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Blake Admits He'll Always Love Becca In The Season Finale

The Bachelorette teased an especially devastating season finale at the end of Becca Kufrin's journey, and while it was definitely painful, her eventual runner-up Blake handled getting dumped on national television with grace. Blake said he'll always have love for Becca in the live studio interview after his breakup aired, and he seemed deeply understanding of her right to make the best choice for herself. But that didn't make it any less heartbreaking to watch the season-long favorite end up alone.

Throughout the finale, Blake was steady and firm in his convictions that Becca was the right person for him. He charmed her family and they agreed that he was perhaps more evenly matched with Becca than her other finalist Garrett. But in the end, Garrett's overwhelmingly emotional outpouring of love swayed Becca's heart. Blake, for his part, took the rejection well. When asked by Chris Harrison before Becca joined him on stage if he was still in love with her, Blake answered:

"That's a difficult question. I'll always have love for Becca, I will. She's a big part of who I am sitting here now and who I'm going to be. This whole experience will — I truly think it was her choice to make and I truly hope she's found that happiness that she's been looking for."

When she and Blake processed their breakup on the couch together, Becca explained that she worried about Blake spending too much time in his head if something difficult were to come up in their relationship. She specifically mentioned the hypothetical scenario of one of them getting sick, which was a pretty clear allusion to her father's death. It sounded a lot like Becca preferred Garrett's wide-open — if less even-keeled — processing style to Blake's quiet way of handling big emotions by himself.

Blake took it all in stride, and reassured her that there were no hard feelings. "I want you to know that because I don't know if you remember, but one of the last things I told you on that island was for you to follow your heart," he said. "I can't now be mad at you for doing just that. That would be hypocritical of me."

For extra credit, Blake also shared what he says has been the toast he's been making for three weeks. Said Blake: "I feel so lucky and so fortunate that you were my Bachelorette because I honestly can't imagine anybody else, and I wouldn't have wanted anybody else. There's no way I'd be sitting here if it was. I do wish you all the happiness."

Once Garrett joined Becca on stage, we got a little more insight into her pick. She mentioned that they had both been in difficult relationships before finding each other, so it seems like Becca found some solidarity in a partner who, like her, had been engaged once before and watched that relationship crumble. In the end, Becca appeared really sure about her choice, which was probably the most helpful closure of all.