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Bachelor Finale: Chris Soules Makes Stressful Final Choice With Hesitant Contestant

The Bachelor finale
Chris is choosing between Whitney and Becca.

Down to the wire! The 19th season of The Bachelor comes to a close tonight, March 9, as star Chris Soules will choose between his final two women, Becca Tilley and Whitney Bischoff

"I was so stressed out," Soules, 33, told Us Weekly at a taping of The Bachelor's "Women Tell All" special, reflecting on his decision-making process. "I'd wake up with my heart beating 7 million miles per hour, hyperventilating, and feeling like I couldn't breathe. I had a lot of sleepless nights."

"He was really a wreck," host Chris Harrison chimed in, echoing Soules' admission of his anxiety. "Tears, temper tantrums." 

Related: PHOTOS: Bachelor Stars' Scandalous Pasts!

Soules narrowed his field of 30 women down to Tilley and Bischoff after a shocking and emotional goodbye to Katilyn Bristowe in Bali during the Feb. 23 episode. While Soules said he "wasn't ready" to go from three women to two, his final decision was even harder.

"Chris was very conflicted toward the end," a source close to ABC's The Bachelor tells Us Weekly. "He struggled with his feelings a lot."

The source added that Soules "genuinely fell in love with both women," but the feelings may not have been entirely returned. One of the two final women (unnamed to avoid spoilers) struggled in the last week to commit entirely to the hunky farmer. 

Related: PHOTOS: Bachelor Us Weekly Covers

"The runner-up wasn't as into him," the source says, adding that the woman's feelings influenced Soules' decision. "It really came down to a feeling. She just didn't feel it."

Originally a competitor on Andi Dorfman's season of The Bachelorette, Soules had questions about both Bischoff and Tilley in his final days. 

The reality star wasn't convinced that Chicago-based Bischoff could happily pick up her city life and her career as a fertility nurse to relocate to the tiny hometown of Arlington, Iowa. Tilley raised other concerns, as Soules said his relationship with the inexperienced chiropractic assistant "moved much slower than most." 

Related: PHOTOS: Bachelor: Where Are They Now?

"Becca had a hard time opening up," host Harrison told Us. "She's never been in love and she's feeling a lot of things for the first time. That probably is a red flag."

Despite the lingering doubts, Soules fell hard for both women and was forced to finally pick. "Becca and Whitney are women he would have never met in Iowa," the source adds. "They appealed to different sides of him."

As Bachelor fans will see in Monday evening's episode, Soules did find a way to choose, and the star tells Us that he is completely happy with the show's resolution. 

"I'm in love," Soules gushed. "[We] are working on establishing a relationship outside of this crazy world we just went through." 

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