Charity Lawson ultimately decided not to move forward with Aaron Bryant on The Bachelorette. The show’s season 20 finale picked up after Aaron’s unexpected return to the show. He was originally eliminated after hometown dates, but flew all the way to Fiji for a second chance with Charity during fantasy suites week. By the time Aaron returned, Charity had already eliminated Xavier Bonner, and had told her two remaining men, Joey Graziadei and Dotun Olubeko, that she was in love with them.
Of course, Charity was beyond surprised to see Aaron, and she admitted that she was still unsure if she made the right decision in letting him go. Aaron plead his case about why he wanted to return. “I think so highly of you,” he explained. “I can’t say enough about how much I see in you and our future. I still see you as a wife and the mother of my children. Those feelings have not gone anywhere. I never forgot how you made me feel. If you see me as someone who can be your husband, I’d love to stay and have more time with you because there’s a lot more I wanted to show you.”
Aaron assured Charity that he’d be in her corner no matter what decision she made. She decided to let him have another chance. “My gut is telling me that I owe it to this man to give him time and give myself time to not give up right now on what we built,” Charity admitted. “I recognize the effort he has put into coming all the way here. It’s no small effort. It’s a grand gesture. But at this point my fear is…can we get there?”
Charity and Aaron spent more time together over dinner and had the chance to talk more. She opened up about the insecurities she’s had on her journey as the Bachelorette. Charity admittedly still felt comfortable around Aaron and still had feelings for him. At the next rose ceremony, though, she only had two roses to give out to her three remaining men. She wound up giving Joey and Dotun the roses, eliminating Aaron once again, and dumping him once and for all.
“I know I expressed regrets with last week and I’m so grateful for the time we had this week to get more clarity,” she told Aaron. “As unfortunate as it is, time wasn’t on our side in where we needed to be. That’s not what you wanted to hear, but that’s me being honest and truthful in this moment and I want you to know I’m beyond grateful for getting to know you and meeting you and you showing me your heart and that never wavering in this process. Thank you for being here.”
Charity simply felt that there was not going to be enough time for her to get to a place with Aaron that she was already at with Joey and Dotun. Aaron was upset, but took the breakup with stride. “You’re just a special woman. I hope you realize that,” he told Charity. “You gave me hope for what my life might look like and I’m always in your corner.”
Luckily, Aaron’s journey in the franchise wasn’t over for good, as Jesse Palmer confirmed that he’d be on season 9 of Bachelor in Paradise later this summer.