Bachelor in Paradise Season 8, Episode 16 recap: The Big Finale!

It all comes down to tonight, Bachelor Nation! Only two couples remain on Bachelor in Paradise Season 8. It’s time for engagements! After that, what will transpire at the reunion show? How did the couples that left Paradise together fair? Will others be able to rekindle their love at the reunion?

Brittany and Tyler and Michael and Danielle left Paradise together, knowing they weren’t ready for an engagement. Kate broke up with Logan at the rose ceremony, while the twins broke things off with Shanae and Florence. Aaron and Genevieve had a chaotic meltdown a day after saying they loved each other.

That left just Brandon and Serene and Johnny and Victoria. After a double date fancy dinner, the couples elected to spend the night together in fantasy suites. However, Johnny and Victoria had a lot to talk about after Johnny revealed he might not be ready for an engagement. Let’s find out how it all plays out in the final episode of Bachelor in Paradise Season 8!

Bachelor in Paradise Season 8, Episode 16 recap

1. The Reunion

The season finale of Bachelor in Paradise Season 8 opened with the reunion show bringing back several of the favorite members of this season. For the women, Salley, Hunter, Jessenia, Kate, Ency, Eliza, Jill, Lace, Sierra, Kira, Genevieve, and Shanae were all present. For the men, only Aaron, Justin, Jacob, Romeo, Logan, Andrew, and Rodney attended the reunion. They started the show with a look back at some of the most dramatic moments this season, which was a lot.

They revisited the drama with Romeo and his love triangle, the split, Jill and Jacob, Rodney and Lace, and everything in between. Jesse asked Romeo about his uncertain facial expression before leaving Paradise with Kira. He and Kira are still together, and when Jesse asks if he is ok, he kisses Kira, and that is a clear enough signal.

The next topic was Split Week and how the women reacted to leaving. Jesse asked Shanae about her thoughts on it and how she pursued other relationships but was upset when Logan did. She said she felt Logan did it to get back at her. Logan said he was confident in their relationship but didn’t want to tie each other down. He said knowing what happened, he’s happy he did explore other relationships since Shanae did. Shanae said that didn’t change how she thought of Logan, and his feelings hadn’t changed either. They still didn’t like each other.

2. Love Triangles

Now the attention was focused on Kate and Logan, and Kate was put on the defensive about the comments she made about Logan during Bachelor in Paradise. She said that her comments about his wealth, job status, and age were to her girlfriends, and he wasn’t supposed to hear that. He said there were cameras everywhere, and they were mic’d up the whole time, so he didn’t believe that. He said he wished she would have said that to his face because it would have cleared things up well before their breakup.

Next up were Jill and Jacob, who both had a very interesting split week. Jesse talked to Jill first about Split Week, and she said it tore her up. She was devastated to hear Jacob had pursued other relationships because she mates for life and felt an extremely strong connection with Jacob in such a short time. Jacob had his turn to respond, said that this was his biggest regret from the show, and walked down to address Jill directly. He said he still had feelings for her and would be open to exploring a relationship with her. She said that she was also open to the idea, and the two sealed the deal with a long kiss. Jacob swept her off her feet, and the two ran into the sunset.

Now for another love triangle; Eliza, Rodney, and Justin. They showed a dramatic reel of this love triangle focusing on the connection and then the fallout between Rodney and Eliza. Rodney said there were a lot of emotions because he was looking for a spark in love and found that with Eliza. He had never found that with anyone else. Eliza said that she felt it should have been Rodney and is now sad and disappointed. She believes she made the wrong decision on Bachelor in Paradise. Rodney said that he wasn’t stern with Eliza because he wasn’t controlling and didn’t want to be a hypocrite since he was dating Lace the week prior.

Eliza said she still feels for Rodney and believes she made a mistake. Rodney said that he wants Eliza to be happy, and he has gotten to a much better place in his healing and wished Eliza nothing but the best. It sounds like they will not be getting back together.

3. Big Facts at the Reunion

Genevieve joined Jesse first on the hot seat to talk about her and Aaron’s up-and-down relationship. As they watched their relationships back, Genevieve was distraught and disturbed by it. Aaron watched back with a smile on his face. Others were just as upset as Genevieve was. Genevieve said it reminded her of what their relationship could have been, but it was frustrating going through all of that.

Aaron was invited to join them on the hot seat. He said it was tough to rewatch, and after leaving Bachelor in Paradise, he only remembered the happy moments. They said the last time they spoke was that day in Mexico when they split. Genevieve started by saying that she took accountability and responsibility for her actions and how she handled the situation.

She said she reacted that way because of how she felt and apologized for not handling the tough moments well. Aaron almost stopped her and said that his pride got in the way and he could have been better, and watching it back and thinking about it, he should have done better.

4. Post Paradise

Brittany and Tyler and Michael and Danielle left Bachelor in Paradise together, respectively, unengaged. Now Jesse invited them to talk about where they are now and what has transpired after leaving Paradise. Tyler was welcomed to center stage first, by himself. He revealed that he and Brittany were no longer together. He didn’t elaborate much, saying that he thought he had found his person, but it didn’t turn out that way.

They looked back at their relationship on the beach and how connected they were on the show. Jesse implied that the relationship broke down shortly after filming. Tyler said they met each other’s families, and after that Brittany said she needed to get away and went to Italy. She Face-Timed him from there and told him they were two different people living two different lives and broke things off. This happened the same day his breakup with Rachel aired on national television.

Tyler said that every day she said she loved him, and he was caught off guard during the breakup. Brittany said that after they broke up, he tried to Snapchat, DM, and call her. She said it was too much. Tyler tried to say that he kept pursuing because that is what you do when you love someone. He questioned whether her interactions with him on Bachelor in Paradise were real. She said it was and did love him at that point, but it faded when they left the show. She said that they should have had more conversations before they got to this point, and Tyler said he tried to. This conversation was ended by Jesse but felt largely unresolved.

Next up on the post Paradise tour were Michael and Danielle. The couple was introduced together and came out hand in hand. Now Sierra was in the audience during this and did not look pleased. Michael and Danielle are still deeply in love. Jesse let Michael address the situation with Sierra, and Michael said that she deserved more and needed better closure and was sorry he couldn’t return the love she was providing to him. Then Jesse put this to bed and turned the focus back on Michael and Danielle.

Danielle announced that she is moving to Akron to be with Michael but not officially moving in yet. Michael said she has been incredible with his son and is starting a great relationship with her. Jesse asked Michael if there was anything else he wanted to say or thought about their relationship, and he said he had only said he loved someone to one person in his life. He then turned around and said he loved Danielle. She broke down in tears as this was the first time he had said this to her. This was a very touching moment for the two, who will continue pursuing their strong relationship.

5. Back to the Beach

We returned to the beach next to find out how the remaining two couples ended their time on Bachelor in Paradise. Johnny was first up to talk to Neil Lane about proposing to Victoria and picking out a ring. Johnny said that he felt this was something he had to do based on where they were at in their relationship. Neil said this shouldn’t be something he had to do but wanted to. Johnny said he didn’t initially but now wants to propose to Victoria.

He went through with the proposal and was waiting at the podium for Victoria. This was tough to watch, knowing what transpired after the show, which was addressed later in the reunion. Victoria started about how she didn’t want to live without Johnny and wouldn’t have wanted to do this experience with anyone else. After their overnight date, she said he had become her best friend. Johnny replied that God had blessed him with her even though he didn’t deserve her. He said that fate brought them together and that he would never leave her side and always have her back. He wanted to take care of her when she was sick and be with her to the end.

Johnny bent his knee and asked Victoria to marry him. She said yes, and he placed the big ring on her finger. Again, tough to watch, knowing where these two are now. Johnny swept her off her feet and carried her across the beach. Next, they cut back to the reunion show, where Jesse revealed that this is not how things ended between these two. Jesse welcomed Johnny to the stage first to get his take on the matter and all that has transpired with Victoria and Greg Grippo from Katie’s season of the Bachelorette.

Johnny revealed that the two were broken up now, which was obvious. Jesse asked how he was holding up, and he said he’d be lying if he said he was ok. He did not want to talk about this, and he wanted nothing more than for Victoria to be there with him. When Jesse asked if he was ready for Victoria, Johnny replied, ” Do what you gotta do. He did not look good.

6. All that could have been

Jesse asked Victoria to the stage next for the Bachelor in Paradise reunion show and asked her where it all went wrong. She said that it was all butterflies and rainbows when they were on Bachelor in Paradise, but when they hit the real world, issues arose. She went on to say that she let Johnny know this wasn’t working well in advance of their wedding, and she knew at that moment that they weren’t going to be engaged or wed.

Johnny said that her timeline didn’t match up and that he thought they agreed to work on their issues in the hopes of working things out. She went on to say that Johnny called her some profane language and that he said that if she didn’t cook or clean then she wasn’t doing much as a woman. He said this was the farthest thing from the truth, and Tyler tried to jump in to defend Johnny, but Victoria shut him down quickly. Johnny felt that Victoria being with Greg was cheating on him since they hadn’t officially broken things off. This argument spiraled out of control, and while Johnny wasn’t willing to drag Victoria through the mud, she was more than willing to do that to him.

Jesse asked her point blank if she was dating Greg, and she said yes. He asked if she cheated on Johnny with Greg, and she said not. Victoria was talking about narratives and how Johnny was trying to paint a narrative, but it sounded like Victoria was the villain in all of this. Jesse let Johnny go but kept Victoria as they were about to welcome Greg and discuss what transpired between them.

7. All that is now

Johnny left the studio, and they showed a conversation between Johnny and Tyler where he was defending him and saying that he was the bigger person by not bringing up everything she did to him. Much of the cast did not applaud when Greg walked out, and if that doesn’t show who’s in the right here, then I don’t know what more needs to be said.

Greg came on stage and said they had something before Victoria went on Bachelor in Paradise and rekindled things weeks after the show ended. You read that right. A week after the show ended when Victoria and Johnny were still engaged and trying to work things out. Victoria said she didn’t care what anyone thought because she was with the man she wanted to be with. Greg looked shocked and said well, I guess we’re doing this. Then Victoria said they had to meet in Europe to test things out and try to get away from the public eye, which backfired.

She said it was fine if no one understood and they were happy together. They even got matching “ciao” tattoos in Italy. As she started to reveal hers, Greg said well, I guess we are doing this too. He did not seem as ready to publicly proclaim how far they went in their relationship, while Victoria wanted to show it all. This again supported Johnny’s story that Victoria cheated on him and was talking to or dating Greg while they were still trying to patch things up. Tyler returned from his conversation with Johnny and shook his head the entire time Victoria and Greg talked.

8. True Love at Last

Now for the best relationship of this entire Bachelor in Paradise season. Back on the beach, Brandon and Serene were waking up after their overnight date and couldn’t be more in love. Brandon, ring in pocket, set out for the podium to propose to Serene. When he saw Serene come down the stairs, he burst into tears. This made Serene’s heart melt. They said their vows, and Serene accepted the proposal. The long-awaited true love of this show was finally cemented.

Jesse greeted the couple on the beach and said he was inspired and recently ordained. He could have married them right on the spot if they wanted to. Brandon and Serene were surprised and thought it over. They cut back to the reunion show, where Jesse welcomed Brandon and Serene to the couch. Jesse said that he had never seen this strong of a connection that early on this show and asked if it was love at first sight. Brandon said it was and that they had an extremely strong connection from the start and knew they didn’t want to be with anyone else.

Looking back, Serene got very emotional and said she wasn’t very emotional but broke down because of how powerful this moment was. They declined the on-the-spot marriage because they were family-oriented and wanted their families to be there. Jesse said that Brandon called his mom after the engagement, and she said she would kill him if he got married without her there. However, they did say that they would be getting married soon and that Jesse was invited and may even officiate the wedding.

That was a wrap on Bachelor in Paradise Season 8! They showed a teaser for the upcoming season of the Bachelor, which airs January 23rd and features Zach from Rachel’s and Gabby’s season of the Bachelorette.

Now that Bachelor in Paradise is over, we can focus on the upcoming season of the Bachelor. Check out the article above to get the scoop on Zach Shallcross, who will be the main man on the Bachelor Season 27. What do we think about this season of Bachelor in Paradise? It was advertised as the most dramatic season thus far…was that true? What do we think about Victoria and Johnny? 

Let us know what you think in the comments below about Bachelor in Paradise Season 8, Bachelor Nation!