Trending:
It weighed heavily on his heart, but Grant Ellis picked a final rose recipient on The Bachelor!
Grant, 31, proposed to Juliana Pasquarosa in the March 24 finale — and she said “yes!” Before getting down on one knee, Juliana, 28, shared with Grant that he made her feel “deserving of the type of love you’ve given me.” He later called it “the happiest day of my life.”
“Juliana, since our first night playing the piano and getting to know you, we’ve always had a connection,” he said. “Through this whole journey, you’ve been somebody who has inspired me and kept me laughing with your contagious smile, because we understand what we’ve been through, and we understand what it means to persevere.”
“I truly believe that you’re somebody who is my best friend, and I’m so grateful for our journey, and when you’re going through the toughest times in your life, I want you to know that you don’t have to go through it alone, that I’ll be there for you, as your man, as your friend, as your partner,” he said before asking, “Will you marry me?”
Teary-eyed, Juliana accepted the proposal, exclaiming, “Yes. Absolutely, baby!”
“Our connection is so strong, and we can help each other through the good, the bad and everything in between,” Grant told his wife-to-be.
“Everything. All the things,” she replied.
After the sweet moment, the two reunited on The Bachelor stage, where they discussed their relationship with host Jesse Palmer.
“In this journey, I really put it all out there,” Grant said. “I really had to try my best to find my person. And I did it. It was all worth it to find somebody who’s your life partner, it’s something that is extremely hard.”
“This moment does feel just so surreal. The whole journey has felt a bit like a fever dream,” Juliana added. “But you know, we’ve lived so many months just really reconnecting and getting to know each other, and I’m just so excited to get dinner with this man and have a glass of wine.”
The two also raved about their favorite things about each other, with Juliana saying “he’s the type of man that really does lead with his heart” and Grant praising her for how “she’s never changed who she is, and she’s somebody who’s proven to me that she is a solid foundation.”
Prior to the proposal, the day trader had narrowed it down to Juliana and Litia Garr following Fantasy Suites, eliminating Zoe McGrady after spending a night with each woman. He said “I love you” to Litia, 31, during Fantasy Suites, and then shared the same sentiment with Juliana during the March 24 episode, which also featured Juliana and Litia meeting Grant’s family.
Earlier in the season, Grant met Juliana and Litia’s families. Juliana’s dad gave Grant his stamp of approval, telling the client service associate that he “loved” the former basketball pro.
“I really like him a lot,” Juliana told her sister Dominique during hometowns. “I think that I know, for some reason, it’s like I know he’s my guy.”
During Fantasy Suites, Juliana expressed that she worried about not being the only woman left in the race for Grant’s heart.
“I start to spiral because I also know that there’s other girls here that he’s also forming connections with and the fact that it could not be me reminds me of my past relationship,” she said.
The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!
But Grant offered her reassurance. “I am falling for you, and this whole week is obviously hard, but I’m going to let you know, I think about you a lot,” he told Juliana.
Grant and Juliana spent the night together, and she called it a “12 out of 10 experience.”
“It was exactly what we needed,” she added.
Grant, who appeared on Jenn Tran’s season of The Bachelorette, said on the March 6 episode of The Viall Files podcast that while he didn’t commit to not having sex in the Fantasy Suites, he decided he wouldn’t “engage” in sex unless he already had clarity on which woman he wanted to propose to later on.
“At that point, I didn’t know who was my person,” Grant admitted, adding that he “didn’t say I didn’t do other things!”
Before his journey began, Grant told PEOPLE that holding back in the Fantasy Suites helped him stay focused on the big decision that awaited him on finale day.
“My take on Fantasy Suites was to take things slow and not rush, because I think a lot of times when you initiate the physical part, it could cause you to make really bad decisions,” he said. “So my approach to that [was] to wait, and to see what my connections were like before I engage in anything that would be considered physical, and that really helped me to make good decisions at that point.”
The reality star also shared that he felt “very happy with the ending” of his season.
“Things ended the way they were supposed to end, and I’m happy with it,” Grant said. “I’m happy with decisions I made, and I don’t regret anything.”
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
The Bachelor season 29 finale is airing Monday, March 24, on ABC from 8-11 p.m. ET.
Read the full article here
