The Bachelorette Season Finale Recap: Jenn Tran Got Engaged — But the Relationship Took a Dark Turn

 Bachelorette Jenn Tran's journey reached an unexpected conclusion on Tuesday, Sept. 3, on the season 21 finale of The Bachelorette on ABC. But once a decision was made between Houston's freight company owner Devin Strader and Miami-based veteran and entrepreneur Marcus Shoberg, things took a shocking turn.

Jenn, 26, and her choice, Devin, 28, were engaged in Hawai'i after Jenn proposed, but the relationship fell apart after they returned home.

"He was making bold proclamations of love and then suddenly the next day he was like, nothing and he denied ever being in love," Jenn told host Jesse Palmer during After the Final Rose. "All the promises he had made to me, all of the love that he had wanted to give to me wasn't there anymore."

Read on for the full recap of the episode, details of the engagement and the disastrous way Jenn and Devin's engagement ended more than a month before the season finale.

Bachelor Nation Weighs In

2 hr 41 min ago

Members of Bachelor Nation are reacting to the dramatic ending to Jenn season.

Sam McKinney, who was on the receiving end of backlash for calling out Devin’s behavior during season 21 of The Bachelorette, shared his thoughts on Devin calling off his and Jenn’s engagement after the finale.

Reposting a post on his Instagram Stories that read, “When the worst person you know was actually right,” along with a photo of Sam M., he wrote, “Hahahah okay this is funny.”

The next video was him sitting in front of his TV with his hand over his mouth, seemingly invested in the on-screen confrontation between Devin and Jenn. His next repost read: “Always was team Sam and never thought he was the worst (he was actually my top pick). but PROOF HE REALLY WAS KEEPING THE MAIN THING THE MAIN THING ” Sam captioned it, “Forever.”

Thomas N., who was also criticized for putting his energy into arguing with Devin, posted a photo of Devin to his Instagram Stories and wrote, “Damn. Should’ve kept the main thing the main thing,” referencing Sam M.’s catchphrase all season.
He also posted a clip of himself sipping tea and glaring into the camera silently.

A Golden Sneak

3 hr 26 min ago

The evening couldn't end on that sad note, so Jesse wrapped things up with a sneak peek at Joan Vassos's journey on The Golden Bachelorette.

In the clip, Bachelor alum Kelsey Anderson gets out of the limo and tells Joan about her father Mark Anderson. "I think that maybe y'all would get along," she said as her fan-favorite father stepped out of the limo.

"I love you dad. Have the best time," Kelsey said.

Jenn and Devin Watch Their Proposal

3 hr 37 min ago

After that tense back and forth and countless tears, The Bachelorette rolled on the actual proposal, which was awkward to watch.

"Jenn, I do love you with all of my heart, and it's a feeling I don't ever want to go away," Devin said.

"You were always a constant, our love was always there, and I never doubted for a second how much you loved me," Jenn said. "I love you so deeply, Devin, but I can't let you propose to me. I've decided to choose myself in this journey, and the best version of myself is when I'm with you."

"I want to fight for you every day," she continued. "You're everything that I've ever dreamed of but didn't know that I could have. I want to wake up and choose you every day for the rest of my life."

She then proposed with a wedding band in a seashell. "Absolutely," he said, "A hundred times over."

Devin then proposed anyway — "Will you make me the happiest man and marry me?" — and they shared a passionate embrace.

Jenn Tran. 

Ramona Rosales/Disney

Back in the studio, Jesse reminded Jenn how empowered she was in that moment.

"I did make a lot of promises and at the time I fully believed them," Devin admitted, and called the split "one-sided."

"That man loved you," he added. "I understand that I couldn't keep promises that I made to you."

"I hope that you learn that the weight of your words matter," she said.

Jesse then concluded that he knows Jenn will find the great love she's looking for.

Jenn and Devin See Each Other for the First Time in Weeks

3 hr 54 min ago

When Devin joined Jenn onstage, the body language between them was ice cold.

"This conversation right now between the two of us is not what I wanted," Jenn began, reminding Devin that they owed each other "respect" enough to have conversations off-camera.

"What I can't understand is everything that you did after you broke our engagement," Jenn said, noting that right after that, he followed former Bachelor contestant Maria Georgas. "Not only is that so disrespectful to everything that we had shared together, I just don't understand it, why you would do something like that. It completely invalidated the entire relationship."

Maria Georgas. 

Disney/Richard Middlesworth

"I failed you," Devin said. "And there's nothing I can say other than that. But everything I felt for you was real."

Jenn then asked him about the "time and space" he asked for to "process your emotions," but then went clubbing in New York City.

Jesse finally asked Devin what happened.

"When we left the show, I had a lot of doubts," Devin said. "I did come clean to you about that."

Jenn and Devin on Day 1. 

Disney/John Fleenor

Devin contended that he "hid all these feelings of doubt" both on the show and shortly after they finished filming. "It's hard to sit here and deny what you're accusing me of," he said. "I was regretfully late on letting you know. I can only sit here and take accountability for my shortcomings."

"I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you, I wanted to have a family with you, and you didn't feel those things," Jenn responded. "You had one foot out the door the entire time. ... I am heartbroken every Monday night watching the lies you said to me on TV."

After a commercial break, Devin said, "I'm not here to save face. I have nothing to gain by being here other than to make sure that you're okay, which is what I came here to do."

Jesse encouraged Devin to summarize anything he had yet to say to Jenn.

"I watched this beautiful girl flourish," Devin said. "It was amazing to watch you. I found myself falling short in the real world. ... I watched you grow and then I watched myself contribute to your regression."

A Shocking Twist

4 hr 10 min ago

Jenn struggled to speak through her tears. "It's been a really hard couple of months," she began. "We had left Hawai'i engaged and very happy. I thought that I had found the person I was going to spend the rest of my life with, and then, essentially, as soon as we left Hawai'i, things were different. It kind of just felt like he was pulling away."

"The efforts were inconsistent, he wasn't calling as much. texting as much. I was confused, I didn't understand because we had just left so happy,"

"I felt like I was secondary to everything else in his life ... and I didn't understand why," she said. "We had a happy couple [visit] planned sometime last month early and the night before, he called me, and he basically broke off the engagement. He basically said that he didn't love me anymore and didn't feel the same way. ... He regretted getting engaged. And I didn't know. I knew all along it was just different."

"For the past month, I've been trying to empathize with the way that he had been feeling, trying to wrap my head around what he was feeling. ... He was making bold proclamations of love and then suddenly the next day he was like, nothing and he denied ever being in love."

"I was like, 'Let's take the pressure off the engagement. Let's just date.' And he was checked out, it wasn't what he wanted anymore, and I've been fighting for the relationship. ... He didn't want to go to couple's counseling, he didn't want to fight for the relationship anymore, he was just done."

Jesse shared his shock too. "Devin always spoke so passionately about how much he loved you and that he would never abandon you."

"All the promises he had made to me, all of the love that he had wanted to give to me wasn't there anymore," Jenn added, revealing she last saw Devin in July.

Jesse Palmer Butts In

4 hr 26 min ago

Normally, we'd get a romantic proposal next, and instead, Jesse interrupted the flow.

"You won't be seeing that proposal," he said, followed by a long pause. Then, he added, "That's right. Because of what transpired since that day in Hawai'i, we decided it wouldn't be appropriate for anyone to see it until we heard from Jenn."

Jenn Tran. 

DISNEY/John Fleenor

Before cutting to commercial, Jenn was shown backstage looking nervous and tearing up.

Jenn Plans to Propose to Devin

4 hr 31 min ago

Jesse Palmer said "it's finally the moment of truth" for Jenn and Devin.

"Devin has been choosing me every day since the beginning, and I do love Devin," Jenn said. "What's going to happen today is, I don't, I don't know what to do."

As Jenn contemplated all that, Devin met with Neil Lane to look at engagement rings. "I feel confident in us," Devin said. "I can't wait to get down on a knee for her."

"I really need to follow my heart today," Jenn told Jesse. "Going into today, I though I knew which way I wanted it to go, and I woke up this morning with a totally different point of view on it. ... I have to choose myself. I'm not going to let Devin propose to me today — I'm going to propose to Devin."

"I want him to know that I'm going to fight for him every day, and I'm going to choose him every day," she added.

Marcus in the Hot Seat

4 hr 52 min ago

Marcus. 

Disney/Richard Middlesworth

"It's tough to watch back," Marcus admitted to Jesse Palmer in the After the Final Rose studio.

"There was some painful truths that I stumbled upon during that time in Hawai'i," Marcus added. "When I got back home, I had no idea if I had made the right decision or not. It took some time to realize that we had made the right choice. ... The hardest part for me was feeling like I let her down."

Asked about the painful truths, "The painful truth was that I wasn't living up to what [Jenn] said that she needed. ... She's one of the best women I've ever met in my life. The difficult truth there was that I needed to get out of her way."

When Jenn joined Marcus on the couch, they shared the "honor and privilege" it was to be a part of each other's experiences.

"I feel like we both learned so much with each other," Jenn said.

The Conversation Ends with a Goodbye

4 hr 59 min ago

Marcus was nervous after the commercial break.

"I did fall in love with you and I was afraid to tell you because it's clear that you know what you want," Marcus admitted. "Can I live up to what Jenn is saying that you need? And I'm not giving you what you need."

"I opened my heart to you every second that I got," Jenn said. "And I think I got lost in it. ... I know that I'm worth it. I'm done hinging my future on somebody being afraid to lose me. I'm done waiting around for somebody to get there. I'm just done. I genuinely had so much hope for us."

"I'm afraid that I'm not going to find someone like you again," Marcus said, crying.

"I know what I want for my future and it's not this feeling anymore," Jenn concluded.

A Big Moment for Marcus

5 hr 19 min ago

"I have loved him hard and given myself... but at this point, I can't help but be in my head and worry if I'm making past mistakes and repeating history," Jenn began the segment.

Before the date, host Jesse Palmer met up with Marcus for a chat.

"I've been struggling with this doubt of whether or not Jenn and I are meant for each other," he told Jesse. "Every time we get to spend time together, we are making progress and that connection gets a little stronger. ... One of the things that I know for sure is that I care about her deeply.

"I've never been so torn," he added.

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Jenn and Marcus on the first day of the season. 

John Fleenor/Disney

Jenn didn't want to wait to meet Marcus at a romantic location before asking her questions. "I need answers from Marcus and I'm not going to wait any longer," she said as she headed to his hotel room.

Jenn admitted to Marcus she didn't know where his head was and reminded him, "We're running out of time."

"I don't know if you see me in your future," she added. "I felt like you weren't excited for the future."

"It's scary to me. I'm struggling, for sure," Marcus responded. "I'm not keeping anything from you. I'm not keeping any answers from you. ... I have my uncertainties but you make me want to keep trying."

"I know that my feelings for you are real and that I can picture it with you," he added. "I don't understand why it's so scary for me to move forward with someone I care so much about."

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"I have invested so much into us, Marcus, since the beginning," Jenn said. "It hurts me because I don't know what to do with it now. Where am I supposed to go from here?"

"At the end of the day, I know that I love you," Marcus said through tears. "I don't want to give up on us."

Jenn later then said in a confessional, "I have a pit in my stomach and I don't know what to do with it."

Finally, Jesse applauded Jenn's strength throughout her journey — no matter how it ended. "You showed all of us what a strong and powerful woman is," the former Bachelor lead said.