Fans saw the 36-year-old race car driver end his engagement with Becca Kufrin on Monday night -- but how did he get Burnham to take him back?
Arie Luyendyk Jr. and Lauren Burnham had an "unspoken connection," but all it took was a phone call to convince him that he had made a mistake.
The 36-year-old race car driver became one of the most controversial Bachelors in history when he decided to blindside his fiance, Becca Kufrin, with their breakup on Monday night's Bachelor finale, explaining that he wanted to pursue a relationship with his runner up, Burnham, instead.
As fans saw in the unedited footage, Kufrin knew that Luyendyk had called Burnham for what she thought was just closure. That one call, however, was enough to convince Luyendyk to end his engagement and head back to Burnham's parents house in Virginia to try to win her back.
The Bachelor had a panic attack outside the house, but quickly perked up when Burnham answered the door -- WITH A HUG.
"I know that you've gone through hell, but I came here today because I want a second chance and I want a shot at this," Luyendyk told her, explaining that it was a look of doubt in Burnham's eye in Peru that made him choose Kufrin in the finale.
"I think in that moment, I just felt like I was making a safe decision for my future... I could see that she'd make a good wife, and I think I just let the logic side of myself take over the emotional side of myself," he explained. "I was trying to make it work and I was very open with her."
"As soon as I heard your voice, I was like, 'I'm in trouble'... I think that conversation that we had changed everything for me, because I knew we still had a chance," Luyendyk continued, adding that he's "1000 percent" over Kufrin. "I made the wrong decision and I feel terrible. My heart is with you. It will always be with you."
"I mean, I forgive you," Burnham smiled.
"I came here today because I want a second chance and I love you very much and I want you back," Luyendyk said.
"Well, you got me. Duh," Burnham said, teasing that she hopes an engagement "doesn't take that much longer."
The other women who appeared on Luyendyk's season of The Bachelor don't exactly have high hopes for his relationship with Burnham. Bekah Martinez told ET last month that she just doesn't "see him being with this person for the rest of his life," while Tia Booth shared a warning for the 25-year-old.
"He did choose someone else first. He did make that choice," Tia said. "I hope that if there was anything, [I'd say to] Lauren, for them to end up together, that she [should] really consider that and put her heart first and protect herself. After all of this happened, it really made me question, [and think], 'OK, maybe he is who the tabloids say that he is.'"
See more on the shocking finale in the video below.
RELATED CONTENT:
