Bachelor Nation has been waiting weeks for this.
Jed Wyatt finally got to speak his piece on The Bachelorette: After the Final Rose.
Fans watched the Nashville-based musician propose to Hannah Brown on the season finale of The Bachelorette on Tuesday night -- but not everyone was celebrating. Last month, Wyatt's ex-girlfriend, Haley Stevens, came forward alleging that she and Wyatt were in a relationship while he was on the show, and claimed that he intended to return back to her after filming. She alleged he only planned to make the top five to gain name recognition for his music career.
Host Chris Harrison previously told ET that he wanted to "push" Wyatt for an explanation on the scandal -- and that's exactly what happened during After the Final Rose.
Earlier in the episode, Wyatt admitted to having a relationship with Stevens, but told Brown that he didn't see them as exclusive. He also said he regretted telling her that he loved her, and explained that their trip to the Bahamas just before filming was a gift from her parents. "I ended it in my heart, not verbally," he said.
Brown wasn't having it, asking Wyatt how he stayed silent when she sent home Scott on night one for having a girlfriend, or when his family was clearly skeptical during their hometown date. His answers weren't good enough, and she ended their conversation with her engagement ring on the table.
On After the Final Rose, Brown first sat down with Harrison, revealing that the last few weeks have been "really difficult" and full of tears, anger and second-guessing "everything I thought was true." And, she finally did confirm that the pair aren't together anymore. "The engagement's over, we're not together... I've grown so much and I know that I deserved more than that."
Then Wyatt came out to join Brown and Harrison, telling his former fiancee, "First and foremost, from the bottom of my heart, I want to say that I'm sorry."
"I never expected to find love like this...and I know you felt the same. I'm sorry I took that experience away from you," he continued, adding his apologies to Brown's family, friends, and Bachelor Nation.
Wyatt said he didn't know what he was getting into when he agreed to join The Bachelorette, and didn't expect to fall in love on the show. But when asked why he didn't initially come clean to Brown following their engagement, Wyatt said he was "acting out of fear," and was trying not to lose Brown.
"I did fall in love with you, and I know that that person's in there," Brown said, thanking Wyatt for his apology. "I hope that, from this, you will be honest and learn and grow into the man that I do believe that you can be, for whoever's in your future."
Wyatt said he still felt for Brown "the same that I felt since I got down on one knee," explaining that he's never been with someone he could see himself marrying. "My love for you, I don't think will ever leave me," he told her.
However, Brown said that he feelings have changed. "When that trust was broken, my feelings really just were broken with that," she explained. "I don't love you like that anymore."
The audience applauded her admission, though Brown tearfully said, "It's not something to clap about, it's sad."
Wyatt previously spoke out on the scandal on Instagram on July 8, but only to ask fans to stop attacking his family over the situation. While speaking with ET at The Bachelorette's Men Tell All taping earlier this month, fan favorite Mike Johnson agreed that Bachelor Nation shouldn't come after Wyatt's family.
"Whether the rumors are true or false, don't come at Jed's sister. Don't come at his mom. Don't come at his people," he said.
Like many of Wyatt's co-stars, Johnson found him to be one of the more likable men in the house. "Let's be real. Jed was super. Jed and Dylan [Barbour] together are the dynamic duo of just hilariousness," he said. Barbour agreed.
"I really liked Jed. I mean, he's one of my best friends in the house. We spent a lot of time together. We were roommates every time we traveled. So, I'm really hoping he finds love with Hannah, and I'm just hoping at the end of the day, Hannah's happy because that's what this is all about," Barbour said, as other cast members have also expressed their support for Wyatt.
ET's live Bachelorette finale coverage starts at 10:05 p.m. ET / 7:05 p.m. PT on ET Live, which you can stream on your Roku, Apple TV or Amazon Fire TV device.
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