Colton's The Bachelor Finale Goes Off The Rails In A 'Strange' Way, ABC Exec Teases

Colton Underwood on The Bachelor

The Bachelor 2019 finale is going to be -- wait for it -- the most dramatic finale ever. The ending of Colton Underwood's Season 23 will have everyone talking, or so says Robert Mills, aka ABC's Senior Vice President of Alternative Series, Specials & Late-Night Programming.

Colton Underwood has said his finale will be unlike anything else, and Robert Mills confirmed that in a recent interview with ET:

I actually just screened the finale, and it’s insane. It’s like nothing we’ve ever seen, and that’s speaking after Arie’s, which was like nothing we’ve ever seen. [...] This finale is so different and things really do go so off the rails that it’s important for us, for the audience, to let it play out for them. I have to tell you, my heart was racing at several points. Your heart gets a workout -- it’ll be racing, it’ll be breaking. It’s really emotional and it is so real, it’s crazy. Sometimes you’re thrilled when it’s a happy finale, like a Sean and Catherine [Lowe]. But this one, to me, goes into the pantheon of strange, with Arie, Jason Mesnick, Juan Pablo [Galavis], Brad Womack. This one’s crazy. Everyone will be talking about it.

Crazy. Strange. In the same realm with Arie Luyendyk Jr., Jason, Juan Pablo, and Brad? Oof. Not great company for love stories, but great company for drama.

Last year, Arie dumped his fiancée, Becca Kufrin, and recently married his runner-up, Lauren Burnham. They are now expecting their first child together. Jason Mesnick was the first guy to pull that exact move back in 2009 in Season 13, when he dumped "winner" Melissa Rycroft for runner-up Molly Malaney. They are now married with a child, too. Brad Womack became the most hated Bachelor in Season 15 in 2011 when he decided to pick himself instead of any of the women. He tried again in Season 15, picking Emily Maynard, but that relationship was short and not that sweet. Juan Pablo was controversial the whole way through, with the unpopular Bachelor making the unpopular choice to pick (but not propose to) Nikki Ferrell.

So if that's the precedent, it doesn't sound like fans will be thrilled with The Bachelor 2019 finale, but they'll maybe be train-wreck-fascinated by it. It beats The Bachelor just repeating that Colton is a virgin, as if that's a personality trait of some kind.

The Bachelor franchise is known for drama, and sometimes the drama carries over into the real world. There's still plenty of drama ahead for this season -- including Colton Underwood apparently jumping a fence to escape/quit, which happens during the fantasy suites week.

Colton Underwood previously teased his fence jump as part of the drama this season, saying/bragging this to THR:

Fantasy suites week was the biggest week in the whole entire journey. The jump was the most emotional and the most physical that I had to be the entire season. I will also say that fence jump is the most pivotal moment. That was a game-changer. That night changed how everything went. I did things differently. I sort of changed the game in a unique way. I think it's going to be unexpected for some people, but it's also something that people are going to have an interest in and really find out more toward the end. I don't want to ruin or spoil too much. But I'm really looking forward to this being the best season ever.

But fans do love a happy ending, so hopefully that's ahead as well. There are always spoilers out there on how seasons end, and you can track those down if you want.

However Colton's season of The Bachelor ends, the next question will be Who Is The Next Bachelorette? Becca got the job after Arie dumped her on TV (man that was awkward) and history suggests the new Bachelorette will be someone from Colton's season.

The Bachelor Season 23 airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. The finale is scheduled for March 11, with the After the Final Rose special airing the next night, Tuesday, March 12. See what else is airing during midseason 2019 with our handy premiere schedule.

Gina Carbone

Gina grew up in Massachusetts and California in her own version of The Parent Trap. She went to three different middle schools, four high schools, and three universities -- including half a year in Perth, Western Australia. She currently lives in a small town in Maine, the kind Stephen King regularly sets terrible things in, so this may be the last you hear from her.