The Bachelorette, Ashley: Finale & Aftermath

OR: What's the coupon policy on the final rose?

JP meets the in-laws
Ashley is excited for JP to meet her family. She thinks they will love him. Someone has clearly not been watching the previews. After 15 minutes of introductions and small-talk, Extreme Couponer Chrystie pulls Ashley and her mom aside to tell Ashley that JP is not the one for her. She thinks JP is too old and serious for Ashley and that she would be too much for him. Ok, so 38-year old King O' Serious Brad was okay, but 34-year old Prince O' Serious JP is not? Yep, makes sense. Chrystie doesn't feel that Ashley was being herself around JP. Ashley cries and Chrystie goes off to attack, er talk to, JP while Ashley vents to her step-dad and brother. Kat Von D, otherwise known as Ashley's extreme couponing sister, basically tells JP the same thing she told Ashley and says that there is nothing JP can do to change her mind. JP is shocked and is worried that Ashley's sister will influence her decision and change her feelings for him.

Ben meets the in-laws
Because of how JP's date went down, Ashley is nervous about how her family will receive Ben. She confronts her sister beforehand about her dealings with JP. Chrystie gives the term "bitter divorcee" a whole new meaning. Ben shows up and Ashley warns him that he may face some tough questions. Kat Von D, it turns out, loves her some Ben. She thinks he is the one for her sister. Of course she would. Ashley and Ben charm her family with their "dog-speak" voices. It's kind of funny but also kind of annoying.

Ben's last chance date
The next day, Ashley and Ben board a helicopter to tour the Fiji islands. Ben is sporting some hypercolor shorty-shorts (or "pulling a Swiderski" as my friend put it) and a Jason Mraz hat. He and Ashley make a stop at a healing bath and lube themselves up with mud. Ben calls it sexy and erotic while Ashley makes sure to put some "healing mud" in all the nooks and crannies. And yes, she really did lift her top to put mud on her boobs. I LOL'd. After the mud bath, they have a romantic snack in Ben's room. He tells her that he loves her and they continue to closed-mouth kiss like they've been doing all season.

JP's last chance date
The next day, Ashley and JP spend time together at the beach. They discuss the happenings of when he met her family. JP voices his concern to Ashley that her sister would get inside her head and change her mind about him. Ultimately, he tells Ashley that he is madly in love with her and wants to start a new life with her. Later on, they have a romantic night in JP's room. He gives her a photo album with one of Ashley's favorite pictures of she and JP. He says that if she chooses him, they can continue to fill it with pictures. Aw. He also wrote her a letter in the photo album. Aw. I just realized that Ben didn't give Ashley any gifts.

And the final rose goes to...
Ben is up first. He is confident that Ashley will accept his proposal. Someone has clearly been watching a different show. As much as I love me some Ben, it was obvious who Ashley would pick. Ashley starts to tell him that he is not the one, but Ben interrupts and proposes. She urges him to stand up and Ben is shocked. He says that he did not see that coming and as Ashley starts to explain, he walks away. She chases after him and tries to explain why she isn't choosing him but he tells her not to sugarcoat it. Ashley didn't expect them to end on terms like that but Ben tells her that nothing good can come out of that kind of situation. I don't think I've ever seen someone get that angry at a rejection before.

JP is up next. He tells Ashley that he loves her and wants to be with her forever. She tells him that she loves him and has waited a long time to tell him that. JP gets down on one knee and asks Ashley to marry him. She happily accepts (dayum, that's a huge rock!) and they run into the ocean to celebrate. I loved their interaction shown during the credits of the After the Final Rose special when JP was talking about all the places they had been. He says "What's next?" and Ashley goes "My bed." JP is all "Ok, see you guys later." It totally brought back memories of Trista and Ryan's fantasy date when Ryan says "Check please!" after Trista gave him the fantasy suite card. And look how they turned out...

After the Final Rose
Chris Harrison talks with Ben first. Although he was hurt, Ben is grateful for his relationship with Ashley because it enabled him to open up for the first time since his father's passing. The main questions that Ben wants answered by Ashley is when she made her decision that it wasn't him and what was the difference between him and JP that lead to her decision.

Ashley comes out to face Ben. She doesn't really give a time frame as to when she decided she was picking JP, but gives a generic answer that she knew he wasn't the one for her. She also tells him that there wasn't anything he could have done differently to change her decision.
Ben (to Ashley): Nice ring.
Me: Zing!

Ashley and JP are reunited. And yes, it feels so good. They are happy to be able to be out in public with each other and not have to keep the secret anymore. JP feels bad that people attacked Ashley they way they did and feels bad that he wasn't able to stand up for her but said that he was there to support her in any way he could (I'm guessing through phone calls, Skype..?).

Ashley's sister, Chrystie, is called up on stage to explain herself. She says that after watching the whole season, she feels that she was wrong in her assessment of JP and feels that Ashley made the right decision. She calls herself a jerk and apologizes to JP for judging him. JP accepts her apology and they hug it out.

Chris Harrison wants to know what is next for JP and Ashley. She is finishing up dental school and then is moving to New York City, where she and JP will get a place together. They have not discussed wedding plans yet because they want to have some normalcy before doing so. Will they make it? Time will tell.

Bachelor Pad 2 premieres next Monday, August 8. It's a three-hour premiere, so make sure you have plenty of booze to get you through. I, of course, will be with you every step of the way capturing every debacle in my blogs!