ABC’s “The Bachelor” is one of the most successful dating reality shows, building upon popular shows like “The Dating Game.” Have you ever wondered where every winner of “The Bachelor” is today? I have and am about to share what happened after the season ended.
The very first season ran from March to April 2002. That means two decades have passed for some of the players. The premise is simple. The Bachelor meets and spends time with several women, providing them with a rose at the end of the episode if he wants to continue to get to know them. By the end of the season, he picks a fiancée by handing out the final rose. Often, twists add drama and conflict, such as in season 6 where there were two Bachelors to start, or a Bachelor refusing to pick anyone.
The success of “The Bachelor” led to several spin-offs.
- “The Bachelorette” (2003-)
- “Bachelor Pad” (2010 – 2012)
- “Bachelor in Paradise” (2014-)
- “Bachelor in Paradise: After Paradise” (2015-2016)
- “Bachelor: Live” (2016)
- “Ben and Lauren: Happily Ever After?” (2016)
- “The Twins: Happily Ever After?” (2017)
- “The Bachelor: The Winter Games” (2018)
- “The Bachelor Presents: Listen to Your Heart” (2020)
- “The Bachelor: The Greatest Seasons – Ever!” (2020)
- “The Golden Bachelor” (2023)
- “The Golden Bachelorette” (2024)
Plus, several countries have established their versions. Australia, Germany, India, Slovakia and Vietnam are among them. While each of those spin-offs and specific country’s versions have led to dozens of winners, I’m focusing on the show that started it all and listing every winner of “The Bachelor” chronologically. (For another long-running reality show, learn more about Every Winner of ‘Survivor’ and What They’re Doing Now.)
Amanda Marsh – Season 1
- Bachelor: Alex Michel
- Season Run: March to April 2002
Whatever happened to “The Bachelor” winner from the very first season? While Alex Michel and his pick didn’t last more than a year, Amanda Marsh married twice. She married her childhood friend, and they had a daughter together before parting ways. She’s since happily remarried. She’s a nurse practitioner specializing in dermatology, a specialty she followed after being diagnosed with skin cancer.
Helene Eksterowicz – Season 2
- Bachelor: Aaron Buerge
- Season Run: September to November 2002
Their engagement barely lasted a month before Helene Eksterowicz and Aaron Buerge broke up. She auctioned off her “The Bachelor” ring on eBay and became engaged to and married a tech consultant. She’s a school psychologist in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.
Jennifer Schefft – Season 3
- Bachelor: Andrew Firestone
- Season Run: March to May 2003
When her engagement to Andrew Firestone didn’t work out, Jennifer Schefft went on to appear as the 2005 “Bachelorette,” where she decided to remain single after two proposals. It inspired her book “Better Single Than Sorry: A No-Regrets Guide to Loving Yourself and Never Settling.” She married in 2009 and has two children.
Estella Gardinier – Season 4
- Bachelor: Bob Guiney
- Season Run: September to November 2003
While Bob Guiney chose Estella Gardinier, “The Bachelor” couple’s future wouldn’t go far. He married a soap actress, whom he later divorced, and Gardinier married in 2022. She owns a fitness studio and is a Lagree Master Trainer.
Jessica Bowlin – Season 5
- Bachelor: Jesse Palmer
- Season Run: April to May 2004
“Bachelor” winner Jessica Bowlin only made it a few months before she and Jesse Palmer broke up. She’s a lawyer and married her current husband, the VP of a real estate company, in 2013 and has two sons with him.
Mary Delgado – Season 6
- Bachelor: Byron Velvick
- Season Run: September to November 2004
Mary Delgado and Byron Velvick didn’t last, but she married James Kordomenos in 2015 in her home country. Delgado-Kordomenos is a Floridian real estate agent and owner of Mary Delgado Realty.
Sarah Brice – Season 7
- Bachelor: Charlie O’Connell
- Season Run: March to May 2005
This “Bachelor” winner lasted longer than many with her bachelor, but after a few years, they broke up for the final time. Later, Sarah Brice married Brandt Carver and had three boys with him but court records show they filed for divorce in 2021.
Sarah Stone – Season 8
- Bachelor: Travis Lane Stork
- Season Run: January to February 2006
What happened to season 8’s “The Bachelor” winner? She married another and became a mom to three girls. She’s the co-owner of Say It Southern, a blog, shop and podcast focused on the best of the South.
Jennifer Wilson – Season 9
- Bachelor: Lorenzo Borghese
- Season Run: October to November 2006
After almost a year of dating, Jennifer Wilson moved on and married an accountant. Since then, she’s been out of the limelight.
Tessa Horst – Season 10
- Bachelor: Andy Baldwin
- Season Run: April to May 2007
After breaking up with Andy Baldwin after he was deployed, Tessa Horst stayed in California. She met and married Tom Pickard and they had a boy together. She’s a child development therapist.
DeAnna Pappas and Jenni Croft – Season 11
- Bachelor: Brad Womack
- Season Run: September to November 2007
Season 11 stands out as there was no winner. Brad Womack narrowed it down to two women and opted not to pick either of them. For that reason, I’m sharing an update on where both of the finalists are today.
DeAnna Pappas returned to the reality series via the spin-off show “The Bachelorette” where she accepted Jesse Csincsak’s proposal, but they broke up a few months later. She married Stephen Stagliano in 2011 and had two children, but she filed for divorce in 2023.
Jenni Croft also married in 2010 and has three children. The former professional cheerleader is a dance fitness instructor.
Shayne Lamas – Season 12
- Bachelor: Matt Grant
- Season Run: March to May 2008
Shayne Lamas already comes from a well-known family of actors, as her dad and grandfather are both in the industry. Because of that, she’s remained in the industry in shows like “General Hospital,” “In the Pines” and “Leave It to Lamas.” She didn’t marry Matt Grant, but she did marry Nik Richie and had two children before divorcing in 2021.
Melissa Rycroft – Season 13
- Bachelor: Jason Mesnick
- Season Run: January to March 2009
Despite proposing to Mellissa Rycroft, Jason Mesnick remained attracted to his runner-up and decided to break up with Rycroft in “After the Final Rose” and propose to Molly Malaney. Malaney and Mesnick celebrated their 10th anniversary in 2020. Rycroft reunited with a former boyfriend and married him in 2009. They have three children together.
Vienna Girardi – Season 14
- Bachelor: Jake Pavelka
- Season Run: January to March 2010
While she and Jake Pavelka seemed to be a good match, it wasn’t to be. Vienna Girardi married a race car driver in 2016. In 2017, Girardi lost her twin girls at 18 weeks of pregnancy due to twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome. She gave birth to an 8-pound, 8-ounce baby boy a few years later.
Emily Maynard – Season 15
- Bachelor: Brad Womack
- Season Run: January to March 2011
Season 15’s “Bachelor” winner won the affection of returning “Bachelor” Brad Womack. She’d already been through a lot in her life as she was engaged to a NASCAR driver who died in a plane crash while she was pregnant. She and Womack didn’t last. She married an entrepreneur and divorced him in 2012, and remarried in 2014. They have six children together.
Courtney Robertson – Season 16
- Bachelor: Ben Flajnik
- Season Run: January to March 2012
“The Bachelor” Season 16 winner Courtney Robertson and Ben Flajnik may not have gone the distance, but she met and married Humberto Preciado, a real estate agent. They have two children and a third is due in May 2024.
Catherine Guidici – Season 17
- Bachelor: Sean Lowe
- Season Run: January to March 2013
So far, none of “The Bachelor” couples have lasted long. Sean Low and Catherine Guidici stand out as they married in 2014 and are still together. It hasn’t been smooth sailing as they opted to participate in “Marriage Boot Camp” in 2015, but they’ve grown closer and have three children.
Nikki Ferrell – Season 18
- Bachelor: Juan Pablo Galavis
- Season Run: January to March 2014
After her experience as a “The Bachelor” winner, Nikki Ferrell didn’t marry Juan Pablo Galavis. Instead, she married a long-time friend in 2016. They separated but didn’t divorce and in 2022 had their first child.
Whitney Bischoff – Season 19
- Bachelor: Chris Soules
- Season Run: January to March 2015
Whitney Bischoff and Chris Soules were very briefly engaged, but they didn’t last. She married Ricky Angel in 2017 and had a son in 2019. After a struggle with infertility, they had a daughter in 2023.
Lauren Bushnell – Season 20
- Bachelor: Ben Higgins
- Season Run: January to March 2016
While Lauren Bushnell didn’t end up marrying Ben Higgins after a year of dating, she married country singer Chris Lane in 2019. The couple have two sons.
Vanessa Grimaldi – Season 21
- Bachelor: Nick Viall
- Season Run: January to March 2017
Five months after their engagement, Nick Viall and Vanessa Grimaldi broke up. She became engaged to businessman Josh Wolfe in 2020 and married him a year later. The newlyweds became parents in September 2022, exactly one day before her 35th birthday.
Becca Kufrin – Season 22
- Bachelor: Arie Luyendyk, Jr.
- Season Run: January to March 2018
While “The Bachelor” couple from season 22 didn’t marry, Becca Kufrin did go on to appear in “The Bachelorette” and chose Garrett Yrigoyen. She didn’t marry him either. She met Thomas Jacobs on “Bachelor in Paradise” in 2021. They broke up in October but gave things a second chance and married in 2023, shortly after the birth of their son.
Cassie Randolph – Season 23
- Bachelor: Colton Underwood
- Season Run: January to March 2019
She’s a speech-language pathologist who is known for quitting the show after realizing she wasn’t ready to become engaged. However, Cassie Randolph returned an episode later after Colton Underwood said he wouldn’t propose. The two dated instead. She filed a restraining order against him three months later. Underwood eventually came out and married Jordan Brown in 2023. Randolph and her boyfriend have been together since 2021.
Hanna Ann Sluss – Season 24
- Bachelor: Peter Weber
- Season Run: January to March 2020
Since becoming a “Bachelor” winner, Hannah Ann Sluss has been busy on her lifestyle website. She may not have married Peter Weber, but she has found her Prince Charming. She’s set to marry NFL player Jake Funk in 2024.
Rachael Kirkconnell – Season 25
- Bachelor: Matt James
- Season Run: January to March 2021
While Matt James, the show’s first Black Bachelor, and Rachael Kirkconnell ended the season as a couple, they soon broke up when high school and Antebellum party photos, social media posts and allegations of bullying came out. She apologized for her past actions, and James opted to give their relationship another chance. They’re still together.
Susie Evans – Season 26
- Bachelor: Clayton Echard
- Season Run: January to March 2022
Before appearing on “The Bachelor,” Susie Evans was a second runner-up in Miss Georgia Teen and Miss Virginia USA 2020 winner. She rejected Clayton Echard’s proposal, but they opted to try dating. It didn’t last, but she did start dating Justin Glaze (“Bachelor in Paradise”) when he needed a videographer. The two have been together since 2023.
Kaity Biggar – Season 27
- Bachelor: Zach Shallcross
- Season Run: January to March 2023
Here’s another successful “The Bachelor” couple. They may not be married yet, but Kaity Biggar and Zach Shallcross haven’t broken up. She applied for a new work visa after moving in with Shallcross in Texas. They’re also talking about adopting a dog together in 2024.
Kelsey Anderson – Season 28
- Bachelor: Joey Graziadei
- Season Run: January to March 2024
The latest “Bachelor” winner was chosen recently, so it’s hard to tell if the relationship will last or not. They plan to live in New York together.
Most “The Bachelor” couples never found their happily ever after, but the show’s success continues, so the list of every winner of “The Bachelor” and the spin-offs continues to grow. Reality TV fans should read Winners of ‘The X Factor’ to find out if any of those reality show winners have launched successful careers.