The Bachelorette: Tayshia Adams gets blindsided by the return of Ben Smith and a surprise exit

Tayshia Adams was completely blindsided when former suitor Ben Smith showed up to proclaim his love for her on part one of the Bachelorette‘s Season 16 finale on Monday.

The 30-year-old reality star as already down to her final two (after a surprising exit) and was about to hold a rose ceremony when the Army veteran knocked on her door and asked to come inside.

Tayshia gasped, then collected herself, a cold note in her voice as she said hello.

The last time she’d seen Ben, it was to bid him goodbye after he failed to show any emotion for her after their hometown date last week.

Now he was singing a different tune, saying he couldn’t leave things that way.

‘I’m in love with you,’ Ben told Tayshia, who shook her head slowly. ‘I blew it by not telling you in the moment. I’ve never felt this feeling, and so I was just terrified. But I am in love with you.’

‘The life we could have together, the thought of that—it keeps me awake at night.’

‘Ben,’ Tayshia whispered, covering her face with her hands. ‘Hold on a second.’

‘Are you alright?’ Ben asked.

‘No. I’m not alright,’ Tayshia replied. ‘I need a minute, okay?’

Tayshia walked off-camera into an area full of the show’s production staff, and muttered, ‘What? I mean, I just want to cry. I don’t know what to do.’

‘There’s a Rose Ceremony. What do I do with THAT?’

Earlier that day, Tayshia told Season 13 Bachelorette Rachel Lindsay, 35, that she still thought about Ben, a sensitive suitor who struggled to be open and vulnerable.

‘I knew there was something there,’ Tayshia told Rachel. ‘So it sucks.’

Their conversation came just after the episode’s other shocking moment: The departure of Tayshia’s serious love interest, Brendan Morais, 30, a roofer from Milford, Michigan.

Brendan told Tayshia he feared getting married again after his divorce, and said goodbye.

Tayshia had initially been charged with going on Fantasy Suite dates with the three final men.

She had it narrowed down to Zac Clark, 36, an addiction specialist from Haddonfield, New Jersey; Ivan Hall, 28, an aeronautical engineer from Dallas; and Brendan.

Before her dates, Tayshia spoke to Season 12 Bachelorette JoJo Fletcher, 30, who advised her to talk to the guys about important issues, including ‘jobs, relocating, family, kids.’

Tayshia confessed that she could see herself falling in love with any of the guys.

Her first date was with Ivan, and they set a record for the World’s Longest Coldest Kiss, smooching for six minutes and 35 second in an ice-cold bath.

‘They’re not just gonna hit that record, they’re gonna obliterate it,’ marveled show host Chris Harrison, 49, and stage manager Paul ‘Big Paulie,’ Danner, who observed.

That night, Tayshia and Ivan delighted in their win, confident that they could do anything together with their ‘special’ relationship.

‘Tayshia, I am undoubtedly falling in love with you,’ Ivan admitted, and Tayshia acknowledged privately that she felt the same way, saying they could have ‘a really beautiful life’ together.

She and Ivan stayed up all night in their designated ‘fantasy suite,’ a silver Airstream trailer strung with lights that was located at the resort where they filmed.

‘He’s the perfect guy,’ Tayshia said of Ivan. ‘He’s genuine, sincere, honest, kind, driven, ambitious. He’s everything. Gosh. He’s literally everything.’

Tayshia’s next date was with Zac, who ran toward her when he saw her waiting for him.

The two of them covered their bodies in paint and rolled around on a giant canvas, making a messy piece they called ‘Clarky and the Queen.’

As they lay covered in paint, they dreamt about their perfect day together, and Tayshia got caught up in it, imagining it was real.

That evening, Zac told Tayshia that he’d once thought he didn’t want to have kids, but now he knew he did—he just wanted it all with her.

‘I love you,’ Zac told Tayshia. ‘I love your smile, your strength, how you treat other people. I just love the human being that you are.’

Emotional, Tayshia told him that she loved him too—and she’d known for some time.

They headed to their own Fantasy Suite, a room at the resort that had been decked out in romantic red accents and rose petals.

The next morning, they danced on its bed and recalled the ‘passion’ of the night before.

Tayshia’s third date was with Brendan, for whom she’d long had strong feelings.

She called him ‘husband material’ and said that she loved ‘everything about him.’

But her planned date, which involved looking at engagement bands with jeweler Neil Lane, really freaked Brendan out.

Like Tayshia, he’d been divorced before, and was incredibly skittish about proposing.

Over dinner, Tayshia told Brendan she always sensed the two of them might marry.

Brendan haltingly confessed that looking at rings ‘reinforced the gravity’ of their situation.

‘When I came here, I thought I was ready, and I knew I was ready in my own mind,’ he shared, emphasizing how much he wanted to marry again. ‘But… there’s a big part of me that’s still broken. There’s a big part of me that still needs time to heal. There’s a big part of me that still needs time to grow. There are pieces of myself that I need to pick up.’ 

‘All I want is to give you my whole heart, but as I sit here today, my heart isn’t whole,’ Brendan went on. ‘And it really breaks my heart, because you deserve a man that is complete. And you deserve a man who is healed from his past. And unfortunately, right now, I’m not that man.’

Tayshia was crushed, but understood what he had been through.

‘If you’re not ready, that’s not something I’m going to push you to do,’ she told Brendan. ‘I’ve already fought for someone to try and love me once. I’m not going to do it again.’

Tayshia was ‘sad,’ she privately affirmed: ‘I really thought I was going to end up with Brendan. He’s been a person every single day that I’ve been like, ‘It’s Brendan.’ Every single day.’

Tayshia wept as she walked him to the limo, hugging him tight to say goodbye.

‘Thank you, Tayshia,’ Brendan told her. ‘God bless you, okay?’

As his limo departed, Brendan said he didn’t know Tayshia felt so strongly about him.

‘Me not being ready comes at a huge price,’ he lamented.

The next morning, Tayshia talked to Rachel about it all, and admitted she still thought about Ben.

With the night’s rose ceremony looming, Ben decided to stop by and tell her how he felt.

He first went to Chris’ room, to explain why he’d been so close-mouthed last week.

‘The last time I interacted with Tayshia, she didn’t give me a rose,’ Ben explained. ‘I was so caught off-guard. The way that I saw the relationship going, I was going to marry her at the end.’

‘The way that that ended, my brain couldn’t work,’ he added. ‘I wish I hadn’t shut down in the moment.’

‘How do you feel about her?’ Chris asked him.

‘I’m in love with her,’ Ben said easily. ‘I’m in love with Tayshia, and I need to tell her.’

He walked over to Tayshia’s room then, and knocked.

The Bachelorette finale part two airs Tuesday on ABC.