Arie Luyendyk Jr. Was Cut from Becca Kufrin’s ‘Bachelorette’ Finale
On Monday, August 6, Bachelor Nation watched Becca Kufrin say goodbye to Blake Horstmann and get engaged to Garrett Yrigoyen on the season 14 Bachelorette finale. But what we didn’t see was a conversation she had with another ex, season 22 Bachelor Arie Luyendyk Jr.
Luyendyk Jr. — who famously dumped Kufrin on camera, after he had already proposed, so he could pursue a relationship with his now-fiancée Lauren Burnham — revealed via Instagram this week that he and Burnham flew to the Maldives to have a conversation with Kufrin before the big proposal. The scene was cut from the broadcast — the photo above is from his finale, not hers — but Kufrin spoke with Entertainment Tonight about what went down.
“It was a conversation that we had and it was fine, it was us wishing each other the best and moving on with our lives,” Kufrin told ET. She didn’t necessarily seem sad that it didn’t make it to air. “I mean, there is just so much that happens with each week, and so I think what I love is that it focused on the relationships that were forming on my journey.”
Luyendyk Jr., for his part, took to Instagram shortly before the finale on Monday to share a photo of himself and Burnham sitting by the water. “Lauren and I flew to the Maldives at The Bachelor and Becca’s request,” he captioned the picture. He added that although the conversation he had with his ex “unfortunately” wouldn’t be shown on air, the talk was “really positive” for all of them.
“You can imagine this trip could have been very difficult for Lauren but she has supported and stood by me in all of this,” he continued. “I thank and love her everyday because of that. We wish Becca all the happiness in the world.”
Kufrin seems to wish the same for him. At the very least, she doesn’t hold a grudge. “I’m still going to feel a sense of compassion for him because I did love him, but at this point, I want him to be happy, I want to be done and not have to worry about them anymore,” she told People back in March. “At the end of the day, I do forgive him.”
Do you think they should have shown Becca’s conversation with Arie during The Bachelorette finale? Let us know @BritandCo!
(photos via ABC/Paul Hebert)