The unprecedented 16th season of The Bachelorette came to an end Tuesday night (Dec. 22) when leading lady Tayshia Adams made her decision and chose the man she wanted to spend her life with.
Spoiler alert in 3…2…1…
After cutting her choices down to three, Adams, who is the first Afro-Latina to star on the long-running series (she’s half Mexican), picked Zac Clark, an addiction recovery specialist from New Jersey.
“I deserve a love with a man [who] won’t run away,” Adams told Clark during the season finale. “I’m ready to start a life with you. I’ll do absolutely anything to keep that huge smile on your face because you do everything to keep a huge smile on mine.”
💍SPOILER ALERT!💍 Now THIS is a true love story 🥰❤️🌹 #TheBachelorette @neillane pic.twitter.com/UMZEXjrqqb
— The Bachelorette (@BacheloretteABC) December 23, 2020
After baring her soul to Clark, he shared his feelings with her that he knew she was the woman of his dreams because his family saw how happy he was with her.
“I can’t picture another day, another moment without you in my life,” Clark says. “And if you’ll have me, I’m going to choose you right now. I’m going to choose you tomorrow morning. I’m going to choose you next week. And next year, I’m going to choose you—forever.”
Clark then took a knee and asked Adams to marry him. “Yes, a thousand times,” she told him while they embraced and kissed.
Viewers were a bit confused after the episode was not followed with the usual “After the Final Rose” special that normally airs once a season of The Bachelorette or The Bachelor is complete. Host Chris Harrison explained that it was due to safety concerns, presumably over the Coronavirus.
It pains me there’s no AFR live special this #TheBachelorette season. Due to being pushed into the holidays and the difficulty of bringing people safely together during this time it just wasn’t possible. But hopefully we’ll be back for #TheBachelor
— Chris Harrison (@chrisbharrison) December 23, 2020
Despite no follow-up with the couple, Adams and Clark are still engaged and receiving congratulations from across the country. Former Bachelorette contestant Clare Crawley, who was the first Latina to star on the show, shared a message on social media before she finished watching the finale. Crawley started as the star of Season 16 before ending her run on the show after she found the man she wanted to marry after only a few episodes.
“Whatever the ending is, I really truly do hope that she finds happiness because everybody is so deserving of it,” Crawley said. “I really do hope she finds her person and she has the beginning of an amazing love story.”