In what truly proved to be the most dramatic finale of The Bachelor ever, Arie Luyendyk Jr. proposed to his runner-up, Lauren Burnham, on the show’s After The Final Rose special, after breaking off his engagement to 27-year-old publicist Becca Kufrin in the penultimate episode. The former race car driver proposed to the 26-year-old Virginia Beach native during the live finale on Tuesday, March 6, with yet another Neil Lane engagement ring, and we’ve got exclusive details on how Lauren B.’s sparkler compares to the one Luyendyk gave Becca K.
For his original proposal to Kufrin in Peru, Luyendyk met with celebrity jeweler Neil Lane to select a 4-carat ring. While we didn’t see the Bachelor star meet with Lane for his second go around, we know the ring he presented to Burnham weighed in slightly smaller at 3.65 carats.
As Us Weekly previously reported, Kufrin’s sparkler — which she returned to Luyendyk when he blindsided her with a breakup in January — was a platinum set diamond halo ring that featured an additional set of smaller diamonds surrounding the center stone. The band was also completely covered in diamonds.
Sources tell Us that Burnham’s rock, meanwhile, features a cushion cut diamond accented by two baguette stones with tiny gems surrounding it on all sides. There are also micro-pave stones akin to chips laid into the band — about 170 in total — but they don’t go all the way around.
While Burnham’s bling certainly looked blinding on TV, these subtle differences mean it is likely worth less than the $80,000 Kufrin’s was estimated to cost.
But that doesn’t mean it’s any less dazzling — designer Lane released a statement saying “this is one of the most intricate ring designs I have ever done for The Bachelor, which is appropriate as this is also the most intricate and intriguing finale I’ve ever been involved with. But I believe in doing whatever it takes to find love.”
Both beautiful in their own right, here’s hoping Burnham’s ring gets a bit more use than Kufrin’s did!
