Note: This story contains spoilers from “The Bachelorette” Season 21 finale.
“The Bachelorette” Season 21 has come to a close, and Jenn Tran was right to tell audiences they would be shocked by the end to her love story.
After narrowing down her suitors to two final men — Devin Strader and Marcus Shoberg — after fantasy suites, the leading lady introduced her family to the men to mixed reactions. Strader, who had already exchanged “I love you’s” with Tran, was turned down for Tran’s brother blessing to get engaged, while Tran’s family — and Tran, herself — expressed disappointment that Shoberg could not yet tell Tran he loves her yet.
Shoberg’s hesitancy stuck with Tran, prompting her to visit him ahead of their last date. She reminded him the engagement was the next day and pressed him on what he envisions for his and/or their future, explaining she felt he wasn’t excited for a potential future with her. Shoberg said the prospect of the future was scary to him, but eventually told her that he loved her and that he didn’t want to give up on them.
While Tran admitted she had been waiting to hear those words, she said she had a pit in her stomach and took a few moments to herself, reflecting that she felt taken for granted and that she had invested her too much time and energy not to receive anything in return. Upon her return, Tran broke up with Shoberg, saying that what she was feeling in the moment wasn’t what she wanted for her future.
The next day, Tran woke up and told host Jesse Palmer she was planning on not letting Strader propose to her and would rather propose to him, herself. Instead of seeing the moment, however, Palmer interrupted the live finale to tell audiences they wouldn’t be airing the proposal until Tran spoke straight to the audience.
During the live portion of the finale, Tran revealed that her and Strader did get engaged in Hawaii and left happily, though upon their return to the mainland, things felt different. Tran said Strader pulled back on their future plans and felt “secondary” to his life, saying he would call and text her less and wouldn’t introduce her to his family anymore.
The night before Tran and Strader were going to reunite for a “happy couple” visit, Tran said Strader called off their engagement, saying that he didn’t love her anymore and that he regretted getting engaged. Tran offered that they could just date for now, but he refused to meet her where she was at and didn’t want to go to couples counseling. She said the last time they saw each other was over a month ago in July, and he had been avoiding her texts and calls since then.
Strader was brought out and Tran prefaced their conversation by saying it wouldn’t be meaningful because they had established they would keep conversations like this off-camera. Tran listed several actions she found disrespectful — including following “The Bachelor” alum Maria Georgas on Instagram and clubbing in New York City with “The Bachelorette” alum Jeremy Simon — and called him out for not being forthcoming about his fears about getting engaged and having a foot out the door in their engagement. Tran said she was heartbroken watching his lies every Monday night.
Strader said he felt he wasn’t living up to what Tran deserved and the growth he saw in her, saying he felt he was part of her “regression.”
ABC then aired their proposal, which saw Tran propose to Strader and then him propose to her as well. Tran said during the live finale that she didn’t regret proposing to Strader, but knows she deserves a man who will fulfill his promises rather than leaving her with nothing.
The finale of “The Bachelorette” will stream on Hulu beginning Wednesday.
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