Is Ali Fedotowsky engaged to Frank Neuschaefer?

UPDATE Aug. 2, 2010: Ali chose hunky Roberto Martinez and is now engaged to him. Frank backed out of confronting Ali at the After the Finale Rose special with Chris Harrison.

So far on The Bachelorette, Ali Fedotowsky is playing the field, but seems to have special eyes for aspiring screenwriter Frank Neuschaefer. When the group began their “around-the-world” journey in New York Ali took Frank aside and let him know he was extra special to her, and during the sixth episode Frank received a special distinction: he was the only guy to be invited on two one-on-one dates.

It sounds like Frank is in the front-runner for Ali’s “heart,” but Reality Steve spoilers say that Frank leaves Ali for his ex-girlfriend Nicole and Ali leaves the show empty-ring-fingered. Ali gave an interview with The Bachelorette‘s Chris Harrison where she hinted that she may leave the show alone, and everyone pretty much accepted that as the outcome. ABC even reportedly taped a whole scene of Frank reuniting with Nicole before the crew left on their around-the-world.

But it looks like ABC still might have had some secrets up their sleeves. The newest issue of US Weekly (on stands Friday) claims that Ali Fedotowsky leaves The Bachelorette finale engaged to one lucky dude. Since the general consensus is that Ali rejects the proposals of the remaining two guys Chris Lambton and Roberto Martinez, it could make sense that Frank returns from his pseudo-reconciliation with Nicole, and starts a pseudo-engagement with Ali Fedotowsky! It’s quite a possibility, especially since they were both spotted (separated) at the Union Street festival in San Francisco during the same weekend in early June! (via Crushable) Frank’s from Illinois, so what was he doing in San Fran so dangerously close to the Bachelorette he spurned?

Our guess is that Frank will indeed leave the show under the auspices of wanting to reunite with a former girlfriend (Nichole) but the reasoning will actually be that he cares too much for Ali and can’t handle the stress of the competition any longer – something Frank and ABC’s editing has been foreshadowing all season long. That would set up a similar phone call from Frank to the one made by Ali to Jake in last season’s The Bachelor, but Ali will be more ofrgiving than Jake and allow Frank to return and sweep her heart away!

SOMETHING dramatic has to happen in the final episode because ABC has been so secretive and has somehow even managed to prevent Reality Steve from finding out what happens. I just can’t believe this would all be so hush-hush if the end result is Frank walks out and Ali doesn’t choose either Roberto or Chris. Right now it looks like 1% chance Ali gets engaged to Frank, 98.999% chance she chooses no one and a 0.001% ABC pulled off the Big Whammy and actually got Jake to come back and propose, which would mean EVERYTHING about these shows is contrived and that the entire Vienna/Jake break-up thing is just part of this huge, scripted drama.

I suppose that’s just the conspiracy theorist in me, but I did only give it a 0.001% chance after all. Normally I would say that “you heard it here first,” but I actually speculated on this elaborate scenario in an earlier post. The television/entertainment fan in me wants the Jake thing to happen, but the part of me that wants to believe there is some sort of “reality” in this reality show is pulling for ol’ Frank.

UPDATE July 21, 2010: Frank will be returning to the “After the Final Rose Special”, but after that brutal show this Monday and the fact that Frank has been spotted canoodling with his girlfriend Nicole Caruso after the show quit airing, there’s now a 0.001% chance that he will get back with Ali. But this is The Bachelorette, so there is still a chance!