Editor's Note: Season six Bachelorette and current host of NBC's 1st Look Ali Fedotowsky is blogging exclusively on E! Online about the current season of The Bachelor, giving her reactions and spilling behind-the-scenes secrets.
What an intense finale! It was so heartbreaking and full of emotion. I felt it and I'm sure all of you did, too. I'm going to start from the beginning, but I'm not going to spend a ton of time talking about the episode. What's the point? I will make some observations, but at the end of the day, Sean made his choice and only he knows why he made it. He's a smart man. I trust that he made the right decision for him. OK, here is what I think:
First off, Sean's nephew was adorable. It made me laugh when he said "Emily didn't pick you." Ha! Kids are so honest...and adorable!
OK. I love kids (duh, I'm a new aunt), but let's talk about the girls meeting the parents. The interaction between Catherine and Sean's dad was so sweet. Knowing that she doesn't have a father figure in her life must have made that moment so special to her. It was very sweet when she said that she would be so happy to have Sean's family as her family. I don't blame her. How could you not fall in love with his dad? He is the sweetest!
Lindsay also really got along with his family so well. There was so much laughter when they were all together. And how adorable was Lindsay's time with his dad? So precious! I honestly thought she got along with his family a little better. But at the end of the day it doesn't matter who got along better with Sean's family. All the matters is what Sean thinks. And who knows, maybe we didn't see all of Catherine's interaction with the family. I'm sure all Sean's family wants is for him to be happy.
My heart broke for his mom. I totally understand how shocking it is for a mother to see her son get engaged to someone so quickly, on a TV show, and to someone you you just met. The whole Bachelor process is hard to wrap your head around if you haven't been through it. I know Sean's family is religious and I'm sure Sean's mom really wants the first time Sean's engaged to be the only time he is engaged. Any mom would want that. But at the end of the day, Sean's happiness is all that matters to her.
Going into this episode I thought it was so obvious that Sean was going to end up with Catherine, but after seeing his date with Lindsay, I really though there was a chance he was going to pick her. They were so cute together. I know I keep saying this and I'll probably say it again in this blog, but only Sean knows who is best for him. Not me, not you, not anyone. But I definitely fell for Lindsay tonight. What a sweetheart.
Sean's final dates with the girls were both romantic and wonderful—as we would expect from a final Bachelor date. So I'm not going to go over them. You watched you show. They were both incredible.
Now the final rose ceremony. I found it interesting that the girls wore silver and gold dresses. It was almost foreshadowing for us for who would come in first and second place. Catherine was in gold. Lindsay was in silver.
Regardless of what they were wearing, I really didn't know who he would pick until the very end. The editing told me it was going to be Catherine (because it was edited to seem like it wouldn't be). But his feelings seemed so strong for both. In the end, we all saw him say goodbye to Lindsay. I'm torn by the fact that Sean told Lindsay he loved her. I don't think he should have said that. But I'm sure it was such a confusing time in his life. It wasn't for me (I knew who I wanted to pick early on), but that doesn't mean it wasn't really hard for him. Not only did that have to be hard for Lindsay to hear, but what about Catherine? Knowing that her fiancé said I love you to another woman moments before proposing to her? I'm sure that's something Sean and Catherine have discussed and worked through. A strong couple can work through something like that. Good for them.
In the end, Lindsay handled herself with such class. I really respect her. Best of luck, Lindsay. You will absolutely find your match. You have a beautiful heart and the man you spend your life with will be so very lucky.
OK, time for my favorite part of the blog: questions from my Twitter followers! (Love you guys, BTW.)
Mrs Latina (@MrsLatinaDR) asks @AliFedotowsky @eonline How much time is it between the Bachelor saying goodbye to one and proposing to the other?? #Bachelor
It depends. On my season, I let my number two guy go the day before the rose ceremony. But on most seasons (like tonight), the Bachelor lets one person go, and within an hour or two proposes to the other person. I am sure it is really hard. I couldn't bare going through that so I had to let my second guy go home early. I felt really bad for Sean watching him let Lindsay go last night. Heartbreaking.
Justin's (@its_just_tina) asks @AliFedotowsky @eonline what happens after the proposal?! Do the couple Get Private time or u go straight back home and hide it?
After the proposal the couple usually get about five days alone somewhere near where they got engaged. For example, me and my final guy got to stay on the island of Morea for five days after, which was near Bora Bora (where we got engaged). I'm sure it varies from season to season but I would say a five day post engagement honeymoon is probably the norm.
Becky (@beck_yy) asks @AliFedotowsky @eonline #Bachelor: How many months are in between the finale and after the final rose? #commonquestion
Around four and a half months,. But it is different every season. For example, my Bachelor of The Bachelor stopped filming in late November (so Jake proposed to Vienna in November) and the After the Final Rose wasn't filmed/aired until early March. It was about four months. And on my season of the Bachelorette, we stopped filming in early May and then After the Final Rose wasn't until August. So that was about four and a half months. I got a lot of tweets tonight saying that it was crazy that Desiree was already "over" Sean and ready to find over again. Well that totally makes sense to me. It's been over five months since Sean broke up with her. I would hope she is over it by now. They were barely seeing each other for two months and during the two months probably only spent a totally of a few days together. The last episode of the show took almost two to three weeks to film (with travel, off days, etc). It's by fay the longest amount of "real life" time in one episode. So by the time the finale was taped, Desiree had been gone for three weeks already.
Kin (@Curlygirlz1) asks @AliFedotowsky @eonline Since there is such a long time between the final taping and the airing, how does the couple stay incognito?
The couple is whisked away to a "safe house" about once every 10 days for a five day period. At least that is how it was for me and a few other couples I've talked to form the show. Keep in mind, this has a lot to do with how much free time each of the people have to travel (work could get in the way of this). So it's around 10 days away from each other, five days together, 10 days apart, five days together and so on and so forth. The producers really do everything they can to help the couple see each other and help keep the relationship strong during the tough few months when the show is airing. Keep in mind, you have to watch your fiancé date all these other women on TV. It's rough.
I want to end this blog series by wishing Sean and Catherine all the happiness in the world. Yes, the odds are against them (based on how many have gotten married form the show), but that doesn't mean they can't make it work. It can work! Whatever happens, I hope they each find happiness, whether it is together or separately. Good luck, you two! Don't let anyone tell you that you can't make it. You both know what's in your heart. Follow it. It will never fail you.
Until next season…
XO
Ali
A note to Desire: Congratulations, Desiree! So happy that you are the next Bachelorette. I have been rooting for you since day one and I know you are going to be an incredible Bachelorette. Trust yourself, follow your heart, and don't let anything scare you! I will be cheering you on, along with the rest of America, every step of the way! XO