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The season 20 finale of The Bachelorette begins with Charity Lawson having to make a decision about what to do regarding Aaron Bryant’s return. She was admittedly falling in love with Aaron before eliminating him at hometown dates, but is also now in love with her other remaining men, Joey Graziadei and Dotun Olubeko. She’s ready to hear Aaron out before making a decision, and eventually decides to let him stay.
Charity decides to have dinner with Aaron and spend some time talking before seeing what she wants to do moving forward. “I recognize the effort he has put into coming all the way here,” she explains. It’s no small effort. It’s a grand gesture. At this point my fear is…can we get there? I don’t know what I’m going to do.” By the end of the evening, Charity is still uncertain about where she stands. She assures Aaron she has some thinking to do, but will check back in with him “very soon.”
Charity admits that Aaron was the first man throughout this journey who she envisioned as her husband. However, at this point, her feelings for Joey and Dotun are stronger. She gives them both roses at the rose ceremony, which means that Aaron is eliminated once again.
Back in the live studio audience, Aaron chats with Jesse Palmer about his decision to return. “That 12 hour flight [to Fiji] was the hardest part,” he admits. “I felt a lot of things. I never put myself out there like that before in past relationships. I’ve never come out of my shell in that way. It was a huge risk, but I knew in this confined environment that you have to put your best foot forward and I was not going to give up.”
Now, Charity is down to Joey and Dotun, and she’ll get to introduce both men to her family for some help with the decision. Charity’s mom is concerned when she hears her daughter is in love with two different men. Joey is first to meet the family and, going into the day, he is confident that he will be the man who Charity chooses at the end. He has genuine conversations with Charity’s family members and puts them at ease. At the end, her mom concludes that he fits in with the family “just fine,” and says that he “could be the one.”
Dotun’s day with the family is next. Charity urges her family to go into the day with an open mind and try to understand how she’s able to separate the two different relationships. After talking to Dotun, Charity’s mom finds that he checks all the boxes, but worries that Charity is just gravitating towards him because he’s “familiar.” Then, her sister points out that she “glows” more with Joey and is more affectionate with him. Charity is worried about this initial impression from her family and is more conflicted than ever after the day not going as planned.
Charity flat-out asks her family who they think she should pick. They are skeptical when it comes to comparing the men by choosing just one. “I can’t just tell her. I can’t put out words because I’ll have to be responsible for those words,” Charity’s mom explains. “No matter what I say to her at this point in time, it has to be her decision. I think she knows she has to do this herself.” The family also assures Charity they’ll support her no matter what decision she makes. Things get tense as Charity breaks down in tears because her mom won’t be direct with her.
Now, it’s time for Charity to have one final date with each man and hope she gets the clarity she wanted. On her date with Joey, he gifts her with a version of the poem from their one-on-one date. They both feel better than ever about each other after their final evening together.
The next day Charity has a final one-on-one with Dotun, and she’s till “completely torn.” Dotun also has a surprise for Charity as he plans a treasure hunt for her, which she’s equally as touched by. However, Charity is open with Dotun that she had a great night with Joey, too. This is difficult for him to hear, as they had always kept the other relationships separate from their own.
By final rose ceremony day, Charity knows there’s only one man left who is THE one, even though both relationships are strong. Both men pick out engagement rings, but Joey is the first to arrive at the final rose ceremony, which means his fate is sealed. She breaks down in tears as she has to let him know that she is ending their relationship.
At After the Final Rose, Charity and Joey reunite for the first time since the breakup. They express their gratitude for one another as they reminisce on their journey. All in all, everything ends on good terms between them. Finally, it’s time to see if Charity and Dotun leave the show as an engaged couple. Dotun expressed his love for Charity and she reciprocated those feelings. He got down on one knee and popped the question, which she accepted.
