A 31-year-old Hamilton man, who battled 30 other contestants in the 17th season of The Bachelorette, popped the question to a bank marketing manager during Monday’s finale of much-watched ABC television series.
Blake Moynes was given the final rose by 30-year-old Katie Thurston from Lynnwood, Washington — an 11th-place finisher in the 25th season of The Bachelor.
Immediately following the decision, Moynes, a wildlife manager, asked Thurston to become his fiancé.
Moynes edged out 26-year-old Maryland investment sales consultant Justin Glaze and 27-year-old New Jersey marketing sales representative Greg Grippo in the 10-week venture watched by an average of 3.5 million U.S viewers per week.
“I love Katie. I love her a lot, but if Katie’s still hung up on Greg and she can’t match that, then there’s no point in getting engaged if she has doubts going into an engagement,” Moynes said in a confessional during the finale.
Moynes’ luck changed when Thurston broke up with apparent front-runner Grippo and called it quits with Glaze.
The deal was sealed when Moynes and Thurston went on one last one-on-one date throwing paint-filled balloons at each other and lounging in a hot tub.
The season was shot primarily in Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico inside a bubble due to the COVID-19 pandemic after quarantine measures nixed a proposed filming location at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge in Alberta.
Thurston and Moynes were shown off as a couple hours after the finale on the Jimmy Kimmel show during a game of “The Newly Engaged Game” with guest host David Spade.
Spade will be guest-hosting Bachelor in Paradise when it premieres next week.