On the same night, it wrapped up its current storylines featuring The Bachelorette's co-leads Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia, ABC's Bachelor franchise looked ahead to the future.

Zach Shallcross, who was fired from last week's episode of The Bachelorette as the second runner-up for Recchia, was revealed to be the lead on the upcoming season 27 of The Bachelor, which debuts on January 23. This information was revealed during the three-hour season finale of The Bachelorette that aired on Tuesday. The 26-year-old software executive from Anaheim Hills, California, was seen by viewers leaving the programme heartbroken when it became evident during their fantasy-suite date that Recchia was more interested in the eventual winner Tino Franco and runner-up Aven Jones.

“I really needed to take some time away and reflect and heal that broken heart,” Shallcross told host Jesse Palmer. “What I learned from that experience was, it didn’t change how ready I was. I am now more ready. That was fuel to the fire. I am ready to find my person, my best friend.” Later, he ran into a number of women who were vying to take part in his season.

The rest of the evening was filled with a lot of the dramatic and suspenseful scenes that the franchise's finales are known for. Recchia and Franco became engaged during the final scenes that were filmed in Mexico, and Windey accepted Erich Schwer's marriage proposal. After the show's filming ended, Recchia revealed to the studio audience that Franco had previously acknowledged having an extramarital affair.

“It’s just heartbreaking — this is the person I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life with and start a family with,” Recchia told Palmer, adding that she remained devastated about the relationship falling apart. “It’s just broken trust at the end of the day, and it’s really heartbreaking to watch back and have to relive it.”

Franco said on the video of the two airing their complaints at her house that he had kissed a lady he had met before appearing on the show but hadn't yet begun dating, and that he had reconnected with her after filming was finished. Recchia allegedly said she thought about not wearing her engagement ring to the After the Final Rose segment of the show because of the trying post-shooting experiences they had, which Franco claimed made him think she was moving on. She allegedly told him she wouldn't wear the ring, but Recchia refuted this.

She admitted to Palmer that she still loves Franco but that she is no longer in love with him after watching the video of their traumatic encounter. Then, for the first time since their breakup, Recchia and Franco spoke on stage, and Franco told her, "You were amazing to me, and you didn't deserve what I did." Recchia abruptly left the recording after a contentious exchange when runner-up Jones appeared on stage and asked her to go with him.

As for Windey, she joined Schwer on stage and the pair spoke about their continued partnership despite some challenges. The difficult times have been brought on, in part, by texting Schwer sent to a person he dated before The Bachelorette, which suggested he wasn't totally devoted to finding love on the programme and was instead more interested in how it would lead to other opportunities. Windey said she had forgiven him, and Schwer told Palmer that he should have made it more apparent to the woman that he wasn't interested in her.

Shallcross expressed regret to Recchia for having questioned her character in the first of the two-part finale, adding that he had been upset when he realised she was no longer interested in their relationship during their date in the fantasy suite. “It was a tough pill to swallow that it wasn’t what I thought it was going to be because I saw a future with you,” he said at the time. “The reality of it was that it just wasn’t going to happen.”, per The Hollywood Reporter.

ABC will debut The Bachelor season 27 on January 23.

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