A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
| The Bachelor | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | |
| Created by | Mike Fleiss |
| Presented by | |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 28 |
| No. of episodes | 297 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Mike Fleiss |
| Production companies |
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| Original release | |
| Network | ABC |
| Release | March 25, 2002 – present |
| Related | |
| |
The Bachelor is an American dating and relationship reality television series that debuted on March 25, 2002, on ABC. For its first 25 seasons, the show was hosted by Chris Harrison. As the essence of the original The Bachelor franchise, its success resulted in several spin-offs including The Bachelorette, Bachelor Pad, Bachelor in Paradise, Bachelor in Paradise: After Paradise, The Bachelor Winter Games, The Bachelor Presents: Listen to Your Heart, The Bachelor: The Greatest Seasons – Ever!, The Golden Bachelor, and The Golden Bachelorette, as well as spawning many international editions of the shows.
On May 10, 2024, ABC renewed the series for a twenty-ninth season.[1]
Production
The series was created by Mike Fleiss. The After the Final Rose and other reunion specials were originally produced at Victory Studios in Los Angeles, California, and CBS Studio Center in Studio City, but are now taped at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank.[2] In the most recent run of The Bachelor, it brought in almost $86 million in advertising revenue.[3]
Plot
The series follows a single bachelor who is given a list of romantic interests from which he must choose a fiancée. During the season, the bachelor eliminates candidates (see The elimination process) each week which finally results in his last choice receiving a marriage proposal. The participants travel to romantic and exotic locations for their dates, and the conflicts in the series, both internal and external, stem from the elimination-style format of the show.
The description above is simply a general guideline. In truth, the series occasionally deviates from its intended format, which can lead to drama and conflict among people involved in the show. They may include, among other events:
- An eliminated candidate returning to the show to plead her case to the bachelor.
- A non-contestant, usually with a history in the franchise, pleads to be considered as a candidate for the bachelor.
- A bachelor distributing more or fewer roses than planned.
- A bachelor eliminating a woman outside of the normal elimination process. For example, the bachelor may eliminate both women on a two-on-one date.
- The bachelor chooses to pursue a relationship with his final selection rather than propose marriage.
The sixth season was the only season to feature a twist in casting. Since producers could not unanimously decide between Byron Velvick and Jay Overbye for the next Bachelor, the 25 women at the time participating had to decide which bachelor would make the best husband. At the end of the first episode, Velvick was chosen.
Notable cases where the bachelor violated the premise of the show are Brad Womack, who selected neither of his final two women on his first season,[4] and Jason Mesnick, who broke off his engagement in the After the Final Rose episode and several months later proposed (offscreen) to the first runner-up (Molly Malaney)—who he later married. Like Mesnick, Arie Luyendyk Jr. also broke off his engagement and during the After the Final Rose episode, he proposed to the first runner-up (Lauren Burnham)[5]—to whom he is now married.
The elimination process
- In a "The Women Tell All" episode, the women who had been eliminated from the show participate in a talk show where they discuss their thoughts and experiences, and even juicy secrets not previously mentioned before now.
- The two remaining women separately meet with the bachelor's family. At the end of the episode, one woman eventually exits the limo and is sent home, followed by the second woman who the bachelor proposes to by presenting the "final rose".
- In an After the Final Rose episode that immediately follows, the bachelor, the finalist, and the runner-up participate in a talk show. The identity of the next season's bachelor or bachelorette is often announced at the end of the episode.
If a woman decides she no longer wants to compete in the Bachelor, she can leave the competition at any moment. Occasionally, a woman gets taken off the show for violating a rule.
The bachelor has wide discretion in choosing how many and when to present the roses. For example, Sean Lowe presented several roses at his initial cocktail party.
It is common for contestants to be accused of not being on the show for the "right reasons," with their aim not to establish a genuine relationship with the Bachelor but rather to garner fame or attention of some kind. These include: become an influencer, become a cast member on Bachelor in Paradise or the new Bachelorette, induce jealousy from an ex-boyfriend or other people in their personal life, or just to simply get free trips to exotic locations.
Seasons
| Season | Original run | Bachelor | Winner | Runner(s)-up | Proposal | Still together? | Relationship status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | March 25 – April 25, 2002 | Alex Michel | Amanda Marsh | Trista Rehn | No | No | Michel did not propose to Marsh, but instead, they entered into a relationship. They broke up several months later.[6] |
| 2 | September 25 – November 20, 2002 | Aaron Buerge | Helene Eksterowicz | Brooke Smith | Yes | No | Buerge and Eksterowicz broke up in January 2003.[7] |
| 3 | March 24 – May 21, 2003 | Andrew Firestone | Jennifer Schefft | Kirsten Buschbacher | Yes | No | Firestone and Schefft broke up in December 2003.[8] |
| 4 | September 24 – November 20, 2003 | Bob Guiney | Estella Gardinier | Kelly Jo Kuharski | No | No | Guiney did not propose to Gardinier, but she accepted a promise ring indicating that they would still date. They broke up in December 2003.[9] |
| 5 | April 7 – May 26, 2004 | Jesse Palmer | Jessica Bowlin | Tara Huckeby | No | No | Palmer did not propose to Bowlin. They continued to date, but broke up in June 2004.[10] |
| 6[b] | September 22 – November 24, 2004 | Byron Velvick | Mary Delgado | Tanya Michel | Yes | No | Velvick and Delgado split in December 2009, after five years together.[11] |
| 7 | March 28 – May 16, 2005 | Charlie O'Connell | Sarah Brice | Krisily Kennedy | No | No | O'Connell did not propose to Brice, but instead they entered into a relationship. They broke up in September 2007, but got back together in November 2008.[12][13] However, they broke up for good in April 2010.[14] |
| 8 | January 9 – February 27, 2006 | Travis Lane Stork | Sarah Stone | Moana Dixon | No | No | Stork did not propose to Stone, but instead they entered into a relationship. They broke up in March 2006.[15] |
| 9 | October 2 – November 27, 2006 | Lorenzo Borghese | Jennifer Wilson | Sadie Murray | No | No | Borghese did not propose to Wilson, but instead they entered into a relationship. They broke up in January 2007. He briefly dated runner-up Murray, but they broke up in March 2007.[16][17] |
| 10 | April 2 – May 22, 2007 | Andy Baldwin | Tessa Horst | Bevin Powers | Yes | No | Baldwin and Horst called off their engagement in June 2007, but continued to date.[18] They ended their relationship in September 2007.[19] |
| 11 | September 24 – November 20, 2007 | Brad Womack | — | DeAnna Pappas | No | No | Womack chose Pappas and Croft as the two finalists, but they were both rejected in the season's finale.[20] |
| Jenni Croft | |||||||
| 12 | March 17 – May 12, 2008 | Matt Grant | Shayne Lamas | Chelsea Wanstrath | Yes | No | Grant and Lamas broke up in July 2008.[21] |
| 13 | January 5 – March 3, 2009 | Jason Mesnick | Melissa Rycroft | Molly Malaney | Yes | No[c] | In the season finale, it was revealed that Mesnick had called off the engagement with Rycroft and resumed a relationship with runner-up Malaney. Mesnick later proposed to Malaney in New Zealand, and they were married on February 27, 2010, in California.[22] Jason and Molly's wedding aired on ABC on March 8, 2010.[23] The couple have a daughter, Riley Anne (born March 14, 2013).[24] The couple also shares custody of Jason's son, Tyler, from his previous marriage (born January 25, 2005).[25] |
| 14 | January 4 – March 1, 2010 | Jake Pavelka | Vienna Girardi | Tenley Molzahn | Yes | No | Pavelka and Girardi ended their engagement in June 2010.[26] |
| 15 | January 3 – March 14, 2011 | Brad Womack | Emily Maynard | Chantal O'Brien | Yes | No | Womack and Maynard broke up while their season was airing, but reconciled in time for the finale. However, they broke up for good in June 2011.[27] |
| 16 | January 2 – March 12, 2012 | Ben Flajnik | Courtney Robertson | Lindzi Cox | Yes | No | Flajnik and Robertson broke up while their season was airing, but reconciled in time for the finale. However, they broke up for good in October 2012.[28] |
| 17 | January 7 – March 11, 2013 | Sean Lowe | Catherine Giudici | Lindsay Yenter | Yes | Yes | Lowe and Giudici married on January 26, 2014.[29] They have three children together; two sons, Samuel Thomas (born July 2, 2016) and Isaiah Hendrix (born May 18, 2018),[30][31] and a daughter, Mia Mejia (born December 23, 2019).[32] |
| 18 | January 6 – March 10, 2014 | Juan Pablo Galavis | Nikki Ferrell | Clare Crawley | No | No | Galavis did not propose to Ferrell but instead they decided to continue their relationship. They later appeared on Couples Therapy. They broke up in October 2014.[33] |
| 19 | January 5 – March 9, 2015 | Chris Soules | Whitney Bischoff | Becca Tilley | Yes | No | Soules and Bischoff announced their break-up on May 28, 2015.[34] |
| 20 | January 4 – March 14, 2016 | Ben Higgins | Lauren Bushnell | Joelle "JoJo" Fletcher | Yes | No | Higgins and Bushnell had their own reality show Ben and Lauren: Happily Ever After?. They announced their breakup on May 15, 2017.[35] |
| 21 | January 2 – March 13, 2017 | Nick Viall | Vanessa Grimaldi | Raven Gates | Yes | No | Viall and Grimaldi announced their breakup on August 25, 2017.[36] |
| 22 | January 1 – March 6, 2018 | Arie Luyendyk Jr. | Becca Kufrin | Lauren Burnham | Yes | No[d] | During the live season finale, it was revealed that a few weeks after filming wrapped, Luyendyk had quickly called off his engagement to Kufrin and started dating runner-up Burnham.[37] Luyendyk and Burnham got engaged during the After the Final Rose special and were married on January 12, 2019.[38][39] They have three children together - daughter, Alessi Ren (born May 29, 2019), and twins Lux Jacob and Senna James (born June 11, 2021).[40][41] |
| 23 | January 7 – March 12, 2019 | Colton Underwood | Cassie Randolph | Hannah Godwin | No | No | Randolph initially broke up with Underwood at the final three. Underwood then broke up with the remaining two women and asked Randolph to give him a second chance, and she agreed.[42] They announced their breakup on May 29, 2020.[43] In September 2020, Randolph filed a restraining order against Underwood, alleging that he stalked her and put a tracking device on her car.[44] The restraining order was later dropped after the two reached a private agreement.[45] Underwood came out as gay on April 14, 2021.[46] |
| Tayshia Adams | |||||||
| 24 | January 6 – March 10, 2020 | Peter Weber | Hannah Ann Sluss | Madison Prewett | Yes | No | During the live After the Final Rose special, it was revealed that Weber and Sluss had ended their engagement in January 2020.[47] Although Weber and runner-up Prewett admitted to still having feelings for each other, they ultimately decided not to pursue a relationship.[48] On May 2, 2020, Weber revealed that he was dating Kelley Flanagan, who finished in fifth place on his season.[49] Weber and Flanagan announced their breakup on December 31, 2020.[50] They got back together in August 2022, but broke up again in April 2023.[51] |
| 25 | January 4 – March 15, 2021 | Matt James | Rachael Kirkconnell | Michelle Young | No | Yes | James did not propose to Kirkconnell. Instead they began a relationship, but on the After the Final Rose special, it was confirmed that James had ended the relationship after Kirkconnell's racially insensitive past came to light.[52] On April 28, 2021, James confirmed that he and Kirkconnell were back together.[53] They are still together as of June 2024.[54] |
| 26 | January 3 – March 15, 2022 | Clayton Echard | Susie Evans | Gabby Windey | No | No | Although the season ended with Evans rejecting Echard, it was revealed on the live After the Final Rose special that they had since gotten back together. They announced their breakup on September 23, 2022.[55] |
| Rachel Recchia | |||||||
| 27 | January 23 – March 27, 2023 | Zach Shallcross | Kaity Biggar | Gabi Elnicki | Yes | Yes | Shallcross and Biggar moved in together in Austin, Texas in July 2023.[56] Their wedding is set for October 2025.[57] |
| 28 | January 22 – March 25, 2024 | Joey Graziadei | Kelsey Anderson | Daisy Kent | Yes | Yes | Graziadei and Anderson are still engaged as of June 2024.[54] |
Ratings
| Season | Timeslot (ET) | Premiered | Ended | TV season | Avg. Viewers (in millions) |
Season ranking | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Premiere viewers (in millions) |
Date | Finale viewers (in millions) |
After the Final Rose viewers (in millions) | |||||
| 1 | Monday 9:00 pm | March 25, 2002 | 9.90[58] | April 25, 2002 | 18.20[58] | — | 2001–02 | 10.7[59] | 44[59] |
| 2 | Wednesday 9:00 pm | September 25, 2002 | 11.00[58] | November 20, 2002 | 25.90[58] | — | 2002–03 | 13.93[i][60] | 20[60] |
| 3 | March 24, 2003 | 10.20[58] | May 21, 2003 | 15.10[58][ii] | 9.30[58][ii] | ||||
| 4 | September 24, 2003 | 12.55[61] | November 20, 2003 | 18.62[61] | 9.30[58][iii] | 2003–04 | 12.53[i][62] | 23[62] | |
| 5 | April 7, 2004 | 11.08[63] | May 26, 2004 | 13.07[63] | 7.50[58] | ||||
| 6 | September 22, 2004 | Zdroj:https://en.wikipedia.org?pojem=The_Bachelor_(US_TV_series)||||||||