11 p.m.: Well that’ll do it for our live coverage of “The Bachelorette” finale. What a ride it’s been.
I still feel bad for Robby.
10:55 p.m.: As a final congratulatory gift, ABC is sending JoJo and Jordan back to Nemacolin Woodlands Resort in Pennsylvania, where America first saw the couple together.
10:50 p.m.: Ben is talking to JoJo and Jordan now. Talk about awkward.
He’s actually got some great advice, though, telling the couple to stay strong through the criticism and that walking through the airport together in public tonight is going to feel very weird.
No one’s crying. That went well.
10:48 p.m.: The Rodgers family drama comes up again. Of course, for those who don’t know, Jordan’s older brother is Aaron Rodgers, star quarterback of the Green Bay Packers. They don’t have the best relationship.
But Jordan sort of skirted around the questions about his brother, and the couple both said the relationship Jordan has with his brother isn’t a concern right now.
10:47 p.m.: Jordan says the two have thrown around a couple of dates, but are looking at getting married next year.
10:42 p.m.: We finally get to see Jordan and JoJo together.
JoJo has said she’s cried herself to sleep several nights over rumors of Jordan being a liar and cheater circulating through tabloids. JoJo says Jordan hasn’t given her any reason to believe any of it, though, and they’re still happy together.
Both noted how difficult not being together publicly has been, especially not being able to physically comfort one another while their relationship gets dragged through the mud.
Jordan says they’ve bought a house together in Dallas, and they’ll be moving in together shortly. Jordan literally has his bags packed backstage.
10:26 p.m.: Bad guy Chad just made his case to be the next Bachelor. Says his mom died and he’s a marine so he’s really not a bad guy and that everyone deserves love.
Meanwhile, there’s a security guard assigned to Chad in the studio.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
10:21 p.m.: I still feel really bad for Robby. It’s been 36 minutes since JoJo stopped Robby and didn’t let him propose and I still feel terrible for him. Now I understand why you watch this show with wine.
10:19 p.m.: She’s wearing her ring. Looks like they’re still together.
10:17 p.m.: JoJo tells Robby that she was always madly in love with Jordan, and that while she loved Robby, it wasn’t the way she loved Jordan.
She goes on to add that she felt their (Robby and JoJo’s) personalities were less compatible long term, and that she doesn’t think about what a future with Robby might be like any more.
10:15 p.m.: Well, I was wrong. Robby was happy to know that JoJo loved him, even though she was sending him away.
Love is weird.
10:10 p.m.: Sick. And. Twisted.
10:03 p.m.: Ben is in the crowd. Nothing like bringing the man who broke JoJo’s heart and filled this season with drama back into her life.
Oh, and now Robby is here too. This is sick and twisted.
10 p.m.: Jordan asked her to marry him. She said yes. Yay, I guess.
9:59 p.m.: I want to be really happy for JoJo, but I’m still salty over how things ended with Robby.
9:55 p.m.: Commercial is over. First thing JoJo says “I can’t believe I let Robby go.”
Probably a good time to mention that in 31 combined seasons of “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette,” there have only been six success stories. That’s a .193 average. These poor single people are batting below the Mendoza Line. Woof.
9:55 p.m.: Not exactly encouraging for Jordan, either.
9:49 p.m.: “I don’t even know if it made a difference that I told him I loved him,” JoJo, through tears, says as Robby is driven away. “I just wanted him to know.”
Congrats, JoJo. Those words will now haunt him for the rest of his life. Oh and, no, it doesn’t make a difference because you kicked him to the curb.
9:47 p.m.: All Robby can say is “I just wanted you to be happy.”
Last thing he says is “Don’t settle. Good luck.”
Classy til the end. Kudos there, man. Yikes.
9:45 p.m.: Oh no. Oh nooo.
“Wait, stop. I can’t let you get down on one knee.”
Robby loses.
Jesus, I can feel the gut punch from here.
9:44 p.m.: “My future yearns for you.”
My God. What. A. Line.
9:43 p.m.: Robby is here. This is the moment of truth.
9:40 p.m.: Why are the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders there? I get she’s from Texas but that’s the most random thing ever.
9:35 p.m.: Robby says he convinced himself that no one has what he has with JoJo, so she’s going to say yes when he proposes.
So Robby is probably going to lose. Poor Robby.
9:32 p.m.: Jordan wrote her a letter, too?!
I don’t know if this is normal or not, but I feel bad for whoever thought of it first.
And now JoJo is crying at both letters. Maybe she doesn’t know who she’s picking.
9:31 p.m.: “I woke up with a moment of clarity.”
JoJo knows who she’s picking, it seems. That’s exciting.
9:30 p.m.: Maybe I’m picky but I don’t like the ring Jordan picked out. Too rectangular.
9:28 p.m.: This is the biggest cop out ever, but at least he finally asked.
9:26 p.m.: You’re proposing today and don’t have a ring?
9:25 p.m.: I’m genuinely surprised Robby is wearing an undershirt and not showing off his chest.
9:24 p.m.: Is it still romantic if you know he’s getting down on one knee because the production is ending? Guess we’ll find out.
9:18 p.m.: How could JoJo pick Jordan at this point?
Jordan tells JoJo he thought about their previous conversation on their final date, and that he’s willing to take a leap of faith and trust that she’ll pick him. JoJo feels hesitant — she knows how Jordan feels about her, but isn’t sure if he’s ready to propose.
Jordan replies that he’ll prove it by getting down on one knee, but JoJo isn’t convinced and I’m sure as hell not either. Kind of feels like he’s only getting down on one knee now because he has to. #Romance
9:08 p.m.: Is Jordan REALLY trying to spin this around and make it JoJo’s fault?
Jordan says he didn’t ask JoJo’s father for his blessing to propose to JoJo because her family hadn’t met Robby yet, and Jordan doesn’t know if JoJo is going to pick him yet. He adds he always envisioned the day he asked for his future father-in-law’s blessing that everyone — in this instance JoJo and her family — would all know that Jordan is the guy they want JoJo to be with forever.
Which makes sense. I’m sure we all feel that way. But did no one explain the rules of this show to Jordan? C’mon, man.
9:06 p.m.: YAAS JOJO. He doesn’t know how he feels. Call him out. Get it, girl.
9:03 p.m.: It’s probably easy to plan a really awesome date with an expensive production budget.
9:02 p.m.: Did Jordan steal that boat from Jack Sparrow?
9 p.m.: And after 40 minutes of Robby, we finally get back to Jordan.
How is she so happy with him like this after everything we just saw with Robby?
I don’t understand this show.
8:55 p.m.: “I see a lifetime with him, and that makes me excited to see him down on one knee proposing to me.”
There’s still another hour. JoJo has us hooked on Robby way too early. I don’t trust this. They’re setting us up for sadness. This is a roller coaster.
8:51 p.m.: Robby made himself vulnerable and let JoJo in. There’s probably a lot of guys who will never see this that could use that advice right now.
8:50 p.m.: Is this real life?
8:44 p.m.: JoJo just made a “Wedding Crashers” reference and Robby didn’t even laugh.
I was about to say I liked and trusted him, but we’re going to hold off on that for now.
8:34 p.m.: “My heart wants … I don’t know.”
WHAT?! What don’t you know, JoJo?
Jordan didn’t ask your family for permission to marry you. You’re afraid Jordan will leave you. Robby is cookie-cutter perfect (even if he looks like a Will Forte clone with too many buttons open on his shirt) and you’ve had nothing but amazing things to say about him.
Forget a hard decision — how is there even a decision to be made at all?
8:33 p.m.: Oh and tears. First time tonight for JoJo.
8:32 p.m.: JoJo’s brothers have some great insight.
8:31 p.m.: Jordan’s an idiot.
8:30 p.m.: “You can’t help but want someone like Robby for your daughter,” her father says.
The Fletcher Family is smitten by Robby, too. Figure it out, JoJo.
8:24 p.m.: JoJo is smitten with Robby. There aren’t any positive adjectives left in the dictionary to describe him. He made your dad cry when asking for your hand in marriage.
But no, JoJo, please second guess yourself some more. That’s logical.
(In all fairness, this is the man she wants to marry, so she can take however long she wants. I just think it’s pretty obvious who she wants to/should pick so I don’t get the holdup.)
8:21 p.m.: Robby asks her father’s permission to propose, but includes her mother, who cried when he explained how he feels about her in a one-on-one meeting.
“I’m giving you a princess. She needs to be your princess,” her mother says.
“She already is,” Robby replied.
Damn, this guy is good.
8:19 p.m.: “I’ve never felt so cherished,” JoJo says about her time spent with Robby. She adds that he’s such a good man and has a good soul.
Which means she’ll probably pick Jordan.
Ugh. Girls.
8:17 p.m.: If Will Forte and Wes Welker had a love child who became a model for dentists, it would be Robby.
8:15 p.m.: This is not the face of a man who knows he wants to marry someone.
8:12 p.m.: What’s the deal with Jordan? Why isn’t he asking her father for permission? He knows that’s important!
I don’t like this. He’s having second thoughts.
8:08 p.m.: Mom reveals JoJo has some trust issues because of a previous relationship (Looking at you, Ben.). As if we didn’t know that already.
Mom makes Jordan promise he’ll never break her daughter’s heart if they get married. But … did Jordan pause?
Mom meets with JoJo after and says she’s a bit skeptical of Jordan. Uh oh.
8:05 p.m.: We’ve got some insight: JoJo, meeting with her family, says Jordan is the kind of guy she’s always seen herself with, but also someone she’s afraid could hurt her. Except, good news, she doesn’t think Jordan could hurt her.
Jordan arrives and gets some smooches (#PDAalert) and is now meeting with JoJo’s family.
8 p.m.: And so we begin. Who’s excited?
Original post: Good evening and welcome in to NESN.com’s coverage of “The Bachelorette” season finale. I can’t believe I just typed that sentence.
While there are a few fans of the show in the building here, this sports writer has never really watched an episode of the series before.
OK, fine, you caught me. Yes, I’ve caught bits and pieces here and there with my girlfriend over the years. And in college, I had a professor who gave extra-credit bonus questions on quizzes related to “The Bachelor,” so I occasionally would catch the last five minutes to find out who was eliminated. In other words, I’m clearly the most qualified person to undertake such a task as this one.
Now that my credentials have been clarified, a word of advice: buckle up. Whether you’re a seasoned “Bachelorette” vet, or you’re new to this whole world that captivates America for weeks at a time like I am, I’m hoping you’ll enjoy what we’ve got going on tonight.
So what can you expect? I’ll react to whatever craziness goes down on tonight’s three-hour finale, and there could be a healthy dose of sarcasm mixed in along the way.
Whatever happens, we’ll have you covered.
But first, the essentials.
Time, TV Channel and Live Stream
If you have DirecTV, you can watch the episode live online here.
If not, you’ll have to follow along with us and tune in to your local ABC affiliate at 8 p.m. ET. The first two hours will wrap up this season and determine a winner, and we’ll likely get a marriage proposal at the end. The final hour goes behind-the-scenes with the stars of the show to break down everything you just saw.
What’s Going To Happen?
Joelle “JoJo” Fletcher is the bachelorette, and she’s deciding between two finalists, Jordan Rodgers and Robby Hayes, but says she’s in love with both of them. Yikes. It’s gonna get messy.
Tale of the Tape
Jordan is 27 years old, the younger brother of NFL star and Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, is a former college quarterback himself. Jordan played QB for Vanderbilt before bouncing around a few NFL training camps and playing in the Canadian Football League. He’s listed at 6-foot-1, 212 lbs in his bio.
Robby also is 27 and 6-foot-1, but at 185 lbs he’d probably lose to Jordan in a fight. He’s a former collegiate swimmer at Florida State University, which means we’ve got a little SEC vs. ACC rivalry going on. He’s really not that interesting, but there are reports that he dumped his ex-girlfriend when he found out he was chosen to be on the show. He also takes a lot of shirtless photos and enjoys staring into your soul via his Instagram pics.
Click for photos, more info on Jordan and Robby >>
Thumbnail photo via Instagram/@roberthunter89, Instagram/@jrodgers11 and Instagram/@joelle_fletcher
