America

It's Official: Becca Kufrin Is the Next Bachelorette

The announcement was made during "The Bachelor's After the Final Rose" special on Tuesday night

Arie Luyendyk Jr.'s loss is America's gain.

It's official: Becca Kufrin is the next star of "The Bachelorette." And it's safe foto say all of America is rooting for her to find love this time around after her experience on "The Bachelor." The announcement was made during "The Bachelor's After the Final Rose" special on Tuesday night... and after Arie made one of the most controversial moves in the ABC hit franchise's long history.

"This is crazy!" Becca said after host Chris Harrison made it official. "I have some big shoes to fill, that's for sure. I want to be the best damn Bachelorette I can be. So I'm so excited. I want to find love. I want to meet so many amazing guys. I'm just ready to do this!"

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Harrison said picking Kufrin as their next lead was an "easy decision," and Becca said it was the same for her.

"It was easy, too, honestly, once I got past the initial heartbreak," she said. "At the end of the day, the show is about finding love. That's all I want to do. I have so much love to give. So hard yes, all-around!"

And while she wouldn't say she is "a love at first sight" person, Kufrin is ready for anything. "I'm open to all possibilities, so it might happen. We'll see. We'll find out!"

Like Harrison said, "The guys are very lucky!"

After proposing to Becca in the season 22 finale in Peru, it was revealed Luyendyk had a change of heart, breaking up with Kufrin to pursue a relationship with Lauren Burnham, his initial runner-up. Bachelor Nation quickly became #TeamBecca in the 40-minute unedited (sometimes split-screen!) blindside breakup scene that aired on Monday night.

Prior to Kufrin being announced as the next Bachelorette, Luyendyk got down on one knee, with Lauren accepting his proposal.

When she sat down with Arie for the first time since their break-up, Becca said she was ready to move on to the next chapter of her story.

"I'm always going to have love in my heart for you," she told him. "You were my fiance and I did fall in love with you, but at this point too...I'm moved on. I'm ready for the next chapter of my life, to be happy, to find someone better suited for me, like Lauren is for you. I don't want to keep looking in the past, I want to move forward."

And what better way to move forward than by having 30 men compete for you?!

Earlier in the special, Becca sat down with Harrison to talk about how she's doing after watching the finale play out.

"I'm doing well," she said. "It's obviously still hard to watch it all back and to relive those moments but it also helps me get closure. I feel like now that I've seen all sides of the story and where his heart lies, I wasn't for him. If I'm not the one, I'm not the one. I'm doing OK."

Luyendyk tried to explain his actions in a series of interviews the following morning.

"I really wanted everyone to know that this was on me," Luyendyk told Michael Strahan on "Good Morning America." "This was my fault, and I felt like filming that would let people know that, that if there were any questions on the breakup, those would be squashed if they saw the breakup. And I wanted her that opportunity, honestly, I wanted her that opportunity to be the potential Bachelorette."

Luyendyk's actions did catch the attention of at least one late night television host.

"I know you're a race car driver, but slow the hell down already," said Jimmy Kimmel on his late-night show Tuesday, the same night the 36-year-old reality star proposed for the second time to runner-up Burnham.  

"Why after feeling like that was a mistake to have [proposed], which obviously it was a mistake, did you turn around and get engaged tonight?" Kimmel asked him. "What rush are you in?"

"The Bachelorette" will premiere this spring on ABC.

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