Bachelor Nation
‘The Bachelor’ Finale Recap: Who Does Grant Ellis Choose?
Grant Ellis‘ journey on The Bachelor has come to an end with the Season 29 finale on Monday, March 24. After narrowing down his 25 contestants to just two women, Juliana Pasquarosa and Litia Garr, Grant has a big decision to make at the final rose ceremony. The episode cuts back to host Jesse Palmer in front of a live audience during commercial breaks.
Before going on his final dates with the remaining women, Grant introduces them to his family. His mom, dad, and sister all traveled to the Dominican Republic to meet the women and help Grant make his decision. Litia, who Grant says he can “picture” being his wife, is up first to spend time with the Ellis’. The family immediately notices how great the two look together.
Juliana and Litia meet Grant’s family
Litia opens up to Grant’s mom about how she fell in love with the Bachelor when she saw him with her family. She assures Renee that she has “no doubts” about the relationship and would say yes to a proposal. The Utah native reiterates this in a talk with Grant’s dad, letting him know that she’s ready for marriage and kids. Robert and Renee approve of Litia’s values and are reassured by their conversations with her.
Grant opens up to his dad about how he doesn’t know if he and Litia are on the same timeline for having kids. She wants them within the next two years, while he’s not in as much of a rush. Robert urges Grant not to let “one little issue stop the show” if he really loves Litia. Grant’s parents love Litia, and after the day, the two exchange “I love yous” again. However, this time, Litia lets Grant know it’s the first time she’s ever said those three words to a partner.
Juliana meets the family next. Going into the day, she and Grant have not said “I love you” to each other yet, and Grant is still unsure whether Juliana is “100 percent” ready to get engaged. Renee is immediately struck by Juliana’s “positive” energy but is concerned when Juliana admits she isn’t sure she’s in love with Grant yet. Grant can understand why it’s probably hard for Juliana to say those words when she knows there’s someone else involved, but Renee urges him to “walk away” from the relationship if Juliana doesn’t share those feelings.
Meanwhile, Robert assures Grant that he’ll be “safe” with Juliana and never have to hold his feelings back from her. The men share an emotional moment before parting ways for Grant to continue his journey. Grant then says “I love you” to Juliana for the first time and promises her that he sees a future with her, and she reciprocates those sentiments.
Grant and Juliana’s final date
Juliana has her final one-on-one date with Grant. They have a romantic day exploring Punta Cana on a boat, but during the nighttime portion of the date, Grant admittedly needs to find out if Juliana is ready to get engaged.
Disney/Anne Marie Fox
So, he flat out asks her. After beating around the bush a bit, Juliana assures Grant that she’s ready. “I will say that I didn’t know if I was going to be able to get to this point with you, and I didn’t even know what ready would really look like or, I think, feel like,” she says. “And this happened so rapidly, but I think being able to admit to myself and you that I love you and have you tell me you love me was, I think, all the reassurance I needed to feel really prepared to enter an engagement with you.”
The date went great, but Juliana is still worried about what conversations Grant and Litia are having, and whether or not she’ll be left heartbroken in just a few days.
Grant and Litia’s final date
For their final date, Grant and Litia go horseback riding. The date makes Litia feel closer to her late father, so it’s a special moment. Despite how well things went on the date, Grant says he still has a “heavy heart” because he knows that he has to make a huge decision in just a few days. During the evening portion of the date, he knows there are important questions they need to ask each other.
Disney/Anne Marie Fox
Grant brings up Litia’s timeline for kids and wants to talk more in-depth about it. She assures him that she doesn’t feel any pressure from her family to have kids. Grants wants to know how Litia would react if he came to her in two years and said he wasn’t ready to have kids yet.
“I think it would depend on your reasons,” she explains. “If your reasons were there’s still more that you want to accomplish before you have kids, I think you want to be a very present father, and so I think if you’re not ready and there are things you want to do, I think, of course, you know? I want to make you happy and I want you to feel ready and I want both of us to feel excited and ready at that time.”
The conversation gets emotional when Litia opens up to Grant about how much she wants to be able to take the stress and pressure of the next few days away from him. She also reveals that she was in love with Grant long before she even told him and explains why he made her feel safe enough to say “I love you” for the first time.
Grant and Litia’s breakup
Now, Grant has the toughest decision of his life to make. Heading into the final rose ceremony, he’s torn, so he meets with his dad for (hopefully) some clarity. “If I pick somebody and it doesn’t work out, it’s like, ‘Well, I could’ve…'” Grant explains. Robert acknowledges that one person is going to be hurt, but tells Grant he has to do what’s best for him because he deserves to be happy.
Grant meets up with Neil Lane to pick out an engagement ring. He picks out a ring, but still doesn’t know who he’s going to give it to. A producer warns him that it’s time to head out, but Grant still has no idea what to do. Even once he meets up with Palmer, with both women on the way, he’s still undecided.
However, he finally makes his choice, and Litia is the first to arrive, which means the writing is on the wall for her. She doesn’t know it yet, though, and professes her love to Grant at the final rose podium, reiterating to him that she wants to make him feel seen and always be there for him. Now it’s time for Grant to say those difficult words in response.
Disney/Anne Marie Fox
“I’ve been looking for an emotional connection, and I feel like I have that with you. You are one of the most amazing, beautiful women that I’ve ever met and you deserve love,” he says. “You deserve to be treated right. This is hard for me. Litia, I love you very much, and I want to give you everything that you deserve but I’m not your person. I’m sorry to have gotten to this point. My emotional connection is stronger somewhere else.”
She wants to know when things changed, and when Grant asks her not to view him any different she lets him know that she does. “I’m concerned about how you feel,” Grant says, to which Litia responds, “I think I got my answers. I’m disappointed. You’re different than I thought.” She also tells Grant, “Juliana is a beauitful woman, and she deserves love and I love her, and I would have a lot of questions if I were her from the things that you’ve said to me. I think that’s stuff for you guys to work out. That’s not my business.”
At the end of the day, Litia is blindsided, heartbroken, and disappointed because of the things Grant said to her along the way. “This situation is very awkward and difficult and I’m not perfect,” Grant explains. “I’m trying to do my best, and I’m truly sorry.” She says she believes what he’s saying but makes sure to be “clear that she’s “confused and sad and mad.” He apologizes again and they part with a tense hug.
Grant and Litia’s reunion
Months after the breakup, Grant and Litia come face-to-face live on After the Final Rose for the first time. Grant’s decision still doesn’t make sense to Litia. “Everything he said about [that day] was that it was going to be us, we were going to get engaged, from the first one-on-one we had in L.A. to the night before that day,” she reveals before the confrontation.
Litia also expresses confusion about how Grant didn’t bring up concerns about her timeline until the last date. She also reveals a conversation they had on their very first date where she claims Grant told her, as well as her mom on FaceTime, “I know it’s you. I could stop the whole show right you. I know it’s you, that’s how confident I feel.”
She also says that she told Grant she wasn’t expecting promises from him when there were other women there, but “every week he continued to raise the stakes. Every time I pumped the brakes, he pushed the gas. I felt like I needed to catch up to where his feelings were. He was always the first to express feelings.”
Litia tells Grant she doesn’t think he’s a bad guy but calls him out for all the specific things he said to her from the very beginning of their journey. “In Madrid, you gave me a journal telling me to write my thoughts and feelings so we could read through it together at the end,” she points out. “You told me I was your number one connection and on the first group date you knew I was your wife. Those aren’t things that you say when you’re conflicted.” She also adds, “In overnights, you said a lot and up until the last night before the proposal when I said, ‘Oh my gosh, we’re getting engaged tomorrow,’ and you said, ‘I know, I can’t wait, I love you, I love you,’ where’s the protection and the honesty and accountability and maturity you talked about?”
Grant gives Litia the same apology he did in the DR and says he doesn’t regret saying that he loved her but owns up to his mistakes. She makes sure it’s clear that she’s not angry that he fell for another woman, but she’s angry that he continued to “up the stakes” about their future, only to not choose her in the end. “I’m excited for this to be the last time I talk to you about this,” she admits.
Grant and Juliana get engaged
Now that the hard part is out of the way, Grant meets with his final pick, Juliana, back at the final rose ceremony. She opens up about her feelings for him and tells him she’d be the “luckiest girl in the world” if he asked her to spend his life with her.
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Before proposing, Grant reminisces about the journey he and Juliana have been on, as well as all the things they have in common. He promises her that she never has to go through the rest of her life alone and pops the question with an emerald cut ring.
Grant and Juliana’s relationship update
Still happily together, Grant and Juliana appear on After the Final Rose to give a relationship update. It’s their first time in public together as a couple. “We’ve lived so many months just connecting and getting to know each other, but I’m just so excited to get dinner with this man, have a glass of wine,” Juliana laughs.
Of his reasons for choosing Juliana, Grant says, “Her outlook on life and her character and her demeanor and her rising above situations in her life and how she carries herself. She’s never changed who she is. She’s somebody who’s proven to me that she’s a solid foundation. That’s something that’s important in a relationship and a friendship.”
Juliana reveals that she gave Grant grace for how long it took him to make his final decision. “I want him to feel sure. I’m confident in who I am and I’m confident in what we had. It’s up to him,” she explains.
Palmer brings up the online chatter about Grant’s relationship status following the Women Tell All special, where fans thought his demeanor shifted while watching a teaser for the ending of the season. Juliana admits that she “played into” the speculation and “added to that uncertainty because life is too short to take too seriously.”
Before closing out the night, Juliana and Grant reveal that they’re moving to Boston together.
