The Bachelor and The Bachelorette have ruled as the most dramatic reality dating shows
ever.
Despite a few poorly watched installments, the franchise has managed to keep viewers
coming back for more.
Here's a look at the best and worst seasons in the history of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette.
Season 13 of The Bachelor is among the franchise's best for more reasons than one.
For starters, the leading man, Jason Mesnick, was the first single parent in the franchise's
history to ever become a Bachelor or Bachelorette.
Mesnick's dad-status completely raised the stakes for his season, as he made it clear
he was searching for not only a wife, but a stepmother for his son, Ty.
Of course, that wouldn't be the last time Mesnick made Bachelor history.
Moments after witnessing him propose to his final pick, Melissa Rycroft, viewers watched
as Mesnick ended his engagement to Rycroft on the After the Final Rose special, confessing
to her that he still had feelings for his runner-up, Molly Malaney.
Rycroft was understandably angry.
"You're such a bastard."
However, the evening ended on a happy note when Malaney excitedly accepted Mesnick's
plea for a second chance.
While Mesnick's switcheroo landed him the title of Most Hated Man in America for a while,
his relationship with Malaney blossomed into one of Bachelor Nation's greatest love stories.
The couple married and welcomed their first child together, Riley Anne Mesnick, in March
2013.
Despite being a far-fetched representation of what dating is actually like, The Bachelor
is a reality dating show.
Of course, where there's dating, there's bound to be heartbreak, a fact Bachelor Nation fans
know all too well.
While The Bachelor might present itself as a show about finding love, it's pretty clear
that the franchise's actual bread and butter is the business of breakups.
Usually, the Bachelor is the person tasked with breaking the hearts of those vying for
his affection; however, during his season, Colton Underwood proved that Bachelors can
get dumped, too.
While contestants have broken up with leads before, no Bachelor or Bachelorette has been
dumped on their own season as frequently as Underwood.
As Vulture reported, three women left the season of their own accord.
Cassie Randolph also broke up with the Bachelor on their Fantasy Suite date, revealing she
wasn't sure she wanted to get engaged.
However, following Underwood's dramatic, seemingly gravity-defying fence jump, the two decided
to continue their relationship offscreen.
"Nailed it.
Nailed it!
Nailed it."
Emily Maynard made history as The Bachelorette's first single mother lead.
To accommodate her life as a single mom, initial production for Maynard's season, which aired
in May 2012, moved from the Bachelor mansion to Charlotte, N.C., so that Maynard could
stay close to her daughter, Ricki.
While she seemed like a sweet, southern belle on the surface, Maynard quickly proved herself
to be a feisty force to be reckoned with, especially when it came to her daughter.
When Maynard heard contestant Kalon McMahon had referred to Ricki as "baggage," the soft-spoken
blonde wasted no time in putting him in his place, telling him to, quote, "get the f---
out."
While her engagement to winner Jef Holm ultimately didn't last, Maynard is still a beloved figure
in Bachelor Nation, and her historic season was certainly a win for single moms everywhere.
ABC was likely hoping pilot Jake Pavelka would bring romantic Top Gun vibes to The Bachelor
Season 14, cleverly titled On the Wings of Love.
Unfortunately, however, Pavelka's season quickly proved he was no Maverick.
Despite him having a cool job, Pavelka's personality was sorely lacking throughout his run as Bachelor,
and many fans got the feeling the pilot didn't care all that much about finding true love.
That feeling only intensified when Pavelka proposed to season villain Vienna Girardi
instead of the woman with whom he seemed to share the most chemistry, fan favorite Tenley
Molzahn.
Unsurprisingly, it didn't take long for Pavelka and Girardi's relationship to come crashing
down; however, no one could have predicted the nasty turn their fallout would take in
the media.
Months after they made their debut as a couple, Pavelka and Girardi faced off in an intensely
emotional two-on-one interview with host Chris Harrison.
Not only did the messy back and forth leave viewers feeling sympathetic toward the former
season villain, but it also seemed to capture Pavelka's true colors, and they weren't pretty.
"So you're done talking.
Is there any part of you…?"
"That's a first."
Season 15 of The Bachelorette premiered on May 13, 2019, featuring beauty queen Hannah
Brown in the title role.
Some fans were concerned the Alabama native would be more cringeworthy than entertaining,
considering she completely froze when asked to give a toast on Colton Underwood's Bachelor
season.
"Ummm.
Hahaha I can't do this."
However, Brown's season of The Bachelorette quickly became one for the reality TV history
books.
The former Miss Alabama USA kicked off her season by fiercely confronting and eliminating
a contestant upon learning he had a girlfriend, proving she wasn't afraid to stick up for
herself and call her own shots.
Later in the season, when Luke Parker seemingly shamed Brown ahead of their Fantasy Suite
date, the Bachelorette's fiery, tell-it-like-it-is attitude came out in full force as she sent
the contestant packing.
While she ultimately didn't find her happily-ever-after, Brown's explosive conversation with The Bachelorette's
Luke Parker did spark an important, nationwide discussion on faith, feminism, and sexual
autonomy, and forever changed the way we look at windmills.
"I didn't just go to Fantasy Suite.
I F---ED IN A WINDMILL."
Desiree Hartsock's emotional breakup with Brooks Forester certainly made for entertaining
TV; however, the gut-punch of watching Hartsock's heart break into a million pieces, as well
as the sinking feeling she settled for her final pick, made Season 9 of The Bachelorette
one of the franchise's most-disappointing installments.
Hartsock was blindsided in the penultimate episode of her season when Forester, the man
for whom Hartsock had the strongest feelings, confessed he wasn't in love with her.
Hartsock was understandably devastated by the admission, and, upon Forester's exit,
considered throwing in the towel herself.
"You wanna know why I was conflicted throughout this whole thing?
Because I didn't want to share my heart.
I wanted to give it to you."
Despite her words, Hartsock did accept a proposal from contestant Chris Siegfried, ultimately
marrying and starting a family with her final pick.
However, considering her reaction to Forester leaving, it's hard not to feel as if Hartsock
settled for Siegfried in an attempt to force a happy ending.
"I was torn apart by Brooks leaving.
I loved him."
Sean Lowe had his heart broken on Emily Maynard's Bachelorette season, but his status as a fan
favorite landed him the leading role in Season 17 of The Bachelor.
Lowe's season introduced multiple contestants who would go on to find popularity within
Bachelor Nation.
However, Season 17 remains one of the franchise's best and most beloved largely due to the happy
ending Lowe found with contestant Catherine Giudici.
A graphic designer from Seattle, Washington, Giudici was far from the safe choice for Lowe.
In fact, as he wrote in his book, For the Right Reasons:
"I really liked Catherine, but she was a Birkenstock-wearing, vegan food blogger from Seattle.
I was a meat eater who'd worked in the oil and gas industry.
How could that possibly work out?"
Fortunately, Lowe followed his heart, which led to an ultra-dreamy proposal, followed
by an epic elephant-back ride into the sunset.
"Oh my gosh!"
Today, the lovebirds are married with children, and are seemingly happier than ever.
Now, that's what you call a Bachelor fairy tale.
Jason Mesnick might have invented the televised switch-a-roo, but Arie Luyendyk, Jr. totally
upped the ante during his season of The Bachelor.
Luyendyk, Jr. decided to approach his breakup with fiancée Becca Kufrin by blindsiding
her with a camera crew on what she thought would be the beginning of a romantic getaway,
and revealing to her his intention to pursue runner-up Lauren Burnham.
ABC aired what they called the "raw, unedited" footage of the moment using a split-screen
format to showcase each party's reaction simultaneously.
Unfortunately, the footage made many viewers feel as though they were viewing an intensely
private, emotional moment that should have been kept between the two parties involved.
Everyone loves a little drama, but an ambush breakup is probably where the line should
be drawn.
Considering The Bachelorette wouldn't exist without Trista Rehn, who captured America's
heart on The Bachelor Season 1, it only makes sense that her season is widely considered
one of the franchise's best.
Not only did Rehn's season set a precedent for future Bachelorette installments, it also
produced one of the most celebrated love stories in Bachelor Nation history.
While there were far less jaw-dropping, dramatic moments on the inaugural season of The Bachelorette,
fans were enthralled by Rehn's chemistry with firefighter Ryan Sutter.
After weeks of watching Rehn and Sutter fall head over heels for each other, viewers were
overjoyed when the Bachelorette confessed her love for Sutter, accepting his proposal
on the season finale.
"I can now tell you without reservation that I am in love with you."
"Thank you."
The couple wed in December 2003, and, according to People, their romantic ceremony was watched
by a whopping 26 million viewers when it aired on ABC.
Today, the two are still happily married with two children, proving the Bachelor journey
really can work for a lucky few.
Juan Pablo Galavis' season of The Bachelor was a wild, entertaining ride from start to
finish.
However, the attitude the controversial lead displayed toward the women vying for his heart
lands Galavis' run on our list of worst Bachelor seasons ever.
"Hoof!"
For starters, Galavis constantly disrespected and/or patronized the women on his season.
One of the most striking examples of this was when he seemingly shamed contestant Clare
Crawley after the two appeared to engage in mutual hanky panky during a midnight swim.
"I hope nobody knows."
"No."
"It was good, but at the same time it was kinda, a little weird for me."
In another famous moment from the season, contestant Andi Dorfman confronted Galavis
after their Fantasy Suite date, telling the Bachelor she'd realized she wasn't in love
with him.
Instead of showing any real concern or interest in her feelings, Galavis just kept murmuring
"It's okay" like he was comforting a wounded puppy before it gets put down.
"Everything's always 'It's okay' and I want to die if I have to hear it's okay again.
Like I can't handle it."
"That's fine."
A mega-popular contestant on Nick Viall's season of The Bachelor, Rachel Lindsay was
cast for Season 13 of The Bachelorette before her Bachelor elimination had even aired.
The Texas attorney's run as Bachelorette was jam-packed with humor, drama, and romance.
While the majority of viewers were rooting for charming contestant Peter Kraus to be
the final man standing, Lindsay ultimately ended the relationship when Kraus revealed
himself to be hesitant about proposing.
Despite her emotional breakup with Kraus, Bachelorette Rachel Lindsay found her happily
ever after with Bryan Abasolo, the contestant to whom she'd given her first impression rose.
Considering Lindsay and Abasolo tied the knot in August 2019, it appears her instincts were
spot-on.
Despite appearing to fall for both of his final two contestants, Jenni Croft and DeAnna
Pappas, Brad Womack delivered a blow on The Bachelor Season 11 finale when he rejected
both women and left the show a single man.
"I need the man to lead me."
"Right.
That's not cliche.
That's not cliche at all."
"I need to be led."
"Right."
"Like I need love."
"Don't we all."
Viewers were especially displeased with the way Womack delivered the news to frontrunner
Pappas, who had been the fan favorite to win his heart.
Holding Pappas' hands and telling her he believed marriage was a one-time thing, Womack revealed
that he'd said goodbye to Jenni.
A wave of relief washed over the contestant's face, but Womack's next confession took a
sledgehammer to Pappas' dream of a happy ending.
"I can't look you in your eye and tell you that I love you.
I can't.
I have to tell you goodbye."
Not only did Womack seemingly lead on Pappas and Croft with no intention of following through
with either relationship, his season of The Bachelor teased fans with a love story it
had no intention of delivering.
"I have something for you."
"Oh no."
"But here's the thing, it's not from me.
It's from every woman in America."
"Oh god, are you gonna knock me…?"
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