'The Bachelor' recap: Chris hands out his final rose, new 'Bachelorette' format announced
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It was time for Bachelor Chris Soules to hand out his final rose during "The Bachelor" finale Monday -- but did he choose Whitney or Becca to be his wife and live with him on his Iowa farm?
The 33-year-old Prince Farming got down on one knee and proposed to Whitney Bischoff, a 29-year-old fertility nurse from Chicago.
Instead of popping the question on a cliff overlooking the ocean on a tropical island as in seasons past, Chris proposed to Whitney in a barn on his Iowa farm.
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"This has been a really wild ride with a lot of ups and downs," Whitney said. "I came here with an idea of who you were and I've never been disappointed. From the very beginning, I just know. I love you so much, I really do."
"It's not work for us, it's natural and we both want the same thing," Chris responded. "That's what I want for the rest of my life. I love you. Everything about this feels right. I want the world to know I love you, Whitney Bischoff. Will you marry me?"
"Absolutely. I'm the luckiest girl in the entire world," Whitney said.
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Although Becca Tilley was eliminated just before the proposal, she had a classy response to being rejected by the Bachelor.
“You've been so open and honest,” she told Chris. “There's no way I could respect you more for being so honest with me and being the man that you are. You're going to be an incredible husband. You're an amazing person.”
Chris said he had strong feelings for both women up until the end, but ultimately Becca's hesitation about her feelings for him and moving to Iowa so soon was the deal breaker.
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"I feel the connection that I want to feel, but there are still questions [like] what she really sees and where she really stands," Chris said before his last date with Becca that week.
During a live "After the Final Rose" ceremony, Chris told host Chris Harrrison that he was always "catching up" in his relationship with Becca.
"I was having serious things for her and she was constantly slow to catch up to where my feelings were for her," he said. "I'm 33 years old and ready and determined to find my wife and raise a family and she's in a place in her life where she's a little uncertain as to what she's looking for."
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When Whitney appeared on the special for the first time in public with Chris and wearing her engagement ring, she said she was the "happiest girl in the entire world."
"Not only is she gorgeous on the outside, but she's beyond beautiful on the inside," Chris said of his fiancée. "She's one of the most caring people I've ever met."
Whitney told Chris Harrison that she didn't watch this season of "The Bachelor" -- and just watched her dates with Chris.
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"I knew what I signed up for, but I was confident in what we have," she said.
In a hilarious twist, ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel made an appearance on "After the Final Rose" to congratulate the couple. In a nod to the previous (and notorious) Bachelor, Jimmy gave Chris and Whitney a cow named Juan Pablo as an engagement gift to bring back to the farm.
The special had another surprise when Chris Harrison announced the upcoming season of "The Bachelorette" will have a brand-new format. After what Harrison said were heated discussions between producers the show decided to make both this season's frontrunner Britt Nilsson AND fan-favorite Kaitlyn Bristowe Bachelorettes.
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During "The Bachelorette" premiere, 25 men will meet both Kaitlyn and Britt and choose which one will continue on during the season.
"The Bachelorette" begins in July on ABC.