This week’s The Bachelorette finale was a chaotic whirlwind, and as we previously reported, Jenn Tran’s journey ended in sorrow after she proposed to Devin Strader.
The finale clocked in at three intense hours, with the first two hours primarily focused on Jenn’s decision between Devin and Marcus.
Jenn’s brother James Tran did his best to protect his younger sister from “emotionally unavailable men,” and up until a classic and brutal reality TV twist ending, it looked like Marcus was the less safe choice in that respect.
During the Bachelorette finale, Jenn tearfully explained that Devin did an about-face as soon as they left Hawaii — and when Devin was later brought to the stage, she accused him of following Jenn’s The Bachelor co-star Maria Georgas on Instagram.
Maria initially weighed in on Instagram; she said she’d been on a trip and the controversy “was not something [she] wanted to come home to,” adding that she had “some things to say and this time [she would] not be holding back.”
However, Maria seemed to go back on her promises as well, later deleting her post and not saying more on the matter.
Maria served as a nice distraction, but fans largely reserved their ire for Devin, whose behavior is now under a microscope as Bachelorette fans have called for the “whole franchise” to be canceled.
Devin Looks Even More Manipulative In Retrospect
During the finale, Bachelorette viewers watched Devin meticulously declare his love for Jenn over and over, and saw his strong efforts to win over the Tran family.
Halfway through, as Marcus waffled and Devin lavished adoration on Jenn, her choice seemed even clearer.
And then we learned that Devin was not what he seemed, as a sobbing Jenn explained how quickly and thoroughly he changed.
Watching the Bachelorette finale was dizzying, and it was almost disorienting to see the cut from hours of a happy and seemingly in love Jenn and Devin to the messy aftermath of their immediate breakup.
The finale was one episode, but fans on Reddit gathered several of Devin’s statements to Jenn throughout the season, and reading it after the last episode aired made him seem almost sinister.
Devin’s comments to Jenn came from Episodes 5 through 10, and it’s hard to think his “ghosting” of Jenn was not long-planned reading them, such as:
“I don’t know what you’ve been through in your life to make you feel like you don’t deserve to feel chosen.” (E5)
“I have such a strong sense of who you are in such a short amount of time, and it blows my mind when you continue to surprise me every single day.” (E6)
“I love you.” (E7)
“I am in love and I am ready for an engagement. I am ready because I have never felt a person accept me the way that you’ve accepted me. You’ve been a rock for me that I didn’t realize I needed until I had it there. I would love to call you my fiance and I would love to call you my wife. Those things go hand in hand for me and I’m excited about that. (E8)”
Fans don’t just think Devin never intended to marry Jenn, they have some other theories, too.
Another user posited that Devin was an opportunist whose plan changed mid-season:
“I don’t believe Devin went on the show to be the lead. I believe be went on for the same reason basically everyone does — the fun, the experience, the exposure.
“Once he got to, say, the F6? I firmly believe Devin’s goal was to be the lead.
“He fell over himself with telling Jenn how much he loved her… to set himself up as the heartbroken guy. For public sympathy. He saw himself getting further, and in his mind, this was great. He had a better shot of becoming the lead. Woo!!
“He didn’t want to self-eliminate, because if you self eliminate, how do you say you’re heartbroken? He wanted her to dump him. He wanted a sob story.
“Only. She picked him. And he didn’t want that. Devin never wanted to be engaged to Jenn. He wanted to be the lead. And every one of his actions since they got engaged.. is based on him not wanting to be engaged to her. It’s based on his lack of care for her. It’s awful …”
That’s pure speculation, though, and a commenter opined that Devin wasn’t “lead” material:
“Not to be insensitive but … for Devin to think he’s attractive enough to be chosen as the bachelor is a level of delusion unheard of[.]”
Devin also had a lot of people fooled, it seems, and one viewer polled Bachelorette fans for “red flags,” admitting:
“I’m embarrassed to admit Devin was my favorite before this horrific finale. I can’t even bring myself to finish watching it. I honestly didn’t see it coming at all. From what was aired my overall impression of him was a goofy, charming, sensitive guy. I thought he would treat Jenn the best. His demeanor was completely different during the live portion. Just cold and apathetic. My heart hurt for Jenn.
“I guess what I want to know is from people who had alarm bells from the start with Devin, what specifically made you feel he was going to turn out like this? I’m over here disappointed in myself that I was so wrong about him.”
Ultimately, no one on or off The Bachelorette truly knows what Devin’s intent was in allowing Jenn to choose him, but how it all shook out isn’t doing him any favors — every comment on his most recent Instagram post is critical, with one writing: “I hope your mom is embarrassed and ashamed of you.”