Three Bachelor in Paradise Couples Get Engaged During Season 7 Finale: 'I Did Not See This Coming' (2024)

This post contains spoilers from the season 7 finale of Bachelor in Paradise.

With prom night on the horizon, Bachelor in Paradise would soon be coming to an end. Abigail Heringer and Noah Erb confirmed their split at the start of Tuesday's season 7 finale and both decided to leave Mexico — separately.

The breakup of one of the show's seemingly strongest couples made some of the other women worry about the relationship statuses as Paradise wound down. "It's making everyone question what they want out of this, especially now that we don't have much time left," Becca Kufrin told the cameras.

Bartender and temporary host Wells Adams shortened that timeline more when he announced there wouldn't be a co*cktail party and that everyone would be going straight into the rose ceremony. "Time is running out in Paradise and the stakes could not be higher," he informed the group.

Joe Amabile kicked off the ceremony by giving his rose to Serena Pitt. Riley Christian continued by offering his to Maurissa Gunn; Kenny Braasch presented his to Mari Pepin; Thomas Jacobs gave one to Becca; and James Bonsall turned his rose over to newcomer Anna Redman. Aaron Clancy offered his to Tia Booth and Ed Waisbrot closed out the night by asking Mykenna Dorn to stay in Paradise with him.

That meant Natasha Parker and Chelsea Vaughn headed home.

COUPLES DECIDE THEIR FATE

Dean Unglert and Caelynn Miller-Keyes, who met on Bachelor in Paradise season 6, returned to the beach to help the remaining pairs make the best decision about the future of their relationships, beginning with if they wanted to go to the Fantasy Suites.

Becca and Thomas talked it out. "It could be the beginning of something special," Thomas told the former Bachelorette.

But Becca felt differently. "I feel like you're so good at being supportive and positive and surprise me in all the best ways," she said. "But I feel like sometimes it's too good to be true and that scares me. I've been here twice now before. And I couldn't leave here and feel okay about leaving with someone that I don't 100 percent fully know, and so that's why after all of this, I think what's best for both of us is to not continue and not go to the Fantasy Suites."

Thomas insisted he was falling in love with Becca and didn't understand her stance. "We're calling off a potential life [together] because things are too good," he said. "And to me, I can't make sense of that."

Thomas ultimately accepted her decision and left in tears. "I just don't want you to think what we had wasn't real and special," Becca told him before he departed.

Next, Ed and Mykenna decided whether to keep their short-lived relationship going. "I'd be willing to see what happens," Ed said.

Mykenna didn't want to bother, though. "I don't know if we have built a strong enough bond, but I think there's just something missing for me," she said. "I don't think I can be what you are looking for."

James and Anna chatted afterwards. "I really have enjoyed meeting you and I would like to see where this could go," she told him.

James didn't see it going far. "I don't think I'm in a place right now where I can see us falling in love," he told Anna, who responded by saying she felt "blindsided."

But James didn't leave alone. James asked Aaron if he wanted to head back to San Diego with him, and Aaron happily accepted the offer — he just had to break things off with Tia first. "I actually care about you, but James is waiting right now, so I have to bounce back to SD," Aaron told Tia.

"You're kidding," Tia said in an on-camera interview of the hasty breakup. "This is a joke."

So that left three couples: Kenny, 40, and Mari, 25; Maurissa, 25, and Riley, 31; and Joe, 35, and Serena, 23, who said "I love you" to one another while talking about whether they wanted to spend the night together.

KENNY AND MARI

"I usually just say I'm happy being alone, but coming to Paradise and meeting you has changed the whole course of my life at this point," Kenny told Mari on their Fantasy Suite date.

Mari felt she found what she wanted in a partner in Kenny. "Since meeting you and getting to know you and spending so much time [together], I really found what I was looking for and what I came here for," she told him. "I have such a good feeling about this and about us."

Kenny had a good feeling, too, so much so that he told Mari: "I know that I love you."

"I love you, too," Mari said in return.

Kenny confessed to Mari that he'd never told anyone that before. "It took me 40 years to find the love of my life, and it's worth the wait," he added in an on-camera interview.

In the Fantasy Suite, Mari and Kenny ate tacos before bed and then woke up in each other's arms. "Getting engaged, it's insane. This was never something I wanted to do but what makes the whole thing easier is that it's Mari," Kenny told the cameras. "I would be an idiot not to do this. I love the girl."

Mari said in an on-camera interview that "Kenny has 100 percent of my heart."

At the proposal site, Mari began by telling Kenny, "I couldn't be more excited for what's to come for us."

Kenny proceeded to share his own feelings. "At the end of the day, we did go through a lot of real-life relationship stuff, and we were tested like no other couple in Paradise, I think," he said. "Even with all that being said, I still — I'm shaking, sorry — Mari, I am so f---ing in love with you and literally, like, I can't see my life without you. You're such an amazing woman that you changed my whole outlook on life and everything. Everything about you is just incredible. I can't imagine my life without you."

Then Kenny got down on one knee. "Oh man, these old bones!" he joked in the process before asking, "Mari Pepin, will you marry me?"

Mari said "yes" and offered Kenny her final rose. He accepted and offered her his last rose, too.

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MAURISSA AND RILEY

Maurissa started the Fantasy Suite date by telling Riley how certain she felt about their relationship. "You're my person. You are my person and I know that. I know that 1,000 percent."

Riley agreed that he could see a future with Maurissa. "It's the start of everything that I've wanted," he said. "It's the start of a family."

Riley explained to Maurissa his dream of waking up early on a Sunday morning next to his sleeping wife and hearing the pitter-patter of tiny feet around the house. "When I see you, I see Sunday morning, which feels unbelievably good," he said. "I know for certain that I love you. There's no question."

Maurissa felt the same. "I love you, too," she said.

They sipped champagne and ate whipped cream and strawberries in the hot tub before slipping into bed together. But the next morning, before parting ways, Riley expressed doubt to Maurissa.

"He whispered in my ear that he didn't know if he was ready or if he could actually go through with a proposal," she told the cameras. "I'm crushed."

That didn't stop her from holding back about how she felt at their final rose ceremony. "Today I know that I want to make you mine forever," she told Riley. "I am in love with you, Riley, and it is truly the scariest feeling in the world, but you make me feel safe. You make me feel protected."

Then it came time for Riley to possibly propose. "See, Maurissa, I love you. And I've loved you since our very first date," he said. "I just need to be sure. That said, will you marry me?"

Maurissa happily accepted and they exchanged final roses.

"I'm engaged, it's all good!" Riley shouted before picking up Maurissa and walking off the beach.

JOE AND SERENA

Joe admitted in an on-camera interview that Serena "could be the one," and Serena confirmed she would accept a marriage proposal from him if he asked. "If Joe were to get down on one knee tomorrow, it would be very hard for me to say, 'no,'" she told the cameras.

Having already said "I love you" to one another, they popped champagne and enjoyed the privacy of the Fantasy Suite. "I couldn't feel better," Joe said of his relationship with Serena.

He even felt ready for an engagement. "After last night, I feel much more confident to get engaged to Serena right now," Joe told the cameras. "I think I'm ready to leave with her."

But for a moment, it seemed like the Paradise gods had other plans. Joe's ex Kendall Long returned to the beach and confessed, "There's always a part of me that will love you."

Still, she offered her blessing for Joe's engagement. "I've loved every moment we've had," Kendall, 29, told Joe. "You're an amazing person. I'm really excited for you and Serena and I felt like I couldn't leave this beach without fully expressing that to you."

After the interaction, Joe stepped away, seemingly filled with doubts. Then Serena came down to the sand and opened up about her love for Joe.

"Joe, I'm head over heels in love with you, and I fall more in love with you every single day," she said. "You've been so patient through this entire thing and I'm so grateful because it allowed me to figure out what I really want, which is you. And I do see a future with us and I'm so excited."

Before making any major life decisions, Joe needed to fess up to what happened earlier. "I do have to be honest with you," he told Serena. "My ex did just show up on the beach."

"You're lying," Serena responded.

Joe assured her otherwise. In fact, "if anything it made me more confident in how much I do love you," he said.

Joe continued to tell her exactly why he loved her. "Your smile, your charm, your looks, this whole thing. The Toronto accent. It's just really everything about you," he said. "It happened fast, faster than I thought, but at this point, I don't see myself not wanting to wake up with you by my side. When I think about forever, you know that's scary. And then I think about it with you, it feels right. You told me you were falling in love with me first. You told me you loved me first, now it's my turn. Serena Pitt, I love you very much, will you marry me?"

Serena said "yes" through tears and Joe slipped a ring on her finger. "We went with our hearts and we'll figure the other stuff out later," Joe said after they got engaged.

They went through the ritual of exchanging final roses and let everything sink in. "I did not see this coming," Serena said. "I really didn't."