The Most Traumatic Season Ever: Bachelor, Finale
Jesse Palmer might have been slurring his words when he promised “The most dramatic season yet” for Zach Schallstrop’s Bachelor bout. Tonight’s Bachelor 27 finale was possibly the most traumatic season yet—for Zach and his contestants. Zach ended up with the woman we all knew he would from their Episode 2 overnight. Even the runner-up saw it coming. But that didn’t stop him from publicizing is sexcapades on national tv and gaslighting her into staying until the last moment.
The dreaded After the Final Rose segment started off with third-place ARIEL, unpacking the downfall of her relationship with Zach. “I agreed to be in an open relationship… and what the parameters of that relationship change, I should be the first to know,” she said. Zach felt his broken pact of celibacy important enough to tell KAITY, crying at her response, but not ARIEL. The entire sex controversy could have been avoided, ARIEL pointed out. “By putting sex off the table, you made the whole week about sex, and it didn’t have to be like that.” It took away the deep emotions of their relationships—at least on screen—producers literally renaming it “sex week.”
On her own meet-the-family date, GABI admitted “I feel like I committed some kind of crime,” by Zach insisting to publicize the intimacy of their relationship, feeling guilty for it.
He wrongfully reassured her, and once they got over that hurdle, she seemed so overjoyed at the thought of meeting his family. She was so hopeful and optimistic it broke my heart, because I knew he didn’t feel the same way about her. We all did. It’s been KAITY since their first 1-on-1.
On her own meet-the-family date, KAITY says she’s “in love” with Zach and he’s the happiest we’ve seen him all season. She doesn’t connect as much with the family as much as GABI, but I think part of that is being uncomfortable with them, never having a good relationship with men or partners. Zach rewards her with the first date, wandering around the rainforest and talking. They seem extremely comfortable together, like they’re already formally together.
We don’t hear any of GABI’s horseback date, producers ending the season with a fitting amount of technical problems. They end up on a beach sipping champagne somehow. Their date feels very off. When Zach brings up being conflicted about his relationships with the two women remaining, GABI breaks down. She knows. He knew exactly what he was doing. She knew exactly what he was doing. And he still strung her along, convinced her to neglect her gut.
As GABI got out of the limo, she sunk in the mud and said “When KAITY arrives, don’t do that to her.” The entire AFR screen went silent. She knew. She admitted to Jesse Palmer that she knew. They all tried to gaslight her to get a dramatized reaction and it was sickening to watch. GABI closed her eyes once reaching the platform and asked him not to speak, but he just continued as she cried.
“I knew it was coming,” she admitted. “What I don’t know is why you didn’t tell me when you knew.” She literally had to make a break for the car to get away from him telling her he loves her—just to propose to someone else.
The emotions are still raw today. Zach put his image above GABI’s, trying to save face by naming her as his mistress on tv, something she didn’t know about until it aired. “I left ashamed, from a moment that felt like love to me,” she said at AFR. “I thought it was more than a tv show.”
KAITY and Zach get engaged, and they’re still together. Zach says they plan on getting married in 2025, but that’s just an idea. After the chaos of this past episode, with so many revelations coming out post-season, I’d be surprised if they last more than a few months. There’s an unsavory taste when you start a relationship based on lies, especially one in the public eye.
Final Rose: Kaity
