It’s the moment 'Bachelor' fans have all been waiting for. (Or totally saw coming.)
Courtney Robertson, arguably the most controversial and notorious contestant ever on ABC’s “The Bachelor,” is engaged to Ben Flajnik, it was revealed on Monday’s finale.
Lindzi Cox, who captured Ben’s heart and the “first impression rose” after she forwent the traditional limousine and rode in on a horse during the first episode, stoically left the Switzerland finale, unmistakably shocked by the outcome.
Ben introduced both Courtney and Lindzi to his mother and sister, who told the Sonoma winemaker that they found both women pleasant, but thought Courtney was the better match. Ben’s sister Julia cited Courtney’s confidence and work ethic as her key qualities.
(Huh?)
Ben had one last opportunity to take each of his potential fiancées on a final date before his decision. Both girls got a romantic fireside chat, with Lindzi’s preceded by a ski trip, and Courtney’s, a helicopter ride through the mountains.
Following an evening of deliberation and a visit from famed jeweler Neil Lane (and getting a free engagement ring in the process), Ben broke Lindzi’s heart. The Florida native stood still, seemingly frozen in place, as the bachelor told her she was not the “One.”
“You are what I’ve looked for in a woman my entire life,” Ben told Lindzi. “But I’m in love with someone else.”
Moments later, Courtney made her trek up the mountain to a beaming Ben.
“What a journey,” he said solemnly. “It’s a been an incredible road with all of the ups and downs we’ve encountered, real signs of what life could be. But I promised I wouldn’t get down on one knee unless it was forever.”
Ben quickly switched his tone.
“Well you’re my forever,” he said to a pensive Courtney. “I’ve waited a really, really long time to tell you I’m in love with you, more than you’ll ever know.”
Ben subsequently got down on one knee and gave the teary eyed model a ring and the final rose of the season. The camera panned out as the pair whispered sweet nothings to one another and waltzed around the mountain giggling.
But it has certainly not been smooth sailing since.
The couple revealed on the post-finale “After the Final Rose,” special that they broke up for a period of time since the finale was taped back in November.
“[The negative tabloid coverage] became so much that I just cracked,” Ben told host Chris Harrison, adding that he needed a few weeks to reassess and didn’t speak to Courtney for that time. Courtney apparently reached out to Ben several times, with Ben ignoring her calls.
The controversy came to a head after photos surfaced in a magazine of Ben allegedly cheating on Courtney, kissing another woman.
The couple teamed up to fight the bad press, however, with Courtney deciding to try on wedding dresses, attracting the media in an attempt to divert the negative attention from Ben.
Although evidently shaky and uneasy sitting together as a couple on the stage, Ben claimed that, “they know [their relationship] is going to work.”
“We just want to take our time and assess our relationship,” he said. “Everyone wants to be a critic, but the people we know love us and support us, and that’s all that matters.”
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