After having her heart broken on national TV — and winning over America’s hearts — “The Bachelor” contestant Becca Kufrin has been named “The Bachelorette” for Season 14 of ABC’s reality dating show.
Kufrin was named “The Bachelorette” on the “After The Final Rose” special, which aired Tuesday night, as part two of “The Bachelor” finale with leading man Arie Luyendyk Jr.
Luyendyk Jr. proposed to Kufrin on Monday night’s finale, but then two months after his proposal in Peru, where the finale was shot, he broke off the engagement. ABC’s cameras followed Luyendyk Jr. as he broke up with Kufrin, and the emotional scene was shown completely unedited.
Kufrin joined “The Bachelor” host Chris Harrison live on-set during “After The Final Rose” to talk about her experience over the past few months since she wrapped filming Luyendyk Jr.’s season of “The Bachelor.” “The Bachelorette” reveal was announced at the end of “After The Final Rose.”
“At the end of the day, the show is about finding love. I have a lot of love to give,” Kufrin told Harrison. “I want to be the best damn ‘Bachelorette’ I can be. I’m so excited. I want to find love. I’m just so excited, I just want to do this.”
On the special, Harrison staged a surprised beginning of “The Bachelorette,” bringing out a few men, who will be contestants on Kufrin’s season, which begins filming immediately, and will air later this year.
Over the past 24 hours since Monday’s finale aired, Twitter became angry with Luyendyk Jr. for how he handled the break-up on television, and Kufrin garnered a huge outpouring of love and support on social media, so she’s a natural choice for ABC as the network’s next leading lady for the franchise.
On tonight’s special, Luyendyk Jr. proposed to his season’s runner-up, Lauren Burnham, the woman he realized he was in love with, which prompted him to end his engagement with Kufrin.
(Excerpt) Read More in: Variety