It’s hard to believe that Colton Underwood’s finale for The Bachelor is finally almost here, but just a week stands between fans and the final rose ceremony, where we’ll find out who he chooses to spend the rest of his life with — and if Colton walks away from the show an engaged man. But that final rose isn’t the actual end of the season; the real end is 2019's After The Final Rose special, which will air as part of a two-night finale on March 11 and 12 this year.
And although the details of the special haven’t been released just yet, The Bachelor is a franchise that thrives on tradition, so we do know a little bit about what we can expect. Every season, the special is hosted by — who else? — Chris Harrison, and features the Bachelor himself, along with his finalists, usually the ones who made it far enough to the end that they weren’t included in the Women Tell All special. Clips from the season are normally played, and there are normally sad tears and happy tears from everyone involved.
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Here’s what we know about After The Final Rose so far:
It Will Include An Awkward Confrontation
Colton will get the chance to sit down with the women he didn’t end up choosing as they try to get closure, and that obviously has the potential to get awkward. Fortunately, that’s also the kind of awkward that also means good television. Tayshia, Hannah G. and Cassie will all be there, and the ones who didn’t end up with Colton will probably want to get some closure before they say goodbye to him (again).
We'll Know, Definitively, If Colton & His Winner Made It Work
After The Final Rose is typically when the Bachelor and his winner make their first public appearance as a couple, which means they’ll sit down with Chris Harrison and fill us in on what their lives have been like since the show finished filming last year (and how it’s been keeping such a huge secret for all these months). Fingers crossed that it goes down a little differently than it did last time around, when we all had to witness Arie Luyendyk Jr.’s brutal split from Becca Kufrin. Yikes.
We'll Almost Certainly Know Who The Bachelorette Will Be
This will undoubtedly be one of the most exciting parts of the evening, because isn’t the moment we’ve all been waiting for? Will it be Hannah B., Caelynn, or someone we’re not expecting? Chances are very high that we’ll find out on ATFR (logistically, ABC needs to get this info out ASAP so they can begin filming early enough to have a full season ready in late May, when The Bachelorette generally premieres) — and whoever gets the gig will probably make an appearance and sit down for her own chat with Chris, too.
No matter how After The Final Rose plays out, it’s definitely worth watching… even if you’re feeling a little Bachelor-ed out at this point. The overplayed clips of the season can be a bit of a yawnfest, but nobody wants to miss out on that Bachelorette announcement.