Let's be honest.
Being the star of The Bachelorette can't be easy.
Some Bachelorettes flourish in their role, while others... not so much.
Here are the top seven best and worst Bachelorettes in the history of the franchise.
"This finger is ready."
It took a whopping thirteen seasons for us to get an African-American Bachelorette, but
Rachel Lindsay was well worth the wait.
"Rachel is the total package.
She's the triple threat, brains, beauty, personality."
A great conversationalist and whip smart, Lindsay won our hearts early on with her grace
and intelligence, even going up against DeMario Jackson's lies.
Then, of course, there was Peter Kraus, who quickly became one of the most beloved contestants
of the entire show.
"I feel like you don't know what you wanna do."
"I don't."
"I want somebody who knows what they wanna do."
Sadly, though, Kraus didn't think he could propose to Lindsay in the season finale.
But even so, Rachel gave us everything we wanted: drama, fun, romance, and thought-provoking
conversations about race.
She elevated the show to new heights, and frankly, it hasn't reached that high point
since her departure.
Lindsay finally got her real life happy ending and will marry her beloved Bryan Abasolo in
August 2019.
"Cheers to, yeah, keeping it interesting and exciting."
It's rough when even Chris Harrison doesn't agree with your choices.
DeAnna Pappas kicked off her streak of bad decisions by dumping fan favorite Jason Mesnick.
Then, she broke it off with her winner, Jesse Csincsak, under pretty messy circumstances.
"I'm the one here trying to figure it out, and if you guys can't handle it, go home."
Harrison told L.A.'s Valentine in the Morning,
It all comes off as immaturity on DeAnna's part, which puts into perspective her very
off-the-cuff behavior on the show.
Pappas even admits that Csincsak was the wrong choice, telling Cosmo,
Nevertheless, DeAnna did eventually end up finding love through The Bachelor franchise.
She married Stephan Stagliano, brother of the Bachelorette contestant Michael Stagliano,
in 2011 and they have two children together.
Trista Sutter was the very first Bachelorette and launched the series with a bang.
Compared to a lot of the insanity that goes on in more recent iterations, Season 1 seems
tame, but that's just part of its charm.
Sutter told Us Weekly,
"I kissed three guys.
Okay?
Three guys.
And I think that the kisses are a little more plentiful."
Trista and Ryan Sutter's wedding was the first of the series to be televised.
And years later, the couple is still going strong.
Trista posted a heartfelt message on Instagram for their 15th anniversary, writing,
Jen Schefft always looked "over it" on the show.
And the disinterest not only made for a pretty lackluster season, but by rejecting both of
her two remaining suitors, Jen made the season feel like a waste of time.
And audiences were rightfully pissed off.
Really, it just seems like Jen wasn't a good fit for the franchise, and her time on the
show left everyone with a bad taste in their mouth.
She left the reality TV world and settled down with Joe Waterman, who she met on a blind
date.
The couple now live in Ohio with their two daughters.
Ashley Hebert was just the right amount of vulnerable, without coming across as too unstable.
"Hey baby, wanna go for a spin?"
But she undeservedly got dealt a tough hand, when contestants thought they would be trying
to win Emily Maynard.
Ashley's season also had one of the most devious villains ever, in Bentley Williams, who straight
up said that he was out to make her cry.
"I came in thinking Ashley was not attractive at all.
I knew for a fact I wasn't gonna fall in love with her."
Thankfully, once Williams was out, J.P. Rosenbaum slid right into Hebert's heart.
Hebert and Rosenbaum's adorable pajama date night-in immediately endeared us to their
love story.
Hebert's insecurities made her relatable, and it was very swoon-worthy watching, as
Rosenbaum swept her off her feet.
The two are still married and are raising a family together.
It's difficult to place Andi Dorfman in the "worst" category because she did serve up
an entertaining season.
Plus, no one can argue that her shutdown of Bachelor Juan Pablo is nothing less than iconic.
"You say, like, you've liked me from week two, but that's, that doesn't seem real to
me because you don't even really know who I am."
Ultimately, it's a few odd decisions that have now landed Dorfman on the worst list.
Perhaps the most controversial being her fantasy suite date with Nick Viall.
On After the Rose, Andi pretty much confirmed that she knew she would pick Josh Murray at
the end.
"If you weren't in love with me, I'm just not sure why like why you made love with me."
Regardless of how you feel about Viall publicly announcing that they sealed the deal, it can
come across as insensitive that she would take things that far in the fantasy suite.
And, of course, there's the fact that she picked Murray at all.
Throughout the season, Dorfman states that she doesn't want to go for her usual type;
athletic jocks who treat her badly.
But she went on to pick the athletic jock, who didn't treat her that well.
"I think you never truly know yourself until you are independent."
Hopefully Dorfman will find her own happiness someday with someone that deserves her.
The level of drama was fairly low during Desiree Hartsock's season, which made some fans label
it as "boring."
But Hartsock made up for the lack of petty in-fighting with sincerity and humor.
She came across as very sweet and more laid-back than other Bachelorette stars.
The show felt less like a hyper-produced reality show and more like a documentary with Hartsock
in the driver's seat.
She always took the process seriously and gave the men the respect they deserved, even
when she was breaking their heart.
This made the shocking last minute breakup with Brooks Forester all the more heart-wrenching
for fans.
"I don't know what to say.
I love you.
I do.
You're the only one, you're the only one I can say that…"
The tears and emotion over Forester made audiences think that Chris Siegfried was Hartsock's
second choice and a "consolation prize," more than someone she'd want to spend her life
with.
Nevertheless, the pair are still together, and have two children.
In hindsight, it was probably way too soon for Becca Kufrin to be The Bachelorette.
She was the obvious choice, and audiences rushed to her side after The Bachelor's Arie
blindsided her to be with Lauren Bushnell.
"Do you wanna get back with her?"
"I wanna see if there's that possibility."
"Are you f---ing kidding me?"
Things started off okay when Kufrin began her journey to find true love, but the cracks
started to show soon after.
Kufrin was easily frustrated with the standard Bachelorette drama and would cancel cocktail
parties often.
To be fair to Kufrin, production made some really bizarre choices in casting the men
that would pursue her.
But even when Kufrin had her head in the game, the season was just pretty boring.
The goodwill she had garnered from her heartbreak was pretty much spent by the time she got
engaged to Garrett.
This wasn't helped by the fact that Garrett took some heat near the end of the season
for his social media activity.
Perhaps with time, Kufrin's season will be remembered more fondly.
For now, though, it's not an enjoyable re-watch.
"My season just seemed to be a controversial season.
It was fun, but challenging."
Kaitlyn Bristowe's season started off with a bang in one of the most unique and eventful
premieres in Bachelorette history.
It's hard to argue that Bristowe wasn't beloved when she was literally voted to be the Bachelorette.
The dates also really showed off the wild and fun side of the show.
What other season had both a boxing match date and a sumo wrestling date?
"I made a mistake.
That doesn't make me a bad person."
Nick Viall's return was highly controversial, but just added to the fun of Bristowe's season.
It felt like anything could happen and the show felt fresher than it had in a long time.
Bristowe took everything they threw at her in stride, and viewers ate it up.
Bristowe and season winner Shawn Booth split up in 2018, and she started a romance with
former Bachelorette contestant Jason Tartick, in January 2019.
"It's very strange.
Like, I still watch and I'm like I can't believe I did that."
Emily Maynard's turn on The Bachelorette was a bit middle-of-the-road, but what tips it
over is the fact that if Maynard hadn't rejected Arie, he would have never become The Bachelor.
She could have spared all of us from a season of saying "I love that," but, still, it feels
a little harsh saying that Maynard is one of the worst of the franchise, considering
her long history of heartbreak.
"Emily's fiance died in a plane crash.
A month later, Emily found out she was pregnant with their child, Ricki."
It could simply be that there just aren't any memorable moments from her season, that
stuck in the minds of viewers.
Maynard broke up with her final pick, Jef Holm, in 2012.
Thankfully, after two failed engagements, Maynard found happiness when she married Taylor
Johnson in a fairytale wedding in 2014.
"JoJo" Fletcher also had a questionable slew of guys to choose from, but had a lot of fun
with the process.
Plus, who doesn't love a little southern charm.
It was pretty much love at first sight for Fletcher when she saw Jordan Rodgers walk
out.
The season was admittedly a bit predictable because of that, but Fletcher was able to
keep fans glued to the tube the whole time.
"Will you marry me?"
"Yes.
Oh my God, I love--"
"Give me that hand!"
"Yes!"
"Give me that hand!"
Rodgers proposed to Fletcher in the season finale, and the two are still together.
No wedding date has been set, but the couple has their own YouTube channel showcasing their
life together.
Even though it's now been two years since the season ended, Fletcher's star continues
to shine bright.
Meredith Phillips starred in the second season of the show and could barely even attempt
to fill the big shoes of Trista's charming love story.
Her break up with her winner, Ian Mckee, also started the long trend of Bachelorettes not
living happily ever after with their final pick.
"It's the 26th person in the room."
"Alcohol."
"Alcohol.
Yeah."
It wasn't until after the show that Phillips began to gain some attention.
She spoke up about her struggle with alcoholism, and further criticized the show for its emphasis
on pushing alcohol on the contestants.
Even more shocking are her allegations that a masseuse assaulted her while the show was
filming.
It's clear that Phillips has endured a lot, but still, she's optimistic.
She is now married to her former high school sweetheart, Michael Broady, and is working
on life post-addiction.
Phillips admitted to People magazine,
On the long list of questionable Bachelorettes, there was Jillian Harris.
Harris also didn't end up with her pick, Ed Swiderski, but her season still packed a punch.
"There are dozens of producers and executive producers and psychologists and people that
are trying to figure out how to get people to crack."
Harris had a great sense of humor and, even when things were hard, she continued to captivate
the audience with her charm.
The couple may no longer be together, but Harris and Ed's journey on the show was one
for the books, with Ed leaving in the middle of filming only to return when he realized
his mistake.
Harris also served us another great relationship with Reid Rosenthal.
Even after the show ended, Reid still clearly had feelings for Harris in a show of sincerity
the series often lacks.
If you can't get enough of Harris, you can still find her on reality TV, but this time
she's over on HGTV hosting Love It or List It Vancouver.
It's clear that she has a charisma about her that is simply made for TV.
Watching Ali Fedotowsky as The Bachelorette is kind of like witnessing a kid in a candy
store, full on tantrums included.
"There was ups there was downs, it was a rollercoaster in every sense of the word."
Ali was a pretty surprising pick from the 14th season of The Bachelor.
During her own Bachelorette season, when Frank called things off because of feelings for
his ex-girlfriend, Ali sort of brushed him off and went off on her own to sulk.
Of course she was hurt, but this is a pretty cold and emotionally immature reaction considering
Frank was a final three contestant.
When the tables are turned, however, Ali feels differently about sticking it out for a chat.
"You know Justin, I think this has been especially difficult for you 'cause you probably really
miss your girlfriend in Canada."
She confronted Justin in front of the rest of the house about his girlfriend and demanded
he stick around to talk with her.
"You wanna talk off camera?
Justin, you seriously gonna walk away from me, you're gonna go out like this, this is
how you wanna be perceived?"
Ali later broke up with fiancé Roberto Martinez in 2011, and went on to marry Kevin Manno
in 2017.
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