There's A Clue About Bachelor Colton's Relationship Status Staring Us Right In The Face

It feels like this season of The Bachelor started just yesterday, and now, Colton Underwood is down to his final four women, three of whom might be lying to him and all of America. (Hannah G., you’re in the clear.) In three weeks, he will be choosing between his final two. But, does Colton propose at the end of The Bachelor, does he make the realistic decision to go date someone in the real world, or does he end up — dun, dun, dun — alone.

This is a non-spoiler household, but there are some readily available clues in plain sight. And there could be a glaring sign that Colton doesn’t propose. The past few Bachelors and Bachelorettes — Becca, Arie, and Rachel — shared that they were engaged before their seasons started airing. Colton, meanwhile, is keeping the outcome a secret. He told The Hollywood Reporter soon after the season started airing, “I want everybody to go on this ride and this journey with me, so I don’t want to spoil anything and I don’t want to give anything away. It was challenging and it was hard at times … But I will say, I’m exactly where I need to be in my life right now."

If we go off the fact that he’s being vague when the other recent leads were very straightforward, this could be a sign that he’s not engaged.

Similarly, Colton told E! News, “I just think overall, the experience of going through this season — One, I wouldn’t want to spoil it for people. But two, there’s been a lot of ups and downs, and I sort of want to take the viewers and everybody on that ride with me.” And he told Ellen DeGeneres while appearing on her show, “I can say, I am definitely the happiest I’ve ever been in my life.” So… happy now that you have a better understanding of who your are and have been practicing some self-care or because you’re engaged?

Then of course, there is this, for which we have no words:

While Colton's remarkably unspecific comments could mean he does not propose, there's also a chance that the brains behind the show just don't want the ending given away this time. Arie, Becca, and Rachel definitely didn’t go rogue and say they were engaged; they had to have been given the OK from the producers because as Colton has joked before, they are under heavy contracts to stay mum. Perhaps, this time around it’s more interesting for Colton’s story arc if the outcome isn’t spoiled. After all, we are going into hometowns with it unclear if one or more of the women is there for the wrong reasons and Colton very stressed out about it. This setup puts forth the option that Colton could end the show alone. But while that is unlikely, it wouldn’t be out of the question for Colton to not propose based on the show’s history. Out of the 22 previous Bachelors, eight did not propose.

As for who Colton will propose to, if he does propose, it’s easy to think just about anything is a clue if you look through Colton and the remaining women’s social media. Colton posted a photo of someone snowboarding with him, but covered them up with an emoji. Hannah G. posted about how the past year was the best one of her life… because she got engaged? Tayshia posted a clear reference to Colton always posing with a peace sign, but also posted what seems like a more subtle Colton reference. But is it Instagram flirtation or wise self promo that ties Tayshia to the show? Cassie doesn’t really have anything on her Instagram that makes it seem like she’s engaged to Colton… which is exactly what a Bachelor winner might do to conceal the truth. On top of that, Colton posted a photo in December with the caption, “I know you can’t tell me how it ends... but are you happy?” and it features him wearing a shirt that says, “Puppies make me happy," which is kind of what someone who's not engaged might say to deflect a direct question. Or maybe he just knows that shirt is fantastic.

Basically, everyone involved in this show knows how to keep a secret, if only because they are contractually obligated to. We can’t know for sure if Colton proposes yet, because they don’t want us to know. So, all we can do it continue on the Journey — which, obviously, we need to do anyway, if only to see if Colton jumps over that fence.