Matt James has made his choice, but it's not exactly a happy ending.
As of the last episode, Matt had narrowed down his choices to school teacher Michelle Young and controversy-laden graphic designer Rachael Kirkconnell, and tonight he introduced both women to his mom and brother.
Both women made perfectly good impressions, but Matt's mom really threw him off when she pointed out that love isn't the end all/be all in a relationship, and sometimes love doesn't last. Matt then revealed to Chris Harrison that he's probably not ready to propose at the end of this (a completely logical decision if you ask us), while Chris tried to convince him that his mom might be wrong. That seemed like a bit of a misstep on Chris' part, but it was never going to be his night anyway.
Matt's first date of the night was with Michelle. They rappelled down the side of a building, and then she gifted him with jerseys reading "Mr. James" and "Mrs. James." Then, he broke her heart.
He told her he was having doubts he didn't think he should have this close to the end, and he didn't think he could get there with her. It was brutal to watch, and apparently brutal on Matt, too.
He sat on a curb and cried about the decision while Chris tried to save the show, and Matt eventually chose to cancel his date with Rachael. He couldn't decide if he wanted to propose or not, but he did at least take a gigantic ugly ring from Neil Lane to stare at as he thought about making a lifelong commitment to a virtual stranger.
Meanwhile, Rachael shuffled around her hotel room in a bathrobe, putting on her saddest face until she got a note from Matt asking her to meet him by the lake.
More specifically, he wanted her to meet him at a random fireplace in the middle of the woods, through several gates.
The show could simply not have drawn out Rachael's arrival more, but then she finally arrived at the fireplace (underneath what appeared to be an inflatable roof), and she made the usual speech about planning to choose Matt every day.
Matt then explained that he was terrified of turning out like his dad and could not propose, but he did want to commit to Rachael and leave the show with her and give her a rose. Yay? But no, not yay.
Immediately after Matt asked Rachael to date him or whatever, Emmanuel Acho appeared in the studio to rehash the situation with Rachael's social media behavior and Harrison's defense of that behavior, only to then start his interviews with...Michelle, who revealed that Matt refused to speak with her again after he dumped her.
Stay tuned for the rest of this story on E! News.
The Bachelor airs on ABC.