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Nick & Raven May Be Engaged On 'The Bachelor'

by Caralynn Lippo

With only two episodes left to go in Nick Viall's season and Rachel Lindsay confirmed as the next Bachelorette, it's come down to two women: Vanessa Grimaldi and Raven Gates. Personally, I would be fine with Nick choosing either of the two women, though for most of the season I've seen Vanessa as a frontrunner over Raven. But in recent episodes, his connection with the dark-haired Arkansas native has been incredibly strong and unshakeable. Given their recent adorable fantasy suite date, many viewers now have one question: Are Nick and Raven engaged on The Bachelor?

During their overnight date on Monday's episode, Raven finally confessed to Nick that she loves him in an emotional scene during their dinner in Finland. Nick didn't say it back (which wasn't surprising, given that that's been his M.O. all season), but he reacted very well to her confession. They kissed, and Nick mentioned that he was touched by Raven's confession, calling it "one of the best professions of love" he'd ever heard. To both Nick and viewers, it was clear that Raven (who's been one of the realest contestants all season) was being genuine. She also mentioned in her confessional that based on Nick's reaction, she did feel like he loves her too, despite the fact that he didn't actually say the words. So, all good signs for an eventual engagement between these two, right?

Not necessarily. While Raven and Nick left off in a good place and haven't had any major snags in their relationship, there's virtually no evidence on either of their social media accounts to back up the fact that they're currently engaged. Raven doesn't post photos particularly often, but when she does, they're generally throwback photos featuring scenes from the show. Other than that, her posts have just been about her hanging out with friends and family. Nick's Instagram similarly offers zero clues about the season's outcome.

Of course, none of that necessarily means the two aren't engaged. As all dedicated Bachelor viewers are well aware, contestants and stars are contractually obligated to keep the results of the season on the down-low until the season airs in full. Viewers have seen Nick and Raven during several private moments, and they've already hit major relationship milestones — significantly, Raven has been the only contestant to meet Nick's family, and she bonded with his little sister.

But at this point in the competition, I would say that both Raven and Vanessa are equally likely to win Nick's heart in the end. Both have developed strong (albeit very different) relationships with him over the course of the months the show was filmed. We'll just need to wait for the final rose ceremony to see how it all shakes out.