To say that we love The Bachelor, and the contestants that have found their way onto to the show over the years, might just be the biggest understatement of all time. The truth is, we’re downright obsessed. And when it comes to our favorite Bachelor couples, we’re just smitten. Is it the romance? Is it the drama? Whatever it is, this franchise keeps us coming back for more season after season to see if the next bachelor or bachelorette will finally find true love — and to see just how far each contestant will go to get their attention.
With 23 seasons of The Bachelor out there in the world, you’d think nothing would surprise us about the show anymore. Somehow, some way, each season manages to bring new and interesting dynamics, shocking twists, and addictive love stories that make it really hard for us to let go. Some Bachelor couples stick with us longer than others and we end up not only hooked on the show, but pretty obsessed with keeping tabs on the contestants after they move on with their lives, off screen.
Thanks to social media, keeping track of the show’s most iconic Bachelor couples has actually been pretty easy. Some of our favorites have split up, there have been new love triangles, and there are lots of babies. Even some of the contestants that stirred up a lot of controversies have gone on to find love and happiness with someone else they met on the show. Here’s what the most iconic Bachelor couples are up to now.
You Never Forget Your First
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With 23 seasons of The Bachelor behind us, we’ll never forget the couple that started it all.
As the very first bachelor, Alex Michel likely had no idea what he was really getting himself into. Maybe that’s why he has stayed out of the spotlight ever since. In the finale of the first season, Alex gave Amanda Marsh the rose but he didn’t propose. The two dated for a few months but then split up. While Alex now lives in New York and remains single, Amanda is married and has a daughter.
A Bachelor Success Story
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This couple is said to be one the more successful relationships from The Bachelor, but their story is far from perfect.
During the finale of season 21, bachelor Arie Luyendyk Jr. chose Becca Kufrin as the lucky recipient of his rose. Unfortunately, Becca wasn’t all that lucky, seeing as he broke up with her immediately afterward and proposed to another contestant, Lauren Burnham, on an after-the-finale special. Ouch.
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In 2019, Arie and Lauren tied the knot.
Even though this Bachelor couple isn’t exactly beloved among fans, there is something to be said about that fact that they’re still together and married. In January 2019, the two held their wedding in Hawaii. Us Weekly writer Sarah Trumbley called the two perfect for each other, mainly because they’re both kind of boring.
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What happened to the heartbroken Becca Kufrin?
She may have been heartbroken after her very public break-up, but Kufrin has since recovered. In fact, she’s engaged to Garret Yrigoyen, who she met on season 14 of The Bachelorette. Earlier this year, they shared that they would be moving in together. They now live in Carlsbad with their freaking adorable Corgis.
The Most Hated Man in America?
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When the bachelor on season 13 shook things up, he faced some serious backlash.
Jason Mesnick, the bachelor on season 13, chose to give Melissa Rycroft the rose during the season finale but also changed his mind after the fact. He broke up with Melissa, apologized to her runner up, Molly Malaney, and the two started dating quickly thereafter. He received serious criticism for his actions and was even referred to as “the most hated man in America,” according to The List.
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Sometimes a little drama is worth it for a happy ending.
It seems that Jason made the choice that was best for himself and Molly because they stayed together and got married in 2010. Nearly ten years later, they’re still married. They have one daughter together and appear to spend quite a bit of time with Jason’s son.
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How did things turn out for the winner of season 13, Melissa Rycroft?
Before she was a Bachelor contestant, Melissa had been dating her now-husband Tye Strick. Her rejection gave her the chance to reconnect with him and they married in 2009. They now have three children together. Melissa has also built a career making television appearances and has published a book, My Reality.
A Long Journey to Happily Ever After
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A veteran of The Bachelor takes the long road to finally settling down with the right guy.
Ashley Iaconetti has a long history with The Bachelor. She made her first appearance in 2015 when Chris Soules was the bachelor. She then returned for seasons two and three of Bachelor in Paradise and won alongside Kevin Wendt during Bachelor Winter Games. The two were dating when the show ended.
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This isn’t a story about Kevin and Ashley. The couple actually split in 2018 after another Bachelor contest confessed his devotion to Ashley.
Jared Haibon met Ashley in 2015 on season two of Bachelor in Paradise and the two remained close friends after the show. Despite publicly insisting they were just friends, the two ended up together not long after Kevin and Ashley broke up. Allegedly Jared kissed Ashley while she was still in a relationship with Kevin and told her he had feelings for her.
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Things moved quickly for Jared and Ashley after they started dating.
In June 2018, the two got engaged! They shared their news only a month after they officially started dating. The two plan to get married in August 2019, according to her Instagram. Meanwhile, they’re keeping pretty busy doing the Instagram influencer thing, including sharing a hot tub with Alie Wong and Randall Park.
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For Kevin Wendt, happiness may be just around the corner.
After his difficult break-up with Ashley, Kevin joined the cast of Bachelor in Paradise season five. On this show, he ended up dating Astrid Loch, who was a contestant on season 21 of The Bachelor. In late 2018, the couple announced they would be moving in together and that Astrid had packed up her things to join Kevin in Canada. Although the two aren’t engaged or married, talks of kids, butt grabbing, and gushing on Instagram make it seem like they’re probably in it for the long haul.
This Bachelor Couple Insists They’re Totally Normal
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Five years of marriage makes Sean Lowe and Catherine Giudici-Lowe one of the longest lasting Bachelor couples. What’s their secret?
The two met on season 17 of The Bachelor and in 2014, the two were married in Santa Barbara, California. This couple got special attention after publicly sharing that they wouldn’t be having sex until they got married. On their five year wedding anniversary, they credited being totally normal and staying grounded as their secret to their lasting marriage.
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The Giudici-Lowe family just keeps on growing.
A happy marriage isn’t the only brag-worthy accomplishment these two have under their belts since their time on The Bachelor. In June of 2019, the announced they are expecting their third child. The couple already has two sons and learned that their family would be growing before their second son even turned one! They’ve definitely got a busy couple of years ahead of them.
A Difficult End
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Break-ups are common among Bachelor alum, who often enter into relationships after a whirlwind romance.
This is exactly what happened for Kaitlyn Bristowe and Shawn Booth, who got engaged during the finale of season 11 of The Bachelorette. The two were together from 2015 until 2018, when they announced that they broke off their engagement. After their break-up, they asked for privacy from the media.
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In January of 2019, Shawn shared about their difficult break-up.
As a guest on the Almost Famous podcast, Shawn took the chance to share how he was doing after splitting up with Kaitlyn — and he wasn’t doing well. He said he had lost his best friend and that it was hard for him to watch Kaitlyn start dating someone else so quickly after their November 2018 breakup.
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Kaitlyn may have moved on, but she wanted to set the record straight about their split.
After Shawn spoke so candidly about their breakup, it makes sense that Kaitlyn would want to share her side of the story. She said that she had been willing to do anything to make their relationship work and that she wanted to get married and have kids. It was Shawn who broke off their relationship, which had in fact left her devastated.
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A second engagement could be coming in the near future for Kaitlyn.
Now, Kaitlyn is happily dating another Bachelor star, Jason Tartick. What is so interesting about their romance is that they didn’t meet each other on the show. Instead, the two had chatted back and forth on Instagram and Tartick guest starred on Kaitlyn’s podcast. Today, they live together and say engagement is coming soon.
The Private Ceremony
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In season 13 of The Bachelorette, Rachel Lindsey found her soulmate.
The season ended with Rachel accepting a proposal from Bryan Abasolo. Expecting a televised wedding, the couple was surprised to learn that ABC had no plans of broadcasting their big day. Now the couple has said they are planning a very small, very private ceremony which will take place at some point during the summer of 2019.
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The two are keeping busy while planning their wedding.
Something that has set Rachel apart from many other contestants is that she went back to work after her season was over. She had been working as an attorney but recently left that profession and started working in sports entertainment. She’s also known to take on sponsored posts on her Instagram. Bryan is still working on becoming a chiropractor.
His First Choice Walked Away
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On season 23 of The Bachelor, Colton Underwood was quite obviously smitten with contestant Cassie Randolph.
Cassie, on the other, had a lot of doubts about how quickly things were moving. She wasn’t ready and she told Colton she wouldn’t be able to accept a proposal so she was taking herself out of the competition completely. This choice was incredibly difficult on Colton, who had to actually climb a fence to get some privacy as he processed her decision.
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What Colton did next caused him to become one of the most talked about Bachelor contestants.
He wasn’t ready to take Cassie’s “no” as her final answer, so he sent the remaining two contestants home. He spent the remainder of the season trying his hardest to convince Cassie that they should be together. While the season didn’t end with a proposal, they did start dating after it wrapped. There is even talk of engagement in the near future!
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Since leaving the show, the two are back to school and work.
Cassie is a graduate student in speech and language pathology and has been making television appearances from time to time. Colton is a retired football player and has built a career out of making public appearances, participating in television spots, and contributing to influencer marketing campaigns. In between all that work, they seem to be having a whole lot of fun spending time together.
