The Bachelor - Season 17 Finale - RESULTS - Recap

It's finally the season finale of The Bachelor Season 17! Sean's down to his final two ladies, and at the end, he picks a winner. Who is it? Read my recap of the emotional below; the results are at the bottom.

Catherine meets the family

Sean's family -- father Jay, mother Sherry, sister Shay, and brother-in-law Andrew -- is going to meet Catherine first. Sean's mother is nervous and says that if there's going to be a proposal, he needs to know in his head which way he's going. However, Sean still hasn't made up his mind yet.

When Jay asks Catherine if she played any sports in school, she replies she played football in sixth grade with all of the boys. Then she moved onto cheerleading. He says he's a fan already.

Catherine admits she was very skeptical at the beginning of the whole Bachelor process, but it's "beyond comprehension" how happy she is now.

"I felt that Catherine was very genuine… but obviously it would be nice if they could spend more time together before he made his decision," Sherry says.

It seems like Sean's dad really likes Catherine. "If it's you that Sean ends up marrying, you will never have a bigger fan than me," he tells her. "I will love you like my daughter… and I just met you. Sometimes you just know."

Catherine gets choked up and says that though she loves her own dad, he hasn't been her "cheerleader" for a long time. "It actually makes me so happy that in the future, I get this family as my family," she says.

Lindsay meets the family

Should we all just award Jay with the Dad of the Year award now? He seems like such a good father, and he was as sweet to Lindsay as he was to Catherine. He tells her about how since Sean was born, he and Sherry prayed for Sean's future wife. "We prayed every day for her, for his wife. ... If it is you, I couldn't be more happy," he says, which makes Lindsay shed a tear.

As a joke, she asks him if she can have Sean's hand in marriage.

"It makes me emotional because I have just always wanted it," Lindsay later tells Sherry. "I have everything with him, and to have you guys be so amazing, everything's just together."

Sherry loved her right off the bat and appreciated that she was so open with her heart. She was able to see just how much she loved Sean.

Sean discusses with his family

Everyone loves both Catherine and Lindsay. "It's a win-win because they're both very special," Jay says.

However, Sherry is worried that Sean is rushing into a proposal. She tears up because it's such a huge decision for him and she wants him to be absolutely sure. "If you can't decide, maybe that's what the decision is," she says.

He wishes his family could help him make his decision, but he's still torn.

Host Chris Harrison reveals that they just found out breaking news about Sean in the last 24 hours. Um, what. Okay, fine, way to hold my attention.

Lindsay's date

They spend the day rafting down a river. "I will pin you so fast here on the river," he tells her. In the middle of the day? With another guy on the raft with them? Just kidding, they were talking about wrestling. The raft rower is really third-wheelin' it on the raft with them.

She considers this the biggest night of her life, because she could either leave with everything or nothing at all. Since he's unable to express all of his feelings  through word, she believes that he does so through kissing, something they do all the time. Therefore, she's confident in their relationship. They write wishes on lanterns and let them float up into the sky. Aw, I did this before in China. It's like the lantern scene in Tangled!

"At this moment, I really think she's the one for me," he says.

Catherine's date

They ride an elephant! Go Jumbos. Catherine is super excited to ride an elephant, and she considers it one of the most memorable days of her life.

However, she's been worried to put herself out there since he's unable to reciprocate fully. That night, she also tells him how thankful she is for his family.

"The only thing that's holding me back is that there's still Lindsay," he says.

She's afraid to say "I love you" first in a relationship, but she finally whispers it to him just as he's about to leave. "Thank you for today," he replies. Oy. "After I told him 'I love you,' I was hoping for a glimmer that said 'I want to be with you forever', but there was nothing," she explains. "I feel like something's coming down on me. This is painful." After he says goodbye, she whimpers and walks back outside, with tears in her eyes, to find him. "This is one of the most horrible goodbyes I've ever had. I feel like ****, to be honest," she says. She's frustrated that she can't get anything out of him.

The day of…

"I woke up this morning and realized there was a woman I couldn't stand to live without," he reveals. He picks out an engagement ring. "At this moment, I feel full of joy and happiness." Aw, he starts to tear up in front of the camera!

Lindsay tears up with excitement, but Catherine tears up with fear. Catherine's overwhelmed and is terrified that she's going to get rejected. She's decked out in a glittery gold dress, while Lindsay is wearing a glittery silver dress.

Lesley, Sarah, Jackie, and AshLee are in the live studio audience. Where's Des? Lesley thinks Sean is going to choose Catherine. Sarah believes Lindsay would be a good pick for him. AshLee, as the tiebreaker, admits that after watching the show back, Catherine and Lindsay were more laid back and had similar sense of humor. She picks Lindsay. Jackie thinks it's a toss-up.

The rejection

The first car pulls up, and it's… Lindsay! Sean rejects Lindsay. Oh my god. Wow I'm getting chills. "Today is the best day of my life," her voiceover says as she's shown walking arm and arm with Chris Harrison. "This is the day I'm going to get engaged. I'm feeling really calm but I'm getting really excited." Oh no… poor girl. She beams up at him, and they take each other's hands. He breaks the bad news to her.

"You have been such a surprise, I didn't see our relationship coming. I knew from the start I loved hanging around you, but I didn't know the depth I would find… I was amazed at your strength...your love, your generosity… you blew me away. Um… *he looks down.* Lindsay, this is the toughest thing I've ever had to do. I want to give you my heart so badly. But my heart is somewhere else. As of yesterday, I didn't know what I was going to do. I've been so confused and I've been searching and praying for clarity, and I think I've finally gotten it. I have to say goodbye to you, and this is by far the hardest thing I've ever had to do. I love you, that's the hardest part, I love you. I'm sorry. I think it's important you know how hard it is for me."

She just nods and takes her hands away. She tells him to stop talking. He tears up and she starts to cry as well. "It's okay," she keeps repeating.

"Oh my gosh, okay, well I'm going to go, because this is just really painful. This is a nightmare, I didn't see this coming. I'm happy for you, I'm happy you found love, but I honestly can't imagine my life without you, and that's one thing I'm going to have to figure out."

They hug. She takes off her heels and walks in front of him on her way out.

"Yeah, let's dangle everything I've ever wanted in front of me and then just take it away," she cries as the car drives away.

When Lindsay leaves, Chris gives Sean the letter (!!) that Catherine wrote for him. This was the letter that has been advertised in all of the previews! Is Catherine expressing or rejecting her love of him?

The proposal

And the letter… is a love letter. Aw. "I'm so excited to build our family together," Catherine writes. "I know neither one of us is perfect, but I know we're truly perfect for each other." It makes sense, since Catherine's written Sean so many notes over the season. "I will love you forever if you let me. You have my heart," she concludes. Chills again. Why am I so emotionally invested in this show? She walks up to him, and they hold hands. Sean pours his heart out to her and proposes to Catherine.

"I knew from the very beginning that you were someone I wanted to be around, I just had no idea that my feelings were going to turn into what they've turned into. You never cease to amaze me, you never do. I think the world of you, and I miss you. Every time we say goodbye, I miss you. I don't say goodbye anymore. Catherine, I want to spend the rest of my life telling you I love you and making you feel like the most special, beautiful, woman in the world."

Okay, I'm officially crying. "Will you marry me?" he asks. "Yes," she gasps. "Oh my god." "I love you so much," Sean says. "Oh my gosh, is this real?" she replied. "This is for real," he says. "I love you so much, I'm going to tell you that every day."

Finally, she asks her if she will accept the final rose, and obviously, Catherine accepts it. They ride an elephant away into the sunset. Woo, I personally love Catherine, and I think they'll be great together. Hopefully this relationship ends up in happy marriage! I know The Bachelor franchise doesn't have a great track record, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed for them.

Now, it's the After the Final Rose live show! Let's see how Sean and Catherine are doing now. I'll post a separate recap of this in an hour!

So, did you all think Sean would choose Catherine? Catherine flew under the radar for much of the season and seemed to be overshadowed by girls like Desiree and AshLee and the drama surrounding Tierra. Who knew that she would be the last one standing? Should Sean have picked Lindsay? What did you think of this season overall? Let me know in comments!