Better off! Some Bachelor and Bachelorette stars had more luck in the love department outside the reality dating series, finding forever without the prying eyes of cameras.
DeAnna Pappas, Juan Pablo Galavis, Ali Fedotowsky and Emily Maynard are among the former leads who broke up with their final picks, only to find The One after starring on the show.
Fedotowsky, for one, opened up exclusively to Us Weekly in July 2019 about her intentions for signing on to the ABC hit. “I went on the show for a good time. I didn’t go on for love. Nobody goes on the show for love and then they’re just surprised when they actually do fall in love,” she admitted. “They go on there like, ‘This could be fun.’”
The reality star went on to confess that her motives would be a bit different if she starred on the series in this era. “If I went on the show right now, I [would] 100 percent be thinking Instagram followers. … I think to not think that way is kinda dumb,” she revealed. “Like … That’s gotta be in the back of your mind. … I’m an entrepreneur, I have an entrepreneurial type way of thinking.”
Maynard, for her part, does not have particularly fond memories of her time in the franchise. “I always say I should not give anyone any Bachelor and Bachelorette advice because it has been kind of a train wreck, to be quite honest,” she said during a January 2017 appearance on Good Morning America. “My time on the show was a bit of a mess.”
However, everything is not necessarily smooth sailing for post-show relationships either. Pappas, who wed Stephen Stagliano in 2012, endorsed couples counseling in August 2016. “It forced us to work through our marriage,” she told Us at the time. “This is it, me and him. There is no giving up, no turning back.”
Scroll to discover which Bachelor Nation alums found love after reality TV heartbreak.
Palmer split from season 5 winner Jessica Bowlin just months after filming wrapped in 2004 . He moved on with Emely Fardo, proposing in July 2019. The couple quietly tied the knot in June 2020, but they didn’t confirm the marriage until October 2021.
Courtesy of Emely Fardo/Instagram
The season 21 Bachelor winner split from Nick Viall in August 2017, five months after the final aired. The Canada native moved on with businessman Joshua Wolfe in 2019. The pair wed in August 2021 after getting engaged one year prior.
Courtesy Vanessa Grimaldi/Instagram
After competing on Arie Luyendyk Jr.’s season of the dating series in 2018, Fleming found love with Doug Filmore. The former TV personality and the real estate agent got engaged in August 2021.
“I knew he was the one from the moment I met him, because I’d never felt the way I felt for him with anyone else," Fleming exclusively told Us Weekly after the romantic proposal. “He has become my best friend and is truly the most kind and loving person I’ve ever known.”
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The twins both vied for Ben Higgins’ heart during season 20 of The Bachelor in 2016. They later starred on their own spinoff, The Twins: Happily Ever After? and appeared on seasons 3 and 4 of Bachelor in Paradise. Emily got engaged to NHL player William Karlsson in December 2020. Five months later, Haley announced that she and Finland hockey star Oula Palve were also getting married.
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The season 20 Bachelor winner ended her engagement to Higgins in May 2017 after getting engaged during the show’s finale in March 2016. The Oregon native found love with musician Chris Lane one year later and tied the knot in Nashville in October 2019. They welcomed their first child, son Dutton, in June 2021.
Courtesy Lauren Bushnell/Instagram
The former Bachelor, who was previously engaged to Bushnell from 2016 to 2017, slid into Jessica Clark’s DMs in late 2018. The pair became Instagram official in February 2019. Higgins proposed to the Tennessee native one year later in March 2020 at her parents’ home in Franklin.
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The season 12 Bachelorette contestant started dating Sarah Hyland in 2017. The pair got engaged two years later and were supposed to tie the knot in August 2020 but had to postpone amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“Wedding update — nothing!” the Bachelor in Paradise bartender told Us in August 2021. “We’ve had this thing postponed twice and honestly, I don’t know if I can take a third one. So just pray for us, please.”
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Nearly one year after Becca Kufrin’s Bachelorette season aired in late 2018, Graham went public with his relationship with Brittni Nowell in February 2019. The pair announced their engagement in November 2020.
“It’s official! I love you @bee_nowell for making me a better person with my friends and family, helping me feel & articulate my emotions, and always putting our relationship first,” he wrote via Instagram. “I’m blessed to have won at life by finding you ❤️.”
The engineer continued, “I proposed along the Sonoma coast. I was so nervous when I got down on one knee. I’m pretty sure I blacked out in the moment, but then she pulled me up and wouldn’t let go of me. Don’t ever let me go!”
Courtesy Brittni Nowell/Instagram
After competing on JoJo Fletcher’s Bachelorette season and two seasons of Bachelor in Paradise, the banker found love with British model Saffron Vadher. The couple quarantined together amid the COVID-19 pandemic and got engaged in November 2020.
Courtesy of Derek Peth/Instagram
The season 4 leading lady got engaged to Jesse Csincsak on The Bachelorette, but they broke up in November 2008. Pappas married Stephen Stagliano in October 2012. The couple welcomed daughter Addison in February 2014 and son Austin in March 2016.
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Galavis called it quits with his Bachelor season 18 final rose recipient, Nikki Ferrell, in October 2014 after choosing not to propose. He tied the knot with Osmariel Villalobos in August 2017.
Courtesy of Osmariel Villalobos/Instagram
The season 6 Bachelorette ended her engagement to Roberto Martinez in November 2011. She moved on with Kevin Manno, whom she wed in March 2017. Daughter Molly and son Riley arrived in July 2016 and May 2018, respectively.
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Guiney and his final pick from season 4 of The Bachelor, Estella Gardinier, didn’t last. He also split from wife Rebecca Budig in 2010 after six years of marriage. The TV personality exchanged vows with Jessica Canyon in November 2016. The couple’s son, Grayson, was born in December 2018.
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The Love It or List It Vancouver star broke up with fiancé Ed Swiderski in July 2010 after leaving season 5 of The Bachelorette engaged. The reality star announced her engagement to longtime boyfriend Justin Pasutto in December 2016. The pair welcomed son Leo in August 2016 and daughter Annie in September 2018.
Courtesy of Jillian Harris/Instagram
Firestone popped the question to Jen Schefft during season 3 of The Bachelor, but he ended up marrying Ivana Bozilovic in 2008. The duo’s kids, Brooks, Anja and Shane, arrived in March 2009, April 2011 and January 2014, respectively.
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Schefft, for her part, never got engaged to her Bachelorette season 3 pick, Jerry Ferris. Instead, she tied the knot with Joe Waterman in 2009. The couple welcomed daughters Mae in November 2010 and Charlotte in August 2012.
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O’Connell ended his on-off relationship with his Bachelor season 7 final rose recipient, Sarah Brice, in 2010. The actor married Anna Sophia Berglund in May 2018.
Courtesy of Anna Sophia Berglund/Instagram
Maynard’s engagements to Brad Womack and Jef Holm did not work out. However, she tied the knot with Tyler Johnson in June 2014. The couple welcomed sons Jennings in July 2015, Gibson in September 2016 and Gatlin in November 2017.
Courtesy of Emily Maynard/Instagram
Stork split from season 8 Bachelor winner Sarah Stone before things turned serious and later broke up with wife Charlotte Brown in 2015 after three years of marriage. He wed longtime girlfriend Parris Bell in August 2019.
Courtesy of Travis Stork/Instagram
The season 12 Bachelor ended his engagement to Shayne Lamas in 2008. The Brit married Rebecca Moring in December 2018.
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Phillips tied the knot with Michael Broady in 2011 after calling it quits with fiancé Ian Mckee one year after meeting on season 2 of The Bachelorette.
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The season 6 Bachelor called off his engagement to Mary Delgado in December 2009. He wed Belinda Velvick in March 2015. The couple are parents of daughter Kamber.
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Buerge ended things with fiancée Helene Eksterowicz shortly after the season 2 Bachelor finale aired. He married Angye McIntosh in August 2009 and welcomed daughter Aven the following October.
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