First things first: I did not think that Michelle should choose Brandon as her Bachelorette winner until the middle of the finale episode. So, about an hour before he sobbed his heartbreak on a distractingly noisy beach as all of Bachelor Nation watched on. Because of that, I cannot say that I was attached to Brandon and Michelle as a couple or saw a bright future for them. But, even still, Brandon's Bachelorette breakup was one of the saddest the show has seen. Before I knew it, I went from "Get this guy out of here and bring back Joe" to "I need to immediately find a way to give him a hug."

The entire season, Brandon has seemed very cheesy, but very sweet. The way he told Michelle he cares about her sounded like an extremely earnest child who actually believes they're going to marry their 3rd grade crush. If that last-minute letter he wrote to Michelle ended in "Pick a box: Me or Nayte", it wouldn't have been that surprising. But, Brandon means what he says. When he makes a blanket statement like "I'll do anything for Michelle," he actually feels that.

So, when Brandon was eliminated on the proposal platform on that windy Mexican beach, you could really see it register that his entire world and everything he had come to believe was crashing down. The ways in which his face changed to show confusion, then disbelief, then shock, then resignation were clear and heartbreaking. You could see he realized that Michelle wasn't choosing him while he was still giving his pre-proposal speech, but he continued to profess his love as she teared up.

Even after Michelle broke up with Brandon — during which he took repeated deep breaths and had to look away — he told her, "I truly wish you nothing but happiness," "You’ve been worth it every second," and "I will always be here for you." Finally, he just broke down sobbing while they hugged and shared a final "I love you."

Then, with Michelle still waiting for Nayte on the beach, Brandon had to film confessionals about how he was feeling. "I'm so fucking hurt," he said. "I truly believed I was going to spend every waking moment with her. I saw a future with her, man, that I’ve never seen with anyone in my entire life. It's gone [snaps] like that." And, more than many of the contestants we've seen before, it was clear just how sudden and Earth-shattering this felt to him. Plus, not only did he love Michelle, but as we saw in the episode, her family really made him feel like he was going to end up with Michelle. They absolutely loved him and already welcomed him into their lives.

There have been some bad breakups on The Bachelor and Bachelorette, but because some of the recent seasons have seen unconventional endings, this is the first time in a while that there's been a straight-up brutal proposal platform split where the contestant finds out at the last possible moment that they're leaving the show single.

Maybe Brandon will find love on Bachelor in Paradise. Maybe he'll be the Bachelor someday. Maybe he'll retreat back to (checks notes) his traveling nurse recruiter job in Portland, Oregon and meet someone in the real world. No matter what happens, Brandon has made Bachelor/ette history with one of those breakups fans just won't forget.

Image: ABC