season without drama.
As host Jesse Palmer promised at the start of the episode, there has never been a Bachelor so torn going into proposal day, so much so that even a few minutes before proposing, he still didn’t know who he was going to propose to. He shared that he had inverse concerns with Juliana and Litia. With Litia, who is 31, he was concerned about her timeline for having children within a couple of years of getting married, as he never had time to relax and see the world as a professional basketball player. With Juliana, on the other hand, he shared that he wasn’t sure about her feelings for him or her readiness to get engaged. He confessed to his father that while Litia loves him is clearly ready to settle down, his relationship with Juliana is more “fun.” Is anyone else thinking about “The Substance”?
Since both relationships had their strengths heading into the finale, Grant was extremely torn. He said in his confessional that his decision “boils down to who is the best fit for me,” despite his mother giving him the advice to pick Litia, as Juliana and Grant hadn’t said “I love you” yet. However, in an emotional moment, Juliana finally told Grant that she loved him at the end of their last date, sharing that due to the repeated infidelity in her last relationship, she hadn’t previously felt comfortable opening up about her feelings.
So, in what is now a “Bachelor” cliché, Grant told both Juliana and Litia that he loved them, leaving the latter “confused,” “sad,” AND “mad” after Grant broke up with her during her proposal. Those are all the feelings! Explaining the reasoning behind his decision, he told her that he found a “stronger emotional connection” in his relationship with Juliana, which struck a chord with her, telling the audience at the reunion that she and Grant prided themselves on having a strong “emotional connection” compared to the other relationships that were being formed. During the breakup Grant said, “I hope you don’t view me any differently,” to which Litia quickly responded, “You’re different than I thought.” Ouch.
Oh, sweet Grant, haven’t we learned by now not to tell multiple women “I love you?” Did we learn nothing from Clayton Echard? Speaking of – host Jesse Palmer brought Clayton, beloved former Bachelorette Charity Lawson, and first Golden Bachelor Gerry Turner on stage to discuss this unique conundrum that is so common within the show’s environment. Grant said during the breakup, echoing all on stage, that “the situation is very awkward and difficult” and that he isn’t perfect.
Despite Grant’s desire to do right by both women, Litia showed up to the live reunion with receipts showing otherwise. She said that Grant knew about her timeline and didn’t choose to raise concerns, instead he told her he knew it would be her at the end. She claimed that after their very last date she told him she was excited to get engaged to him the following day and he allegedly said “me too, I love you.” Grant expressed that he has no regrets telling her that he loves her, saying “I wear my heart on my sleeve,” though he regrets jumping the gun. Litia’s response? “I’m excited that this is going to be the last time that I talk to you about this.” Double ouch.
Social media, of course, went crazy.
While Litia ate him up on stage, Grant told Us Weekly afterwards that “there’s a lot [she said] that I didn’t align with,” and chose not to argue with her so that she could “speak her truth.” Despite all the drama, Grant and Juliana are still together and seem happily in love, revealing during “After the Final Rose” that Grant will be relocating to Juliana’s hometown, Boston. Grant said that Juliana is his “best friend” and that “it was all worth it. To find somebody who is your life partner is extremely hard.” To claims by Litia and fans that they wouldn’t want their partner to have such a hard time choosing them, Juliana responded, “I’ve given him grace,” beaming throughout the finale. Jesse also gave the happy couple a present for bonding over their shared traumas on national television for our viewing pleasure – a trip to Italy!
Another highlight of the episode was Grant’s relationship with his father, who quickly became a fan favorite after being supportive of Grant throughout the process. Over the course of the season, Grant opened up about his father’s struggle with addiction and how that had a negative impact on his childhood. The pair seemed to reconnect on-screen, with Grant expressing how much it meant to him that his dad was there, on top of the support from his mom and sister. Through tears of joy, his dad told him, “I love the man that you’ve become.”
The episode ended with more happy news for fans of the “Bachelor” franchise. “Bachelor in Paradise” will be back this summer after a too-long hiatus and will feature your favorite (or least-favorite) contestants, not only from “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette,” but from “The Golden Bachelor” and “The Golden Bachelorette” as well! Grandma is going to love this.
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