Glee Finale Shocker: Rachel, Finn Split!

USMagazine, Wednesday, May 23, 2012, 7:40am (PDT)

Sorry, Gleeks: Finchel is officially over.

On Tuesday's much anticipated third season finale of FOX's Glee, beloved McKinley High couple Finn (Cory Monteith) and Rachel (Lea Michele) parted ways after donning their caps and gowns for senior class graduation.

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Intent on both moving to New York City to pursue their respective dreams -- Rachel would study at the New York Academy of the Dramatic Arts while Finn would log hours at the New York-based Actors Studio -- the couple was heartbroken to learn that Rachel was accepted to her first-choice school but Finn received a rejection letter. (Fellow NYADA auditioner Kurt Hummel (Chris Colfer) was also rejected, despite a stellar audition.)

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Though Rachel insisted that she'd stay in Lima, Ohio and defer her NYADA enrollment so they could get hitched, Finn wasn't sold on the idea. In an emotional final scene Tuesday, Finn and Rachel drove to what Rachel thought was her wedding, but instead was dropped off -- and "set free" -- at the train station by her beau.

"I need a chance to try and redeem my father," Finn said, explaining that he'd chosen to enlist in the Army in Ft. Benning, Ga. "That's the only place I knew you couldn't follow me."

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Stunned, Rachel dissolved into tears. "You're going to get on that train, go to New York and you're going to be a star without me, because that's how much I love you," Finn told her. Rachel's only reply as she walked to the train platform to be greeted by her Glee costars: "I love you so much."

While Finchel may be no more, Michele, 25, and Monteith, 29 -- dating since early 2012 -- are still going strong. "They've been hooking up for awhile," an insider told Us Weekly in February of the actors, whose characters were about to get married when Glee's February 21 episode ended.

Says the source: "It's starting to seem a little more serious."

Tell Us: Were you shocked by Rachel and Finn's split?

This article originally appeared on Usmagazine.com: Glee Finale Shocker: Rachel, Finn Split!