Charity Lawson broke up with Joey Graziadei at the final rose ceremony during The Bachelorette finale on Aug. 21. Charity told Joey that she was in love with him after their fantasy suite date, and he had a great meeting with her family during the finale. However, Charity’s feelings for Dotun Olubeko were stronger, even though her family seemed to be leaning towards Joey. She had to break the news to Joey during a heartbreaking conversation after he already picked out an engagement ring to propose with.
Before Charity had a chance to end the relationship, Joey professed his love to her. “I’ve told you time and time again how I felt like this was your story and I would just be lucky to be part of it,” he said. “Whether it was the first kiss we shared in LA, something I know we’ll never forget, or that day in New Orleans, that just felt perfect in so many ways and I knew I was falling in love with you. I keep thinking back to that poem that we had created and how much it made us realize how real our feelings were for one another. There was one line in particular that I think back to: “I sink into you without thinking, it’s so easy I’m scared.” To me, thats just means it’s okay to lean into how comfortable this feels even though it’s scary. I stand here now very confident that it hasn’t just been your story. It’s turned into our own beautiful love story that we can look back on and be confident in. I really just can’t wait to see what comes next.”
Joey was about to get down on one knee when Charity interrupted him. She had to break the news to him then and there. “This journey with you has been far more than I could have ever asked for and when I think and look at our love it is so special,” Charity said, as she began to break down in tears. “It’s rare and people search their whole lives looking for something like this. When I look into your eyes I’m reminded of how you always put me first and you’ve been very consistent in the love that you’ve shown and those things I’ve never experienced before. I never doubted or questioned how deep our love is. I know it, it’s there and I feel it.”
At that point, though, she brought in the “but,” and Joey knew it was over. He assured Charity that it was okay, but she wanted to get the rest of her thoughts out. “As crazy as it sounds, I’ve found love that’s deeper with someone else and it won’t make sense in this moment and its hard to get these words out because the truth is that I am in love with you,” Charity continued. “I know that we’ve always reminded each other how deserving of how much love we both need and want.”
Charity told Joey that her love for him would never go away and she insisted that she wants him to find happiness. He also said that the only thing he wants in the end is for her to be happy, as well. Joey then appeared life on After The Final Rose and admitted it was tough to watch the breakup back. He then came face-to-face with Charity for the first time since the breakup. They had a healing conversation where they wished each other the best of luck moving forward. Everything seemed to be on great terms between them as they moved onto this next chapter.
Charity’s decision to end things with Joey came after tense conversations with her family about what she should do at the end of her journey. The 27-year-old admittedly struggled with her decision, but knew her heart was truly with Dotun. Before the final rose ceremony, she also said goodbye to Aaron Bryant, who was first eliminated during hometown dates, but returned when he surprised Charity in Fiji in hopes of getting a second chance. Although Charity initially feared she made the wrong decision in sending Aaron home, she eventually concluded that he was not the one for her, leading to his elimination a second time.