Prior Lake's Becca Kufrin gets engaged on finale of 'Bachelorette'

Prior Lake American

At long last, it’s arrived.

Prior Lake High School graduate Becca Kufrin has completed her season as the titular lead on “The Bachelorette” and is engaged to (drumroll please) 29-year-old Garrett Yrigoyen.

But we’ll get to that.

Last season, Kufrin made her debut on national television as a contestant on “The Bachelor,” starring race car driver and realtor Arie Luyendyk Jr., who ended up proposing to Kufrin on the season finale and then breaking up with her to pursue runner-up Lauren Burnham.

After her heartbreak was aired for millions of viewers, Kufrin was named the “Bachelorette.” Though the season was filmed months ago, the finale aired on Monday night.

Most of the 28 contestants were sent home, episode by episode, until it was only Yrigoyen and 28-year-old Blake Horstmann.

Kufrin meets up with her family, including her mom and Prior Lake resident Jill Kufrin, in the Maldives.

“I have two of the best guys in the entire world,” Kufrin said. “I love them, but I haven’t told them.”

The family then meets both of the contestants and talks to them about the process so far and their relationship with Kufrin. Kufrin, who said she is in love with both men, asks for guidance from her family to help her choose who to pick.

The general consensus was “they both seem good.”

“You did pick two amazing men and they are very different,” Kufrin’s sister, Emily Kufrin said. “You just need to decide what you want. I wish I could tell you.”

Kufrin tells her family that the decision is especially difficult because she always believed Horstmann would be her final pick but she eventually came to love Yrigoyen as well.

Kufrin tells her mom that she doesn’t want to hurt either of them.

“Well, it’s going to happen,” Jill Kufrin said.

Kufrin then went on her final dates with both of the men, which consisted of boating, dolphin watching and swimming with Yrigoyen and paddle boarding, swimming and hanging out on the beach with Horstmann.

“I’ve been in my head really trying to use these dates ... to figure out what’s the best for me and what’s ultimately going to be the best for you guys, too,” Kufrin said. “It’s not easy.”

The men then chose engagement rings with jeweler Neil Lane and got ready for the final rose ceremony.

“I know I’ve found my partner in this, but I also have found myself,” Kufrin said.

For those initiated to “Bachelor” nation, contestants move forward in the season by way of rose ceremonies, where the lead gives roses to contestants he or she would like to continue a relationship with.

During the finale, a final rose is given to one of the contestants and that contestant and the lead generally get engaged, though there have been exceptions.

But before the final rose can be offered, the lead must break up with the candidate he or she hasn’t chosen.

For Kufrin, clad in a white gown at the end of the dock in the middle of the aquamarine Indian Ocean, that was Horstmann.

“You have been the most solid, constant relationship,” Kufrin said. “There’s just one piece with somebody else that I am not ready to say goodbye to. ... I think there’s just a better fit for us out there.”

Kufrin walked Horstmann out and took a moment for herself before she prepared to do the same thing — but with a happier ending — with Yrigoyen.

“Garrett is the one for me,” Kufrin said. “I feel like I’ve been waiting since the beginning to say, ‘I love you,’ knowing I was going to reserve it for one person. I am so ready for this.”

Kufrin tells Yrigoyen that she loves him and the two kiss.

“Since night one, I saw something in you and I felt something in you,” Kufrin said. “Right away, I felt something so strong. ... I love you, I love you so much.”

Yrigoyen then proposed, to which Kufrin said yes and gave him the final rose.

According to his ABC bio, Yrigoyen lives in Reno, Nevada, though he was raised in California. He loves fly fishing, hiking and snowshoeing and does a Chris Farley impression. During his initial appearance, he drove up to meet Kufrin in a mini-van with sports equipment to show he is a family man.

Early in the season, Yrigoyen came under fire for allegedly “liking” insensitive Instagram posts mocking transgender people, minorities and the Parkland shooting survivors, according to US Weekly. Yrigoyen later apologized for the activity.

“For those who do know me, I am a sincere, genuine, loving, light-hearted, open-minded and non-judgmental individual,” according to a statement Yrigoyen posted. “Let my mistakes be a lesson for those who mindlessly double tap images, memes and videos on any social media content that could be many things including hurtful, degrading, and dehumanizing.”

‘After the Final Rose’

After their breakup aired, Kufrin and Horstmann met on live television for the first time since filming ended.

They both said they wished each other happiness and other such platitudes.

Yrigoyen and Kufrin also made their first appearance as a couple.

“I feel like I blacked out for part of it because I was nervous,” Kufrin said about the proposal. “We have both been through hard relationships in the past and to find each other … it still blows my mind. I’m just ready to start life.”

Kufrin said she knew it was Yrigoyen after the hometown episode where she met his family.

“We are so happy, so in love,” Kufrin said. “Things have been wonderful.”

Yrigoyen addressed the Instagram “likes” on the “After The Final Rose” special as well and said the couple had to talk about the situation.

“I’m very sorry,” Yrigoyen said. “I didn’t mean to hurt anybody’s feelings. … When I was liking things, it was going against things she stands for. … I feel like she knew who I was as a person and that I didn’t stand behind those likes and that I was a better person than I was presenting on my social media.”

Kufrin said she asks that people allow the couple to be able to learn and move on from the situation.

Kufrin said Yrigoyen will live in Minnesota and that she will live in Nevada before the two might move to California for a few years.

Host Chris Harrison said Kufrin’s mom, Jill Kufrin, seemed less excited about the prospect of the couple moving to California.

Kufrin said the next step for the couple might be getting a few dogs.

The show gave the couple a minivan as well as an all expenses paid trip to Thailand.