The August 9 finale of The Bachelorette picks up after Greg Grippo’s decision to leave Katie Thurston and end their relationship. With the other two guys, Blake Moynes and Justin Glaze, completely unaware of what’s going on, Katie tells Kaitlyn Bristowe that she’s ready to leave the show and go home. The next morning, Kaitlyn and Tayshia Adams fill Blake and Justin in on what’s going on, and they reveal that Katie has decided to continue her journey with both of them. Each guy will get some one-on-one, uninterrupted time with the Bachelorette on their fantasy suite dates.
Blake’s date is up first. He and Katie start the day with a fun, carefree, paintball-inspired date, which concludes when some romantic time in the hot tub. At that point, Katie is fully transparent with Blake about what happened with Greg, and even tells him that she almost quit the show because of it. “I probably underestimated the amount she cared or thought about [Greg],” Blake admits. “It was the first time where I was completely off as to where I thought her head was at. An engagement is a two-way street. There’s still more things to learn about her, so there’s a lot to talk about. I love Katie, but if she’s still hung up on Greg and if she can’t match that, there’s no point in getting engaged.”
Obviously, there’s a lot for Katie and Blake to discuss on the nighttime portion of their date — especially since, on top of everything else, Blake still hasn’t told Katie he loves her. He explains that love is something he holds very close and only shares with a few people, which is why he’s been so hesitant. However, after seeing Katie with his family on their hometown date, he says everything changed.
“It was one part of the night that solidified things for me, and it was when you took off your high heels and we were playing hockey and you scored a point and [after you scored] you yelled, ‘GO AMERICA!'” Blake reveals “I remembered in that moment, without thinking about it and without trying to think about it — I just realized. I said to myself, ‘F*** I love her!’ It’s scary to say because I promised myself I wouldn’t say it to anybody unless I was sure. I love you and I’m really f***ing excited about life with you.”
Katie had previously made a vow to herself that she wouldn’t use the L-word with anyone until the very end of the show, but hearing Blake profess his love changes all of that for her. “As much as i want to be stubborn, and just like you, it’s scary and it’s crazy — I f***ing love you so much,” she gushes. “I couldn’t be happier that you’re here.” They decide to spend the night together in the fantasy suite.
After the incredible date — which Katie describes as the “best day of [her] life” — she is certain that Blake is who she wants to be with. However, before she can move on with an engagement, she has to end things with Justin. After breaking the news, Justin leaves in tears, and is understandably heartbroken and blindsided. However, when he and Katie reunite on After the Final Rose, he gains some closure and they end things in a good place.
Now that a tough breakup is out of the way, Katie can focus on her relationship with Blake and introducing him to her family. Katie’s aunt is definitely skeptical about the fact that Blake is from Canada, and therefore lives in a completely different country than Katie. She is very straightforward while questioning Blake — especially when it comes to the fact that he was already on another season of The Bachelorette. “You better be secure as f*** coming into our family,” she warns him. “You’re here because we want you here, not because we need you here.”
She comes at Blake hard and fast with her questions about how he’ll handle marriage and any issues that arise in the future. Obviously, it puts Blake in a bit of an uncomfortable position. “It just seemed like nothing I was saying was the right answer she was looking for,” he admits. Meanwhile, Katie’s mom is uncertain about how fast this engagement will be happening. “We don’t need each other — we’ve been able to live our own lives,” Katie assures her mom. “But we want each other.”
After the family meeting, Blake is left with the difficult decision about whether or not he’s ready to actually propose to Katie. He knows it’s a big decision, and admittedly has a lot to think about before possibly going through with it. Tayshia helps Blake pick out an engagement ring in case he does decide to pop the question. However, his hesitations are obvious, and he even needs to step away to consider what’s happening.
“I know I love everything about Katie, but I just feel like my mind’s overrun,” Blake admits. “You want clarity and all you want to feel is clarity, but my head just feels like scrambled eggs. I don’t know if I’m going to be ready to do this.” Meanwhile, Katie is beyond ready for an engagement and knows she wants to spend the rest of her life with Blake. She lets him know it at the final rose ceremony
“Blake, I always thought you showed up late, but if there’s anything I learned during our journey together, it’s that love shows up when it wants, regardless of time, tradition and expectations, and that’s why we’re standing here in this moment,” she tells him. “You showed up exactly wen you were meant to show up. I’ll forever be thankful that you fought to be here. I’ll never forget the moment we first met — the chemistry was instant bu I never thought I’d be falling head over heels in love with you. You are caring and supportive and confident and passionate, and you love me for me, and that’s a love I never even knew existed. The night that you said you loved me changed my life forever, because I knew in that moment that I wanted to love you for the rest of my life. You, and only you. You have made me the happiest woman alive, and in a world of change, I want to be your constant. I love you today, tomorrow and forever, and I can’t wait for our adventure to begin.”
In the end, Blake knows he wants to be with Katie forever, too, and he ends up proposing to her. “Since day one, it’s been a connection and understanding that seemed too good to be true,” he says. “But I knew. I knew the moment that I first met you and you called me trouble, or the way that you looked at me the night of the concert when we were dancing. Just the way that we just need a minute before things get started to just hold each other and not say a word. Or just the fact that we literally don’t need words to communicate at all. With you, I just honestly knew. I know how great of a wife you’re going to be, and a mother you’re going to be. But I know there’s things that scare you and I know that you, in the past, have talked about how you’ve had to compromise the way that you are to make relationships work, and I don’t want you to do that. I can’t give you what you came here for because you deserve a lot more than that. You deserve the world and I’m excited to support you and be there for you every day moving forward. So, with that being said, will you marry me?”