CLEVELAND — In what truly may have been the most dramatic season of The Bachelor yet, the franchise threw the rulebook out the window and named both Ohio University graduate Rachel Recchia, and Gabby Windey as the next Bachelorettes.
Rachel and Gabby were selected to lead the franchise together, after Clayton Echard broke up with both of them at the same time, and chose to pursue a relationship with Susie Evans.
While Susie initially turned Clayton's marriage proposal down in Iceland, she shocked Bachelor Nation by appearing live in person at the finale on Tuesday night, as the girlfriend of Clayton.
The two will be moving in together in Virginia this week, after Clayton revealed he sold his condo is Missouri and quit his job so the two could have a real shot at a future together.
While Rachel and Gabby are both in the best of spirits now, their final moments on Clayton's season of The Bachelor were chaotic and difficult to watch.
Once Clayton decided he needed to further pursue Susie, he went to both Rachel and Gabby together, and broke up with them at the same time, something that each woman was completely disgusted by.
At that moment, Rachel tried to fight for their relationship and begged Clayton not to put her "in that car" and send her home, telling him that letting her go would "haunt" him. It was truly hard to watch, and the hearts of Bachelor Nation went out to Rachel, who was watching the scene back live and getting emotional on the stage next to host Jesse Palmer.
When Rachel finally got the chance to confront Clayton, she told him that, "I just don't believe you," when he said that he didn't tell her he loved her in order to get her to sleep with him.
Rachel took the opportunity to speak up for herself, as she put it, because she said she had felt robbed of that ability throughout the show since Clayton withheld crucial information from both her and Gabby about his feelings for Susie.
Throughout the confrontations with both Rachel and Gabby, Clayton was apologetic, but maintained that he believed he was in love with them at the times that he told them that.
In the end, Jesse announced that Rachel and Gabby would both become the next Bachelorettes, and clarified that yes, they would both be The Bachelorette for a full season. (Longtime fans remember how Kaitlyn Bristowe and Britt Nilsson were told they'd both be The Bachelorette in 2015, but then ended up competing against each other on night one for the chance to stay on the show and date the men who showed up.)
Coming soon, check back here for a weekly recap of Rachel's journey for love, when she joins Gabby as one of two Bachelorettes this summer.
