Ever since he came rolling in on a forklift on the first episode of Season 19 of "The Bachelorette," Rachel Recchia has had her eye on Tino Franco.
During the three hour-long finale which aired on Sept. 20, audiences see how Recchia's romance with the 28-year-old contractor from Playa Del Ray, California, ultimately shook out.
To recap, as of last week's episode, Franco is the only suitor left for Recchia of the show's original 32 contestants. In the first part of the finale, Recchia sent Aven Jones home after he revealed he wasn't ready for an engagement and Zach Shallcross decided to go home, saying he felt "coldness" during the Fantasy Suites.
Below, we'll recap what happens in the show for the couple.
Tino proposes at the start of the ‘Bachelorette’ finale
At the start of the finale, Recchia tells Franco that he is the last contestant standing, and they appear to share the bliss of being on the same page about their feelings.
"I would bet everything I have an everything I am that me and Rachel are forever," Franco says confidently.
Speaking to Windey, she calls Franco her "perfect match," and says she doesn't "have a doubt." At this point, she feels there's "no one else for (her)."
And so, onto the proposal. Wearing a white gown, Recchia goes to the site where she expects Franco will pop the question. Franco tells Palmer he's feeling a "lot of nerves" and "wants to get this right."
Finally, Franco arrives. They kiss, and so begins the proposal, "Bachelorette" style.
Recchia goes into a speech about why she's crazy about him, and says she would be the Bachelorette "a million times" all over because she's so "madly in love."
Then, she passes the baton to Franco. Drumroll, please: He begins his own speech by saying he doesn't want to "blindside" her or break her heart, but has something he wants to say. "This is never going to work," he says, appearing that this segue was a joke.
He proceeds to say this is the "biggest day of his life," and lists all the qualities he loves about her. "I love you so much and I'm going to love you 'till the end of time," he says.
After all these episodes of buildup, Franco gets down on one knee and presents Recchia with an emerald cut ring. People in the audience applaud during this segment; Big Tony Recchia is not.
The couple seems happy. "I truly could not imagine spending my life with someone else," Recchia says. "This is the happiest moment of my life."
Off they go on a white horse — but it's not over.
Are Rachel Recchia and Tino Franco still together? Inside the 'Bachelorette' twist
Describing watching the proposal as "heartbreaking," Recchia catches Palmer up on what happened after that day in Mexico. "I truly felt like I had found my person," she says, describing feeling hopeful for the future.
According to Recchia, it was "really great for a while," but then they hit a rough patch.
"Around the time of the premiere we started going through a difficult time," she said. She said she wasn't feeling "support" from Franco.
"We took some time and try to figure out about moving forward. I thought we had. And we were in such a great place. But it didn't turn out that way," she said.
A couple weeks after things started "getting better," Franco mentioned some relationships from the past coming forward. Recchia said he was reticent to give details.
Then, Recchia comes out and says it: "He cheated on me." Franco was with Recchia for four days before he told her.
"It's heartbreaking. This is the person I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life with," she says.
The finale showed Recchia confronting Franco after he was unfaithful
Windey, wearing an engagement ring, came to visit Recchia to discuss what happened.
“In my mind, there’s no way it was him. This is so far off what we thought his character was,” Recchia said.
Recchia said he never apologized, but rather said that he was more concerned with his image. “The only thing he cares about is how he’s going to look,” she said.
Windey didn't mince her words: "Honestly, f--- him."
Franco arrived at what appears to be Recchia's house, clutching a notebook. Recchia, in the present, looks away from the screen. After some back-and-forth, Recchia told Franco has to "go first," and that she wants to know "everything."
"I messed up. I kissed another girl," he said.
Who was the woman? Franco explained she was a girl from "before" he went on the show. When the show ended, they ran into each other at bar.
Then, Franco pulled out his journal — a.k.a. "receipts" — to explain that she had said "stuff" to him that "hurt so much," which put him in a headspace of cheating.
According to Franco, Recchia said during the premiere week, "'I don't know how this is going to work. I'm in a bad place and I can't put any effort into this.'" Recchia explains she was going through "her own hard time" that didn't have to do with the relationship.
Recchia said some of the things he's leveling — like that she would give the engagement ring back — are "false."
The conversation got heated.
"Is there a way this works out, Rachel?" Franco asked.
"I think you owe me a lot of answers before we come to a conclusion," she replied, prompting Franco to leave the room.
Outside, he talked to what appears to be a producer: "This is nothing more than making me look bad. She's totally crucifying me." Crying, Franco said, "Get me out of this. Just tell her to break up with me." Recchia looked on with her eyes wide.
When he returned, Franco said he was "under the impression that we were pretty much done." When they started to get better, he didn't want to "pile on" the kissing incident.
Recchia was shocked. "You just called it tiny. You're trying to minimize what it is," she said.
When she asked him to tell the truth, Franco stepped out again. He then trieed to win her back, swearing that he just wants her. Recchia, seeming skeptical, then got up and gave him the ring.
"I am done," she said, to the applause of the audience.
She later told Palmer of the conversation, "I wanted to know where he was coming from. And apparently, it's my fault that he cheated."
Franco and Recchia had another circular conversation onstage.
Rachel Recchia leaves with Aven Jones
Frontrunner Aven Jones came out at the end and whisked Recchia away. She seemed happy to see him.
Bachelor nation had a strong reaction
"Bachelorette" viewers watched Franco's proposal with skepticism, especially those who had read the rumors.