Whether you hate to love it or love to hate it, ABC's "The Bachelor" is undeniably a national phenomenon. In last night's dramatic finale, viewers watched in awe as Arie Luyendyk struggled to make the right decision between the two finalists, Lauren Burnham and Becca Kufrin. In what many have called the most shocking moment in the show's history, Arie proposed to Becca but had second thoughts, and he hastily called off the engagement to pursue Lauren instead. However, there was significant foreshadowing throughout the episode, and major spoilers for the show are revealed every season, so the big surprise may not have come as such a shock to everyone.

Before the Final Rose

The finale began with both women getting the opportunity to meet Arie's family. The Luyendyks seemed to take a liking to Lauren when they met her, but after Becca had the chance to meet them, things got a little awkward.

It is not uncommon for the families of past bachelors and bachelorettes to discuss how they feel about both finalists, but it seemed strange when Arie's father began talking about Lauren with Becca. Arie Sr. told Becca that he would "be fine either way" his son decided to go. Not only did this make Becca feel extremely uncomfortable, but it also subtly showed that Arie's parents were completely clueless about what direction he was leaning toward.

Throughout the season, there was a less-than-sneaky emphasis placed on Arie's decision-making skills, and there were many instances in which his decisions were questioned.

Friends and family gave heartfelt testimony that Arie "always makes the right choice," and there was a lot of talk of him "following his heart," which he later uses to justify his leaving Becca mere weeks into their engagement.

The breakup and the proposal — and the breakup

Something about Arie's breakup seemed off. He told Lauren he didn't have a reason for ending it, and he felt he had to propose to Becca.

He reveals that he had not made a decision until that morning, which doesn't go unnoticed by Lauren, who wonders aloud on her car ride home, "how can you get down on one knee if you weren't sure until three hours ago?"

In his proposal to Becca, Arie was jubilant and excitedly promised to "choose [Becca] today and every day." Unsurprisingly, Becca said yes, and the two were shown dancing around celebrating their engagement.

Things took a turn for the worse after the two had spent some time together following the show. Arie described it as "good," but admits that he can't stop thinking about Lauren. After Arie joins Becca in Los Angeles for a weekend together was when things went south.

In a Bachelor first, the show's millions of viewers saw raw, uncut, unedited footage of Arie's breakup with Becca. Of course, Becca was shocked, angry, and sad all at once, but she maintained her composure until after Arie left. When he returned to talk to her — despite her asking him repeatedly to leave — she had nothing to say to him, and he eventually left for good.

The epic conclusion

The second part of the dramatic finale is still to come; the "After the Final Rose" episode airs live tonight, March 6 at 8 PM ET. It is then that viewers will finally see the ending to Arie's story as the bachelor and, hopefully, get some closure regarding the abrupt ending to his engagement.
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