The record of long-lasting love is a bit of a heart breaker for America’s darling of reality romance shows, The Bachelor.
If finding love on camera seems close to impossible maybe that’s because it is. Competitive reality TV dating is hard.
Just ask the 20 bachelors who’ve vied for the attention of swooning women since the show’s inception in March 2002.
In 20 seasons of The Bachelor, 12 men have popped the question on air, which is a solid 60% of couples who came out of the show engaged.
However, relationships start to fall apart when the cameras disappear: Only two of the 20 couples are still together, one of whom is married.
Season 17 winners Sean Lowe and Catherine Guidici got married in 2014 and recently celebrated the birth of their first child. Success!
Season 20 winners Ben Higgins and Lauren Bushnell are currently enjoying their engagement.
Hopefully, their new reality spin-off show will still send them happily down the aisle and not running for the hills.
It still seems like yesterday the young Missouri banker Aaron Buerge got down on one knee and proposed to adorable school psychologist Helene Eksterowicz in 2002.
The proposal was the first for the show as the winners in the inaugural season did not become engaged.
Long before DVR, social media, iPhones and Kardashian takeover, and way before ABC offered virtual reality (VR) experiences online, The Bachelor was starting to form a match-making empire that quickly evolved into the creation of The Bachelorette in January 2003. (The Bachelorette took a three-year hiatus between 2005-2008.) Then along came the trashier if not entertaining spin-offs, aka Bachelor in Paradise and Bachelor Pad.
The Bachelorette has also yielded a much better success rate than Bachelor in terms of the couple staying together after the show ended.
In 12 seasons, five couples are still together – a 42% commitment rate.
The very first season brought us sweethearts Trista Rehn and Ryan Sutter, who’ve been married almost 13 years. They are the king & queen of reality television romance.
Here are the others.
Season 7 winners Ashley Hebert and J.P. Rosenbaum are married and expecting their second child.
Season 9’s Desiree Hartsock and husband Chris Siegfried are having a baby this fall.
The most recent couples are Season 11’s Kaitlyn Bristowe and Shawn Booth and Season 12’s JoJo Fletcher and Jordan Rodgers.
We’ll see if those two couples go the distance to the altar.
As in real life, not just TV, relationships, dating, love and marriage don’t always work out.
If dreams are dashed along the way because someone is looking for 15 minutes of fame and not love, the success rate is probably even lower.
Add a mix of personality types that only reality TV attracts and a bunch of booze that’s readily available, and you start to see some mental health issues that TV is famous for.
But all that is just a buzzkill.
Here’s to the success of the next Bachelor Nick Viall!
May he find “the one.”
After countless tries, he deserves happily-ever happiness.
We all do.
Here’s the complete list of Bachelor and Bachelorette winner history and their record of keeping it all together after the end of the show:
THE BACHELOR Couples:
Season 1
Alex Michel and Amanda Marsh- Not Together
Season 2
Aaron Buerge and Helene Eksterowicz- Not Together
Season 3
Andrew Firestone and Jen Schefft- Not Together
Season 4
Bob Guiney and Estella Gardinier- Not Together
Season 5
Jesse Palmer and Jessica Bowlin- Not Together
Season 6
Byron Velvick and Mary Delgado- Not Together
Season 7
Charlie O’Connell and Sarah Brice- Not Together
Season 8
Travis Lane Stork and Sarah Stone- Not Together
Season 9
Lorenzo Borghese and Jennifer Wilson- Not Together
Season 10
Andrew Baldwin and Tessa Horst- Not Together
Season 11
Brad Womack and no one (sad trombone)
Season 12
Matt Grant and Shayne Lamas- Not Together
Season 13
Jason Mesnick and Melissa Rycroft- Not Together
Season 14
Jake Pavelka and Vienna Girardi- Not Together
Season 15
Brad Womack and Emily Maynard- Not Together
Season 16
Ben Flajnik and Courtney Robertson- Not Together
Season 17
Sean Lowe and Catherine Giudici – STILL TOGETHER
Season 18
Juan Pablo Galavis and Nikki Ferrell
Season 19
Chris Soules and Whitney Bischoff
Season 20
Ben Higgins and Lauren Bushnell -STILL TOGETHER
Season 21
Nick Viall and TBD
THE BACHELORETTE Couples:
Season 1
Trista Rehn and Ryan Sutter- STILL TOGETHER
Season 2
Meredith Phillips and Ian Mckee- Not Together
Season 3
Jen Schefft and Jerry Ferris- Not Together
Season 4
DeAnna Pappas and Jesse Csincsak- Not Together
Season 5
Jillian Harris and Ed Swiderski- Not Together
Season 6
Ali Fedotowsky and Roberto Martinez- Not Together
Season 7
Ashley Hebert and J.P. Rosenbaum- STILL TOGETHER
Season 8
Emily Maynard and Jef Holm- Not Together
Season 9
Desiree Hartsock and Chris Siegfried- STILL TOGETHER
Season 10
Andi Dorfman and Josh Murray- Not Together
Season 11
Kaitlyn Bristowe and Shawn Booth- STILL TOGETHER
Season 12
JoJo Fletcher and Jordan Rodgers- STILL TOGETHER
RISE NEWS is a grassroots journalism news organization that is working to change the way young people become informed and engaged in the world. You can write for us.
Cover Photo Credit: The Bachelor/ Facebook
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Our Whole Generation Needs To Watch “Love Jones”
On the 20th anniversary of the release of Love Jones, I used my snow day from work to see the film for a second time.
The first time, I finished it with a very negative attitude, immediately texting the friend who suggested it to ask why she loved it so much.
The reason why she suggested it was due to what I was going through in my current dating life: the ups, downs, and everything in between.
A little bit of background: Love Jones is a 1997 romantic film that intertwines love, poetry, and career choices between Darius Lovehall (Larenz Tate) and Nina Mosley (Nia Long), and the highs and lows that come with it.
The two lovers struggle with admitting their true feelings for each other, and this notion is constantly tested throughout the film.
The movie has gained a cult following because of its unique take on love during the late 90s, a time when technology was starting to make real change in the way we saw each other.
After watching the film again, I realize why I had such a bad taste in my mouth the first time and why I fell in love with it the second.
It solidified how different things are nowadays in terms of dating and relationships: we hide our emotions behind a screen.
We text each other our affection with some emojis thrown in there rather than picking up the phone to hear the voice on the other end.
We say “I don’t care” instead of taking the risk.
We find ways to not be memorable rather than to be something the other cannot forget.
With my first (and only, for now) relationship, my boyfriend and I never necessarily asked each other if we wanted to be in one – it just happened.
We would only get on the phone when we needed to resolve an issue or when we were in a fight and needed to clarify things.
The first time we broke up, he did it through a text message because he was “busy with his boys.”
When we first said “I love you,” we would text each other constantly, repeating it over and over again because the feeling was so fresh, new, and alive.
However, there is a difference between texting it and saying it loud and proud.
Although things did not work out, our relationship and time together did teach me what I wanted in my next relationship and what I did not want, and for that, thank you.
With the man I was dating over the summer, we were very much out and about.
However, we were known as “bae” to each other and as “friends” to everyone else.
Love is weird man. Photo Credit: Johnny Lai/Flickr (CC by 2.0)
This was the first time I did not feel like creating a label for us because “labels complicate things,” as most people my age tend to say.
With him leaving to law school by the end of the summer, we were able to talk and still do.
However, our talking is, yet again, by texting.
Do I remember his voice?
Hardly, but he did write me a poem, which I still have.
I can say he tried.
With the guy (I think?) I am dating now, we absolutely never get on the phone, and quite honestly, we have not decided what we are other than “just having fun.”
While I was OK with it at first, I realized I am a person who enjoys having labels because labels do not complicate what you have with someone.
If there are complications, it is because of you, that other person, or both.
Do labels mean I want a relationship?
Not necessarily.
It just means that we are mature enough to have a conversation and talk things through.
Darius and Nina confess their love for each other by the end of the movie and how they will make things work although they are on different sides of the country.
That is not necessarily saying that they will get into a relationship – they are going to work things through.
That is what I commend.
People say women tend to get caught up in the idea of a Hollywood romance.
However, who would not want a love such as the one in Love Jones?
A man who publicly admits his admiration through a poetry performance.
A woman who is set on her career but also is set on love.
A love that has Lauryn Hill singing in the background.
A love where you can remember the voice of the person you are into because you take the time to call each other.
See the movie for yourself and decide.
RISE NEWS is a grassroots journalism news organization that is working to change the way young people become informed and engaged in the world. You can write for us.
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How to Shoot Down a Drone … Legally
Think there are a lot of drones overhead? Just wait: this year is the first time that drones have become a go-to Christmas gift. The Federal Aviation Administration says a million new drones will be purchased in the U.S. this holiday season. Many will be carrying cameras and that’s going to make for a lot of… Read More
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MOB RULES: Missouri Protestors Turn Against Student Journalists, As Communications Professor Turns On First Amendment
Some protestors at the University of Missouri rallying under the banner of the #ConcernedStudent1950 movement harassed, and obstructed a student journalist from taking photos on campus yesterday.
The university, also known as “Mizzou” is a public college and the protestors were gathering on public grounds to celebrate the resignation of university system president Tim Wolfe.
In a video published on Youtube by Mark Schierbecker, shows a mob of people try to stop the first amendment rights of student reporters.
It is pretty shocking. Even more shocking is that one of the leaders of the mob, a white woman with red hair is a communications professor named Melissa Click.
Perhaps the folks in the video should pick up a copy of the Constitution to refresh their memories of what the foundation of the First Amendment is.
WATCH:
Cover Photo Credit: Mark Schierbecker/ Youtube (Screenshot)
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