Tino Franco and Rachel Recchia. Image Source: Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Rachel Recchia still believes in love.
The Bachelorette’s finale premiered on Tuesday, and where Gabby Windey got engaged to Erich Schwer, the other co-lead, Rachel Recchia, was engaged to Tino Franco, but when she discovered that he had cheated on her, she decided to end the engagement.
Rachel Recchia, who entered the finale with Tino Franco as her last man standing ahead of the proposal, said to him that she feels like he is someone she can call her perfect match and added that he is the only one here and it’s him and she has been excited to share the news with him. In reply to Rachel’s confession, Tino told her that she had just made him the happiest guy in the world, and he just wanted her to know that what they have is not going anywhere.
Tino continued to share his feelings on camera that he was sure about the future of their relationship and said that he would bet everything he has and everything he is that he and Rachel were forever. On the day of the proposal, Rachel said in an on-camera interview that she feels like he is truly the man of her dreams but she is just nervous because this is the day she has been waiting for her whole life and stated that she is very much certain about Tino and clarified that he has never given her any reason to doubt him, but no matter what, one still does have some doubts in their head.
Rachel, when she met Tino on the day of the proposal, said that she did not feel like she could be happier than she is at the moment because she is so madly in love with him and cannot wait to spend the rest of her life with him. Tino also expressed his feelings to Rachel by telling her how much she meant to him and saying that she was the most beautiful woman in the world. Her compassion, wit, charm, and intelligence have made him fall in love with her more and more every time he sees her.
Tino continued and said that every time the couple is together, she makes him feel like he is the center of her universe and he is here today to assure her that she is going to do the same for him and stated that this love which sounds crazy is going to look too good to be true to some people, but it is as real as it can be and quite frankly, he added that the only person he cares about understanding the crazy love he has is standing in front of him. The speech was getting closer to the question Rachel wanted to hear as Tino said that he wants to dedicate the rest of his life to making her feel cherished and loved the way she deserves and he confessed that he is hopelessly in love with her and asked her to marry him, which she accepted and gave him the final rose.
But during the After the Final Rose Live Episode, Rachel Recchia revealed that she decided to end their engagement after Tino Franco’s past relationship came forward. She explained to Jesse Palmer that she was slowly pulling on that string and revealing more and more and it just did not work out. Rachel admitted that Tino cheated on her after the show wrapped up, adding that it was just heartbreaking and the person she thought she was going to spend the rest of her life with and start a family with.
Rachel, after learning about Tino’s infidelity, confided in Gabby and told her that the contractor told her that he regretted telling her this and Rachel said to him that he could not be forgiven, especially when he was not sorry for what he did. He was never like "he is sorry he did that," but he was like "maybe he should not have told her. Rachel revealed that Tino never wanted her to reveal that he cheated, and she explained that he just wanted her to protect his image, which is why he wanted her to sit beside him during After the Final Rose and pretend as if nothing happened.
On Tino Franco’s part, he said to her that he messed up; he kissed another girl, but the second he did, he instantly knew that he belonged with her. Tino explained that there was a girl before the show. They never went on a date, did not do anything before the show ended, and they both ran into each other at a bar with a lot of catching up to do. Then they had the premiere week where he called Rachel and there was some stuff that she heard that week that she told him that he drew down in his journal because it hurt so much. Tino read his journal and said the things that hurt him, and Rachel denied saying any of those things and said that those things needed more context.
Tino said that the stuff she said had hurt him so much, which included Rachel having doubts about their relationship, and Rachel clarified that she never said that they were not together or broken up, but they were going through a hard time. She added that she was going through a hard time and mentioned that he knew that it had nothing to do with him. Rachel told him that he was sorry about what he did or sorry about the fact that he did not want to get caught, to which Tino said that it was a one-time mistake and he knew that he needed to be with her.
Rachel told Tino that he was not taking accountability for his actions, which ended up shattering everything he promised. Tino said that he was under the impression that they were pretty much done, but then he added that they started on the right trajectory as she started seeing therapy. So, as time passed, he was just trying to forgive himself, bury it, and not get in your hair about something so insignificant.
Eventually, she took off her ring and said she was done. Back in the studio, she told Jesse Palmer that she needed to know what had happened and, unfortunately, he made it seem like it was her fault that he cheated. She concluded that it’s hard to have someone sit down and tell someone that, and she said no one deserves that.
