Culture

The 'Bachelor' star proposed to his runner-up on live TV — and the audience was visibly shocked and upset

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Arie Luyendyk Jr. with "The Bachelor" host Chris Harrison. ABC/Paul Hebert
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  • Arie Luyendyk Jr. broke up with his finalist and fiancée Becca Kufrin on "The Bachelor."
  • He then got engaged to the runner-up, Lauren Burnham on live TV.
  • The audience was shocked.
  • The pictures say it all.


On Tuesday night, season 22 of ABC's "The Bachelor" officially came to an end after what was quite honestly as historic and shocking a finale as host Chris Harrison had promised.

The tumultuous ending saw "Bachelor" star Arie Luyendyk Jr. break up with Becca Kufrin, the woman he proposed to — all with cameras rolling, much to fans' chagrin — and go back to his runner-up, Lauren Burnham.

Despite becoming one of the most-hated men in "Bachelor" history for blindsiding Kufrin, Luyendyk wasn't done upsetting fans. After Luyendyk and Burnham came out to talk about their relationship, the pair got engaged in front of a shocked live audience.

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The proposal.  ABC

In the background of the following screenshots, the audience was visibly surprised by Luyendyk's proposal, despite previous reports that it would be happening.

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People were shocked that a proposal was happening.  ABC

Instead of clapping and a standing ovation — the kind that Kufrin received later when she was announced as the next star of "The Bachelorette" — the people in the crowd tepidly applauded as the newly engaged couple kissed for the cameras.

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There was a major lack of enthusiasm.  ABC

This season of "The Bachelor" has been polarizing. Apart from the botched finale breakup that some people called "abusive," many fans failed to connect with Luyendyk at all throughout what was called one of the most boring seasons of the show's history.

Hopefully, for ABC, Kufrin will re-energize fans as a clear favorite throughout the next season of "The Bachelorette."

For everything we know about this season's shocking twist, read more here.

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Megan Willett-Wei was an executive editor at Business Insider. Her teams spanned the worlds of lifestyle — including beauty, style, travel, food, and royals — and she also helped oversee Business Insider's freelance program.Before her role at Business Insider, she was a lifestyle reporter for Business Insider and a digital culture reporter at Tech Insider. Her work has been syndicated by Slate, CNN, MSN.com, and more.She is a graduate of Wellesley College where she double majored in English and Art History.