NOTE: This post contains spoilers for Season 28, Episode 11 of The Bachelor.
Hello and welcome back to the very last Rose Report for Joey’s season of The Bachelor! It’s been a long road to get here, but The Best Bachelor of All Time is down to his final two women- Daisy and Kelsey A.
A very quick recap- last week, Kelsey A. threw Joey for a loop by leaving an ominous sounding note on his door, Rachel was sent home, and we got to hear from all our favorites from the season during the Women Tell All. Missed it? Catch up here.
Now, we’ve got some questions to answer. Who got the Final Rose? Who is our next Bachelorette? Why was Joey crying on a the proposal platform in front of the ocean? Read on to find out. Fair warning, this was a 3-hour episode, so be patient- we have a lot to get through!
The Graziadei Family
Back to Tulum, we go! Joey reminisced on his journeys with each of his two remaining women before heading off to say hello to his family. Joey’s sisters, Carly and Ellie, mother, Cathy, father Nick, and brother-in-law, Zach, all traveled to Tulum to meet Joey’s two remaining ladies.
Daisy Meets the Family
Daisy was the first to meet Joey’s family and was feeling a bit nervous. After greeting everyone, Daisy talked about their journey thus far and a bit about her hearing loss and cochlear implant. Getting teary-eyed, she told them Joey is “truly so remarkable and that is because of you”.
Ellie and Carly pulled Daisy aside to chat. Notably, Daisy said that if Joey were to get down on one knee, she would say yes because she is in love with him. However, she had not told him this yet.
Joey then sat down with his sisters, who told Joey that he and Daisy seemed very compatible. He agreed but said that his biggest fear is Daisy holding back. “It’s all understandable,” Joey said, especially considering there’s still another woman. “It just scares me a little bit.” Ellie, however, told him that Daisy seemed to be all in.
After an emotional but positive conversation with Joey’s mom, Daisy and Joey left his family and sat on a bench outside to rehash how everything went. “They had nothing but amazing things to say about you,” Joey told Daisy. Seemed like a successful day!
Kelsey Meets the Family
Kelsey was up next. After greeting Joey’s family, Kelsey and Joey talked about some of their most memorable moments so far- from Kelsey’s Voodoo doll to their one-on-one dates in Spain and Jasper. “The emotional connection the two of them had was very obvious right from the get-go,” said Joey’s mom. I agree, they looked very lovey-dovey.
Kelsey also sat down with Joey’s sisters, who asked her whether she’s ready to get married. While Kelsey admitted that she doesn’t feel like she needs to get married on any particular timeline, she thinks she would say yes to Joey if he proposed. His sisters noted that she didn’t seem as “all in” as Daisy when it came to a proposal and marriage, which they told Joey. Good job ladies, way to freak him out!
Both of Joey’s parents questioned Kelsey about how she would feel if it didn’t end up being her. “Daisy is an amazing woman, and I love her so much,” said Kelsey, before admitting that it’s hard to think of it not being her. However, meeting the family went pretty well overall!
Daisy's Final One-On-One
Joey and Daisy went on their final one-on-one first, which included a spiritual cleansing ceremony. At one point during the date, Joey and Daisy each made a wish to throw into a fire. When Joey made his wish he said, “My desire is for both of us to find true happiness whether that’s with each other, or just in general. I feel so lucky to have gotten to know you and I know that you deserve nothing but the best.” Is it just me or did that sound like a breakup? It seemed like Joey had already made his decision… and it wasn’t Daisy.
However, Daisy tried her best to move forward during the nighttime portion of the date. She told Joey that she loved him, to which he replied, “That’s so good to hear.” He didn’t really give any validation to Daisy throughout the night which she noted, along with the fact that his responses seemed “measured and careful”.
“If I’m being 100% honest, I don’t think it’s me,” Daisy admitted to the camera in her confessional after Joey left that night. I’m sorry Daisy, but I agree with you…
Kelsey's Final One-On-One
Kelsey and Joey’s final one-on-one date was up next and was spa-themed. After pedicures, face masks, and massages, Kelsey and Joey sat down to chat in Kelsey’s room later that night. Kelsey told him she feels ready for an engagement because it’s Joey, not because it’s just some box she wants to check off. She also expressed how scared she is of it not being her and Joey at the end of this. Joey told her that he didn’t want her to think like that, and generally gave her a lot more validation than he gave Daisy. Uh oh…
A Turn of Events
After Joey’s behavior on their last one-on-on, Daisy knew in her gut that it wasn’t going to be her. So, she knocked on Kelsey’s (!!!) door to talk to her about how she was feeling and how her week went. If you’re new here, the women typically do NOT speak to or see each other during the final week. Jesse Palmer wasn’t lying- this was something we’ve never seen before.
Kelsey told Daisy that it had been a great week for her, and that it had been nice to hear validation from Joey during the nighttime portion of their one-on-one. “Our date felt a little bit off,” Daisy admitted to Kelsey. “There was no form of validation, confirmation.”
After talking with Kelsey, Daisy really felt that it was Kelsey for Joey, not her. But, she wasn’t going to just walk away.
Proposal Time
Daisy and Kelsey rode up to the proposal platform….. in the same vehicle. I repeat, IN THE SAME VEHICLE! I’m talking side by side, holding each other’s hands- one ready to get engaged and the other obviously ready to get her heart broken. That was another thing I have NEVER seen in the Bachelor Universe.
Anyway- back to the action. Daisy walked down the path to the proposal platform first. After Joey said his piece, Daisy told Joey that she does love him but “the thing is, you’re not going to choose me”. She realized that he’s not her person and that as much as it hurt, she was going to do what was best for everyone and leave.
He couldn’t deny it, but it still hurt him to hurt Daisy. Joey offered to walk her out, but Daisy said it was something she should do on her own.
Then our Bachelor took his jacket off and had a little break/cry sesh off to the side with the producers, which was what we had seen in previews.
After giving her a hug, Daisy reassured Kelsey that her mom was looking down on her and was going to be so happy. Then, she left in the SUV we saw driving away in those mysterious promos two months ago. Props to Daisy for being classy, graceful, and kind as she chose the best path for herself and made her exit on her own terms!
And the Final Rose Goes To...
Joey gathered himself and was waiting for Kelsey when she walked down the path toward him. “I knew early on that there was something different about you,” Joey said to Kelsey. “There’s nothing difficult about choosing you. I can’t wait another minute to tell you that I love you.”
Then, Joey got down on one knee and asked Kelsey to marry him. Of course, she said yes! “Kelsey, will you accept my final rose?” Joey asked. Duh!
ATFR: Joey and Daisy
Now, let’s move on to the live After the Final Rose (ATFR) part of the show.
Joey and Daisy met again for the first time on stage since that day in Tulum. Daisy expressed how happy she is for Joey, and admitted that she first realized it wasn’t her at the rose ceremony when Rachel was sent home. She had seen how Joey and Kelsey looked at each other then and just knew. She also reflected on how anxious she felt going into their final date, and how Joey’s language during the “make-a-wish” part made her realize that he really couldn’t see a future with her.
Joey admitted that his wording on the final date was somewhat intentional so as to not lead her on, but it was even more obvious than he even realized. Overall, the conversation was pretty positive and they both wished each other the best. It really, really seemed like they were setting Daisy up to be the next Bachelorette at this point!
ATFR: Joey and Kelsey
Then it was time for the happy couple to make their public debut! Kelsey showed off her Neil Lane “sparkler” and gushed about her fiancé. She said that she knew she loved Joey in Jasper, and Joey talked about his decision to only say ‘I love you’ to one person.
After hearing from Kelsey’s dad, the two lovebirds also talked about what life has been like since they quit filming. Joey said it has been difficult at times, especially since Kelsey has been having to watch everything back (as in watching her fiancé date 32 women- whew!).
What’s next for Joey and Kelsey? Joey is going to NOLA, and they are planning on moving to New York in the summer.
ATFR: Daisy and Kelsey
Seemingly ready to announce the next Bachelorette, Jesse invited Daisy back on stage. However, Daisy said that she is just not ready for that yet and will be focusing on her own health, happiness, and the people she loves. Okay, so Daisy is not the next Bachelorette! Jesse almost had me on that one…
Kelsey then joined Daisy to talk about their final day in Tulum, since their open encouragement and support of each other hadn’t been seen before on the show. Daisy said she and Kelsey grew “a really good friendship” and she just wanted to make sure Kelsey was happy before stepping away.
Kelsey said that it really wasn’t about competition between the two of them, just figuring out who was right for Joey. “Two things can be true,” Kelsey stated, referring to the fact that she believes Daisy is beautiful and amazing and she is too. Go Kelsey!
Honestly, it was really heartwarming to see these two respect and support each other in this very unique situation, which can be so easily viewed as a competition. They handled everything with maturity and grace- love to see it!
Our Next Bachelorette Is...
Finally, our next Bachelorette was announced and it’s Jenn Tran (@jenntranx). Congrats to her! She will be the first Asian American Bachelorette ever. Just a reminder- Jenn was sent home the week before hometowns, the same week Kelsey T. was sent home.
I will be honest, I did not see that one coming AT ALL! I was almost certain after the Daisy fake out that it would be Maria.
That's it for Joey's season.
This was by far the best season of The Bachelor I have ever watched, and I will really miss Joey! He is the first Bachelor (at least in my time) who has been this well-loved by so many viewers. It will be very, very difficult to top this season, so both Jenn and the next future Bachelor have their work cut out for them!
I will see you all when Jenn’s season starts! Until then, I will be recapping new episodes of When Calls the Heart when the new season starts on April 7th.
