Warning: Spoilers ahead for the Monday, March 5, and Tuesday, March 6, finale of The Bachelor. Proceed at your own risk.
Becca Kufrin is ready to do the damn thing — hopefully with someone more deserving of her affection. After having her heart broken by her now-ex-fiancé Arie Luyendyk Jr. on Monday’s season 22 finale of The Bachelor, Kufrin is getting another shot at love — this time as the season 14 star of The Bachelorette.
Franchise host Chris Harrison announced the news on Tuesday’s live After the Final Rose special. “This was one of the easier decisions we’ve ever made,” he said, noting the outpouring of love and support for Kufrin throughout the season and, in particular, over the last 24 hours.
Kufrin said it was an easy decision for her, too — once she got past her initial heartbreak. “At the end of the day, the show is about finding love, and that’s all I want to do,” she said. “I want to be the best damn Bachelorette I can be. … I’m just ready to do this.”
Good thing, since Harrison had some potential suitors already waiting in the wings to meet her. First up: Lincoln (“like the president”), who nervously told Becca (in an adorable accent, no less) that he admired her for putting herself out there again — and that he thought Arie was “a wanker.” (He got a lot of cheers from the studio audience for that one.)
Lincoln was followed by Chase, who told Becca that she deserved better than Arie and that he hoped to be that person for her; Ryan (or Brian?), who played Becca a song on the banjo; Darius, who couldn’t stop gushing about how beautiful she was; and Blake, who brought an actual horse with him onstage as part of a metaphor for getting Becca back in the saddle after a setback. (The audience liked that, too.)
We’ll wait to meet all the guys before picking our favorites, but one person we’re definitely rooting for is Kufrin. And we’re not the only ones. Her fellow season 22 contestants Bekah M., Seinne, Tia, Kendall, and Caroline couldn’t say enough good things about the new Bachelorette when they joined her onstage after the announcement.
Crowded together on a couch meant for two, the six women held hands and gushed about the friendships they’d formed on the show, as Kufrin said affectionately, “See? I found love here.”
Are you excited to see Becca Kufrin as the Bachelorette? Tell us @BritandCo!
(photos via ABC/Craig Sjodin + ABC/Paul Hebert)