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Bachelor Season 18 Finale Spoiler: Does Juan Pablo Pick Nikki Ferrell or Clare Crawley?

Warning: Massive Bachelor season 18 spoilers ahead! If you haven’t yet seen the March 10 season finale of Juan Pablo Galavis’ season of the Bachelor, don’t continue reading!

In what will surely be one of the most contested, debated Bachelor seasons ever — so many tears! — season 18 Bachelor Juan Pablo Galavis gave out his final rose to one, er, lucky lady. In the end, the polarizing 32-year-old Venezuelan-born hunk’s final choice was between hairstylist Clare Crawley and pediatric nurse Nikki Ferrell. So which “lucky” lady got the final rose? Let’s recap!

Related: PHOTOS: Juan Pablo's bachelorettes

The action begins in St. Lucia, with both Clare, 32, and Nikki, 26, meeting Juan Pablo’s straight-talking family. Clare’s up first, and she wastes no time before telling Juan Pablo’s mom, Nelly, that she’s in love with her son. Nelly, in turn, answers honestly when Clare asks if Juan Pablo has any ticks she should know about. “He’s hyperactive,” she replies. “He sometimes is very rude.” Juan Pablo’s cousin Rodolfo has some harsh truths for Clare, too, telling her that the man she’s in love with is the kind of guy who will walk away when things “get rough.” None of this changes Clare’s feelings, though; she maintains that it’ll be “the best day of [her] life” if Juan Pablo proposes.

Nikki gets more of the same from Juan Pablo’s family. “He’s not an easy guy,” Juan Pablo’s father warns her. “It’s always about what he wants.” To drive the point home, Nelly tells Nikki that the fantasies she has of their life together — game nights and family beach trips — are just that. “You feel he is the kind of guy you want?” Nelly asks. “You’re sure?” Nikki insists she is, but it’s kind of hard to believe, given that even Juan Pablo’s family doesn’t seem to like him all that much.

Related: PHOTOS: Bachelor proposals, promise rings and breakups

Moving on to the final one-on-one dates! Clare’s up first again, and she happily joins Juan Pablo on a helicopter ride over St. Lucia. Somewhere between takeoff and landing, though, the “happily” part goes away. Once on solid ground again, Clare reveals Juan Pablo whispered something in her ear that she can’t bear to even repeat. “What I thought was going to be sweet, kind, loving words was not what came out of his mouth, and I’m shocked, she says. “He chose to tell me something that no woman wants to hear. That he doesn’t know me and some sexual thing I don’t want to repeat. It was insulting and it was offensive…Maybe I have him all wrong. Maybe he’s not the man I thought he was.”

juan pablo

Later that night, in her hotel room, she confronts Juan Pablo about what he said to her. He deflects any blame from himself and tries to gloss over the situation by saying that he’s just struggling with the decision he has to make between her and Nikki. He also assures Clare that she’s special to him, and even goes so far as to say that if they end up together, they’ll have a baby in no time. “Now it’s like I know it’s definitely a lot more than physical attraction between us,” she says in a confessional, apparently satisfied with his explanation. “Tonight, I know that he wants me here.”

Related: PHOTOS: Failed reality TV romances

Ah, but what about tomorrow? Nikki’s final one-on-one date is up next, and she and Juan Pablo can’t keep their hands off each other. There’s a lot of making out — but what Nikki really wants is for Juan Pablo to tell her he loves her. “I’m in love with this guy,” she gushes. “I want forever with him. I do!”

The question, of course, is whether he wants the same thing with her. Fortunately, she doesn’t have to wait long to find out. After a brief commercial break, the camera zooms in on Juan Pablo at the final rose ceremony, where he’s waiting to meet Clare. He feeds her some platitudes about how “unbelievable” and “amazing” she is, and then cuts to the chase: “I wish the earth sucked me today, because this is the hardest decision.” Clare is heartbroken — but more than that, she’s angry, and she rejects Juan Pablo’s goodbye hug. “I’ve saved this moment for the man of my dreams, and I thought that was you,” she says bitterly. “What you just made me go through — I would never want my children having a father like you.”

Related: PHOTOS: Bachelor stars' scandalous pasts

Juan Pablo’s response? “Whoo! I’m glad I didn’t pick her.”

So how does he feel about the woman he did pick? Lukewarm, apparently. Though he “chooses” Nikki at the final rose ceremony, he’s not quite ready to tell her he loves her. “I love how much you care about other people,” he begins. “I love your honesty, so much…I can see you as a good stepmom for Camila.” That said, he’s not ready to see her as a good wife for himself. “I have a ring in my pocket, but I’m not 100 percent sure that I want to propose to you,” he confesses. “But I’m 100 percent sure I don’t want to let you go. I like you a lot. A lot.” 

Good enough! “Nikki, will you accept my final rose?” he asks. “Absolutely,” she replies.

End scene! Tell Us: What’d you think of the finale?

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