The Bachelor

Nick Viall handed out his final rose on "The Bachelor," and even got on one knee for the lucky lady ... now the dude's FINALLY engaged!

Nick chose Vanessa Grimaldi Monday night as the winner of his heart, and the moment he proposed to her was pretty emotional ... considering his bad streak on 'Bachelor' shows.

It's interesting ... Vanessa seemed pretty unsure throughout the finale on whether she was ready to accept a ring. But that all went out the window when Nick popped the question.

As for 25-year-old Raven ... we gotta say, she took her rejection pretty well. In fact, Nick seemed to be crying a lot more than her.

Anyway ... here's to Nick. Hopefully this one works out, bud.

Vanessa Grimaldi trolled the hell out of 'Bachelor' fans by posing with a bunch of wedding dresses ... but we've learned it was all business -- and NOT Nick Viall business.

Vanessa, one of the last 3 women standing this season, posed for a photo at Le Chateau in Montreal with creative coordinator Holly Wiancko -- and more importantly -- racks full of wedding and bridesmaids dresses.

Naturally, many fans thought Vanessa had just spoiled the final rose ceremony ... that she was already prepping to be Mrs. Viall. Well, you can stop searching for their wedding registry.

Sources connected to Le Chateau tell us the shop invited Vanessa -- who's from Montreal -- to check out their new line and to talk about a partnership once 'Bachelor' wraps. We're told she didn't try on anything from the bridal section.

Corinne Olympios loves to tease, and she's sticking to that ... even after Nick Viall sent her packing.

The 'Bachelor' villain was at LAX Tuesday when she dropped a nugget about a possible reality show in the works. Even though she didn't win, Corrine maintains she's the best in the game.

In her usual fashion ... she left our camera guy craving more.

Former 'Bachelorette' Andi Dorfman is done with reality TV dating, although she sure seems invested in Nick Viall's love life.

Viall and Andi have history ... he was a finalist when she was the 'Bachelorette.' Maybe she's having buyer's remorse by picking Josh Murray -- that relationship went down in flames -- because she seems to have a soft spot for the runner-up.

Finally, a black contestant will be handing out the roses -- multiple sources say Rachel Lindsay will be the next 'Bachelorette.'

Rachel is currently 1 of the 6 women still vying for Nick Viall on "The Bachelor," so this is kind of a spoiler -- but The Hollywood Reporter says she'll be calling the shots next time around. It marks the first time a black contestant will be the lead in 21 'Bachelor' seasons and 12 'Bachelorette' seasons.

Our own Bach Nation sources confirmed Rachel -- an attorney from Texas -- is getting the nod ... which seems like super bad news for Nick, and great news for a bunch of yet-to-be-named dudes.

The one thing we'd just about guarantee is she won't find true love. It's beyond rare on these shows.

Nick Viall seems to have his mind made up about who he likes on "The Bachelor" -- and all signs point to Corinne ... whether she's two-faced or not.

On Monday night, Taylor made it clear she wasn't leaving -- after getting booted last week -- without telling Nick all about Corinne's lies and back-stabbing ways.

Nick seems to take her message to heart ... that is, until he leaves with Corinne ... and quickly proceeds to make out with her.

Nick Viall is 5 weeks in and something cray is happening on "The Bachelor" -- 3 black women are still in the running, and at least one is becoming a fan fave!

Rachel kinda killed it on Monday night's episode, by all accounts ... doing a sexy NOLA date with Nick, who copped to falling for her during dinner.

Not that we see color, but fact is the 'Bachelor' and 'Bachelorette' shows get knocked for black contestants never getting a fair shake. Lawsuits have been filed over it, after all.

Nick's been equal opportunity -- he kicked off 3 black women, but 3 are still getting roses.

Yes we can, America. Yes we can.

"Bachelor in Paradise" star Grant Kemp officially -- and finally -- removed his ex from his life ... with the stroke of a needle.

We're told Grant Kemp on Sunday hit up Black Heart Tattoo in San Fran where artist Moses Saarni inked over the old "Grace" tattoo -- a combination of his and 'BiP' ex Lace Morris' names.

You'll recall Grant and Lace got their tattoos on the show before he proposed in the season finale ... and promptly broke up 3 months later.

Grant's new tat -- a black rose -- sends a clear message: You're dead to me. Also, I made a huge mistake. Far as we know, Lace still has her ink.

We're guessing it'll be gone before sundown.

'Bachelor' star Corinne Olympios is getting some help in the villain department ... from the show's producers, according to Corinne's mom.

Corinne's mom, Peri, told us the show went all-out to push Corinne into the bad girl role -- and she gave up some specific examples ... including Nick Viall's now infamous run-in with the whipped cream.

Peri also called out all the 'Bachelor' fans taking shots at her daughter. Apparently, they've dug up Peri's phone number ... something she's not going to let slide.

Mama Olympios doesn't play either.

"The Bachelor" star/villain Corinne Olympios was at it again Monday, wearing a flasher-style trench coat while trying to seduce Nick Viall with whipped cream on her cleavage ... it didn't work at all.

Nick gets all, "I-gotta-respect-the-other-girls" on her ... totally humiliating. She was so pissed she skipped the whole rose thing.

Corinne may have a "platinum vagine" ... but still, she might wanna play a little less aggressively.

'Bachelor' star Corinne Olympios makes no apologies for her aggressive pursuit of Nick Viall, and if Bachelor Nation wants to label her the villain ... she's cool with it and so are her parents.

We're told the family watched Monday's premiere together and Corinne's parents tell us they enjoyed it, and have no problem with contestants and fans hanging a scarlet 'V' on their little girl. They also said Corrine was happy with the label.

If you missed it ... she went in strong to get the first kiss from Nick -- and in a promo for upcoming episodes bragged about her "platinum vagine" and straight-up told Nick she's DTB.

Her folks say that's all good.

As for the "multi-million dollar business" Corinne says she runs ... we're told the family owns Miami-based Armor Garage -- a supplier of epoxy floor coatings, and yes ... she does actually work there. Mainly in sales.

No word if she sold Nick the "vagine" package.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was off the mark in his scathing critique of "The Bachelor," because love blossoms the same way on TV as it does in real life ... so says a contestant.

We got "Bachelor in Paradise" star Jared Haibon -- who's been on 2 seasons of "BIP" and 1 season of "The Bachelorette" -- and he says the idea that people aren't their true selves on the reality shows mirrors what happens with everyone on a date ... they put on a good but sometimes false face.

Jared's got a point ... but it seems like Kareem was getting at something a lot deeper than being phony for the cameras. Kareem rails on the shows, saying it portrays "cartoonish physical and mental restrictions" on relationships. He also comes close to calling the shows racist, saying, "If you're black ... you're usually kept around as a courtesy for a few weeks before being ejected."

They're single. They're famous. They're rich.

And now, Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott are getting an unofficial invitation to be the next stars of "The Bachelor" ... courtesy of the show's host, Chris Harrison.

Chris Harrison got a second dose of reality when it comes to Nick Viall, and shocker -- people actually dig the next 'Bachelor.'

Chris was out in Hollywood canvassing the streets to see what fans think about Nick. You might recall he got mixed reviews -- to put it kindly -- when he was announced as the guy for season 21.

'Bachelor' vet AshLee Frazier couldn't get it on a reality show, but she finally got a marriage proposal ... on the Brooklyn Bridge.

We're told the proposal went down Saturday right in the middle of a bunch of tourists who were checking out the bridge. The lucky guy is Aaron Williams, a Houston real estate developer AshLee's known for years. She moved back to H-town earlier this year, and they hit it off romantically.

We're told Aaron sealed the deal with an oval cut 3 ct. diamond, and dinner at hot spot Scarpetta.

Sean Lowe, the 'Bachelor' from AshLee's season, is still married to Catherine Giudici.

Sooo ... win-win?

'Bachelor' couple Ben Higgins and Lauren Bushnell finally took in their first post-show vacay, but even downtime for them requires cameras.

Scene: Gansevoort Turks + Caicos for 10 days at a $845 a night oceanfront suite.

Action: They spent the week snorkeling, taking dips in the infinity pool and getting rubbed.