Since its 2002 premiere, “The Bachelor” has given love, tears, wine, a bunch of spin-offs, and lots and lots of drama to Bachelor Nation. But for the titular Bachelors and the ladies vying for their hearts, they’ve had a spotty record at best. The show has only resulted in three marriages so far, with most relationships only lasting a few months. Take a trip down memory lane with our photo gallery below of every “Bachelor” to see who they chose and what happened after real life kicked in.
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Season 1: Alex Michel
Image Credit: Matt Baron/BEI/Shutterstock Original run: March 25–April 25, 2002
Winner: Amanda Marsh
Runner-up: Trista Rehn
Proposal: No
Michel did not propose to Marsh and they broke up after she found out he slept with runner-up Rehn.
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Season 2: Aaron Buerge
Image Credit: ABC - Juice/REX/Shutterstock Original run: September 25–November 20, 2002
Winner: Helene Eksterowicz
Runner-up: Brooke Smith
Proposal: Yes
Buerge and Eksterowicz broke up after several weeks.
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Season 3: Andrew Firestone
Image Credit: Matt Baron/BEI/Shutterstock Original run: March 24–May 21, 2003
Winner: Jen Schefft
Runner-up: Kirsten Buschbacher
Proposal: Yes
Firestone was selected as the Bachelor because he was the great-grandson of the Firstone Tire founder. Schefft and Firestonebroke up after several months, and she went on to star in the third season of “The Bachelorette.”
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Season 4: Bob Guiney
Image Credit: Picture Perfect/Shutterstock Original run: September 24–November 20, 2003
Winner: Estella Gardinier
Runner-up: Kelly Jo Kuharski
Proposal: No
Guiney was the first Bachelor selected from “The Bachelorette,” after appearing on Season 1 with Trista Rehn. Guiney did not propose to Gardinier and they broke up shortly after the show aired.
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Season 5: Jesse Palmer
Image Credit: C Contino/BEI/Shutterstock Original run: April 7–May 26, 2004
Winner: Jessica Bowlin
Runner-up: Tara Huckeby
Proposal: No
At the time, Palmer was an NFL quarterback who came under criticism for appearing on the reality show. Palmer did not propose to Bowlin and they continued to date, but broke up several weeks later.
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Season 6: Byron Velvick
Image Credit: Peter Brooker/Shutterstock Original run: September 22–November 24, 2004
Winner: Mary Delgado
Runner-up: Tanya Michel
Proposal: Yes
Velvick and Jay Overbye started as two candidate bachelors. The women voted on for Velvick to be the Bachelor. Velvick and Delgado split after five years in 2009.
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Season 7: Charlie O’Connell
Image Credit: Matt Sayles/AP/Shutterstock Original run: March 28–May 16, 2005
Winner: Sarah Brice
Runner-up: Krisily Kennedy
Proposal: No
Chosen because of his famous brother Jerry O’Connell, O’Connell did not propose to Brice. They broke up in 2007, got back together in 2008 and called it quits again in 2010.
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Season 8: Travis Lane Stork
Image Credit: Peter Brooker/Shutterstock Original run: January 9–February 27, 2006
Winner: Sarah Stone
Runner-up: Moana Dixon
Proposal: No
Stork did not propose to Stone, and they broke up one week after the show aired.
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Season 9: Lorenzo Borghese
Image Credit: Marion Curtis/Starpix/Shutterstock Original run: October 2–November 27, 2006
Winner: Jennifer Wilson
Runner-up: Sadie Murray
Proposal: No
Borghese, a member of Italian nobility, did not propose to Wilson and they broke up in 2007.
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Season 10: Andrew Baldwin
Image Credit: Erik Pendzich/Shutterstock Original run: April 2–May 22, 2007
Winner: Tessa Horst
Runner-up: Bevin Nicole Powers
Proposal: Yes
The “Officer and a Gentleman”-themed season ended with Horst choosing Baldwin. They called off their engagement one month after the finale and ended their relationship later that year.
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Season 11: Brad Womack
Image Credit: Edward Herrera/Abc-Tv/Kobal/Shutterstock Original run: September 24–November 20, 2007
Winner: N/A
Runner(s)-up: DeAnna Pappas and Jenni Croft
Proposal: N/A
Womack narrowed down the crop of ladies to Croft and Pappas, but he chose to not select a winner and broke up with both. Womack would try to look for love again as the Bachelor on Season 15.
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Season 12: Matt Grant
Image Credit: Abc-Tv/Kobal/Shutterstock Original run: March 17–May 12, 2008
Winner: Shayne Lamas
Runner-up: Chelsea Wanstrath
Proposal: Yes
The British Bachelor ultimately regretted his decision of selecting Lamas, and they broke up in 2008.
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Season 13: Jason Mesnick
Image Credit: Abc-Tv/Kobal/Shutterstock Original run: January 5–March 2, 2009
Winner: Melissa Rycroft
Runner-up: Molly Malaney
Proposal: Yes
Mesnick initially proposed to Rycroft, but during “After the Final Rose,” he broke up with her because he was in love with Malaney, who gave him another chance. Mesnick and Malaney’s wedding aired on March 8, 2010, on ABC. Their daughter, Riley Anne, was born in 2013.
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Season 14: Jake Pavelka
Image Credit: Matt Baron/BEI/Shutterstock Original run: January 4–March 1, 2010
Winner: Vienna Girardi
Runner-up: Tenley Molzahn
Proposal: Yes
Pavelka, a pilot, is best known for all the drama of his season. He picked Girardi and they ended their relationship three months after the finale aired in a very heated special, during which Pavelka yelled, “Stop interrupting me!” at his former fiancee.
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Season 15: Brad Womack
Image Credit: Picture Perfect/Shutterstock Original run: January 3–March 14, 2011
Winner: Emily Maynard
Runner-up: Chantal O’Brien
Proposal: Yes
The only suitor to do two seasons as “The Bachelor” after not selecting either finalist in Season 11, Womack chose Maynard, but they broke up while the season was airing. They reconicled after the finale, but ultimately split for good two months later.
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Season 16: Ben Flajnik
Image Credit: Dave Allocca/Starpix/Shutterstock Original run: January 2–March 12, 2012
Winner: Courtney Robertson
Runner-up: Lindzi Cox
Proposal: Yes
Flajnik, a winemaker, selected the “bad girl” Robertson. After splitting while the season was airing, they got re-engaged but broke up for good that October.
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Season 17: Sean Lowe
Image Credit: Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP/Shutterstock Original run: January 7–March 11, 2013
Winner: Catherine Giudici
Runner-up: Lindsay Yenter
Proposal: Yes
Lowe and Giudici married on January 26, 2014, and are still together, making him the only Bachelor who wed the woman he initially picked. They have three children, sons Samuel Thomas, born 2016, and Isaiah Hendrix, born 2018, and daughter Mia Mejia, born 2019.
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Season 18: Juan Pablo Galavis
Image Credit: Byron Purvis/Admedia/Sipa/Shutterstock Original run: January 6–March 10, 2014
Winner: Nikki Ferrell
Runner-up: Clare Crawley
Proposal: No
Widely considered to be the worst Bachelor, Galavis did not propose to Ferrell, and they ended their relationship in late 2014.
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Season 19: Chris Soules
Image Credit: Broadimage/Shutterstock Original run: January 5–March 9, 2015
Winner: Whitney Bischoff
Runner-up: Becca Tilley
Proposal: Yes
“The Bachelor’s” resident farmer proposed to Bischoff, but they broke up two months after the finale aired.
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Season 20: Ben Higgins
Image Credit: Broadimage/Shutterstock Original run: January 4–March 14, 2016
Winner: Lauren Bushnell
Runner-up: Joelle “JoJo” Fletcher
Proposal: Yes
Higgins and Bushnell had their own reality show, “Ben and Lauren: Happily Ever After?” on Freeform, which only lasted one season since they split in May 2017. He now tours the country co-hosting “The Bachelor — Live on Stage” with Becca Kufrin, the winner of “The Bachelor” Season 22 and lead of “The Bachelorette” Season 14.
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Season 21: Nick Viall
Image Credit: Broadimage/Shutterstock Original run: January 2-March 13, 2017
Winner: Vanessa Grimaldi
Runner-up: Raven Gates
Proposal: Yes
Viall and Grimaldi announced the end of their engagement in August 2017.
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Season 22: Arie Luyendyk Jr.
Image Credit: Mediapunch/Shutterstock Original Run: January 1–March 6, 2018
Winner: Rebecca “Becca” Kufrin
Runner-up: Lauren Burnham
Proposal: Yes
For the second time in the series’ history, the Bachelor dumped his initial choice on air for the runner-up. Luyendyk announced on “After the Final Rose” that he’d broken off his engagement to Kufrin and had been seeing Burnham since the show wrapped. He proposed on the air to Burnham, and they wed on January 12, 2019. Their daughter, Alessi Ren, was born in May 2019.
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Season 23: Colton Underwood
Image Credit: NINA PROMMER/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Original Run: January 7–March 12, 2019
Winner: Cassie Randolph
Runners-up: Hannah Godwin and Tayshia Adams
Proposal: No
After dramatically jumping a fence in Portugal upon Randolph’s decision to abruptly leave the show, Underwood asked for a second chance to make things right. Randolph reconsidered and the duo ultimately received a final rose ceremony on “After the Final Rose.” After a two-day split that August, they announced they had broken up in May 2020 following weeks of rumors. “Sometimes people are just meant to be friends — and that’s okay,” Underwood wrote on Instagram.
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Season 24: Peter Weber
Image Credit: ABC/Maarten de Boer Original Run: January 6-March 10, 2020
Winner: Hannah Ann Sluss
Runner-up: Madison Prewett
Proposal: No
Weber’s finale delivered on the drama that ABC had been teasing all season. After Prewett self-eliminated, he proposed to Sluss, but soon had second thoughts and broke up with her to get back together with Prewett. This infuriated his mother, Barbara, who made her disdain for Prewett known on “After the Final Rose” and told her son that he has to “fail to succeed.” The pair split two days later, making them the fastest couple to break up after the finale. Weber is now dating Kelley Flanagan, who finished in fifth place.
