32 Bachelor Contestants Whose Fame Continued After The Reality Show

Are they there for love, or are they there to get famous? That’s been a common question of contestants that go on The Bachelor and The Bachelorette since its premiere in 2002, and there’s been at least some success with both outcomes. Of all the men and women who have crossed the threshold of Bachelor Mansion, quite a few of them have managed to remain in the public eye after all the roses were gone. Below you’ll find 32 of those Bachelor Nation alumni.

Kaitlyn Bristowe

Kaitlyn Bristowe appeared on Nick Viall’s season of The Bachelor before starring in her own season of The Bachelorette. After the dating show, Bristowe went on to appear in and win Dancing with the Stars Season 29. She has a popular podcast Off the Vine, started her own wine label called Spade and Sparrows, and even released a single, “If I’m Being Honest,” in 2020. Bristowe remained so beloved by Bachelor Nation that she was chosen to return to the mansion as co-host of Katie Thurston’s season following Chris Harrison’s exit.

Jillian Harris

After appearing on The Bachelor and leading her own season, Jillian Harris made a name for herself in the interior design world. She starred on HGTV’s Love It or List It, Too and was a designer on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition in 2010. She maintains a strong social media presence with her brands Jillian Harris Design and The Jilly Box, and also provides small business coaching through The Jilly Academy. She is the co-author of the plant-based cookbook Fraiche Food Full Hearts.

Bob Guiney

Bob Guiney was a contestant on the first season of The Bachelorette before becoming the fourth Bachelor. He rode his television fame to a gig with Game Show Network, hosting GSN Live for three years, in addition to some other TV appearances. In 2003 he published the book What a Difference a Year Makes: How Life's Unexpected Setbacks Can Lead to Unexpected Joy about his reality TV experience, and nearly 20 years later he became the co-host of the Almost Famous OGs podcast.

Nick Viall

Since his time on The Bachelor, two seasons of The Bachelorette, and Bachelor in Paradise, Nick Viall has continued to make a name for himself outside of the reality dating realm. His podcast The Viall Files hosts some of the biggest names in reality TV and pop culture, and in addition to doling out advice to his listeners, he published a book in 2022, Don’t Text Your Ex Happy Birthday. Viall has continued in the reality TV realm, appearing on Dancing with the Stars Season 24 and Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test Season 2, which he won. He’s also dabbled in acting, with appearances in series including Teachers and Speechless.

Peter Weber

Peter Weber was a contestant on Hannah Brown’s season of The Bachelorette and then led a season of his own. While maintaining a job as a pilot following his dating show career, Weber obtained a strong social media following and ended up starring in Season 2 of The Traitors, which can be streamed with a Peacock subscription.

Arie Luyendyk Jr.

After making his Bachelor Nation debut on Emily Maynard’s season of The Bachelorette, Arie Luyendyk Jr. became infamous for the controversial finale of his season of The Bachelor, in which he broke up with Becca Kufrin to reunite with his runner-up Lauren Burnham. He and Lauren maintain a popular YouTube channel, and Luyendyk returned to TV in Season 1 of The Traitors.

Rachel Lindsay

After her time on The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, Rachel Lindsay has continued to make a name for herself. She worked as a correspondent for Extra until 2023, hosted the MTV series Love Gone Missing, and has hosted multiple shows on ESPN, including First Take and Football Frenzy. Lindsay hosts a podcast with Van Lathan called Higher Learning, and she’s published two books, Real Love: A Novel and Miss Me With That: Hot Takes, Helpful Tidbits, and a Few Hard Truths.

Tyler Cameron

Tyler Cameron may not have won Hannah Brown’s heart on The Bachelorette, but he proved to have lasting star power. Since the dating show, he has been linked to women including fashion model Gigi Hadid, Kylie Jenner’s BFF Stassie Karanikolaou, and Laguna Beach star Kristin Cavallari. He appeared in the Netflix film Good on Paper and made a guest appearance on Saturday Night Live in a sketch with Kim Kardashian. He’s also appeared on other reality shows The Real Dirty Dancing, Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test Season 2 (which he won), and Going Home with Tyler Cameron, a home renovation show available to stream with an Amazon Prime Video subscription.

Jesse Palmer

Since starring on The Bachelor in Season 5, former NFL quarterback Jesse Palmer has been honing his skills in both the sports and hosting worlds. He’s served as a college football and NFL analyst for major networks including ESPN/ABC, Fox Sports, and the NFL Network. He was a contributor for Good Morning America and has hosted series including The Ultimate Surfer, The Proposal, Spring Baking Championship, Food Truck Face Off, Bakeaway Camp, and Holiday Baking: Gingerbread Showdown. Oh yeah, and he replaced Chris Harrison as The Bachelor franchise host.

Jordan Rodgers

After winning JoJo Fletcher’s season of The Bachelorette, Jordan Rodgers — a former quarterback and brother of Aaron Rodgers — has become a football analyst for networks including ESPN and the SEC Network. He and Fletcher hosted the reality show Cash Pad, the Paramount+ series Battle of the Fittest Couples, and their own reality dating show, The Big D.

Jake Pavelka

Jake Pavelka is another reality star who appeared on both The Bachelorette and The Bachelor, as well as the spinoff Bachelor Pad. He kept the reality TV train on the tracks with appearances on Dancing with the Stars Season 10, Famous Food on VH1, H8R on The CW, and the Food Network’s Rachael vs. Guy: Celebrity Cook-Off. He’s also done a bit of acting, appearing on Drop Dead Diva and The Bold and the Beautiful.

Courtney Robertson

After Courtney Robertson won Ben Flajnik’s season of The Bachelor, she released a memoir about the experience, I Didn't Come Here to Make Friends: Confessions of a Reality Show Villain. The model has since competed on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and made an appearance on Mad TV. She is the host of After Reality, a podcast where she interviews fellow former reality stars.

Colton Underwood

Following Colton Underwood’s shocking fence-jump moment on The Bachelor Season 23, the football player ultimately came out as gay, telling his story on the docuseries Coming Out Colton (available to stream with a Netflix subscription). He has since gotten married to political strategist Jordan C. Brown and published the book The First Time: Finding Myself and Looking for Love on Reality TV.

Tayshia Adams

One of the Season 16 Bachelorettes, Tayshia Adams, is one of the many Bachelor Nation members who has parlayed her experience into a career as an influencer. In addition to several brand deals, she partnered with Amaryllis Apparel to launch a clothing line and Conair for hair accessories. She’s also continued to make TV appearances, guest-hosting Entertainment Tonight and E! Daily Pop, co-hosting a season of The Bachelorette with Kaitlyn Bristowe, and competing on The $100,000 Pyramid.

Hannah Brown

After making it to Hometowns on Colton Underwood’s season and then leading a season of The Bachelorette, Hannah Brown went on to win Dancing with the Stars Season 28 and later Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test Season 1. She released a memoir God Bless This Mess: Learning to Live and Love Through Life's Best (and Worst) Moment and has begun penning romance novels.

JoJo Fletcher

JoJo Fletcher has continued to make a name for herself outside of Bachelor Nation, launching the clothing line Fletch in 2018 and teaming up with Cupshe in 2022 for a swimwear line. She and her husband Jordan Rodgers have gone on to host the reality series Cash Pad, Battle of the Fittest Couples, and The Big D.

Madison Prewett

Madison Prewett has maintained a strong social media presence since appearing on The Bachelor as Peter Weber’s runner-up. She married Grant Troutt, son of billionaire businessman Kenny Troutt, and has published two books — Made for This Moment and The Love Everybody Wants with an accompanying Bible study course.

Wells Adams

After appearances on The Bachelorette and Bachelor in Paradise, Wells Adams found love with Modern Family star Sarah Hyland but stuck around the dating show anyway, serving as the BiP bartender. He has competed on Celebrity Game Face, Worst Cooks in America, and Celebrity Family Feud and co-hosts two podcasts — Your Favorite Thing with Brandi Cyrus and Two Dudes in a Kitchen with Tyler Florence.

Trista Sutter

Not only was Trista Sutter on the very first season of The Bachelor, but she went on to star in the inaugural season of The Bachelorette and Dancing with the Stars Season 1 after that. She has continued to make guest appearances on the Bachelor Nation series, including The Golden Bachelor, and has also appeared on Fear Factor, Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars, and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. She released the memoir Happily Ever After: The Life-Changing Power of a Grateful Heart in 2013 and later became the co-host of the Almost Famous OGs podcast alongside Bob Guiney.

Jamie Otis

Jamie Otis started her reality TV career on The Bachelor and Bachelor Pad but is better known for marrying Doug Hehner on Married at First Sight. The couple later starred in their own spinoff Married at First Sight: The First Year. She has also launched her own jewelry line and wrote the book Wifey 101: Everything I Got Wrong About Finding Mr. Right.

Melissa Rycroft

After her time on The Bachelor, Melissa Rycroft competed in Seasons 8 and 15 of Dancing with the Stars. Along with the podcast Logically Irrational, Rycroft’s other ventures include a CMT reality show Melissa & Tye with her husband Tye Strickland, multiple appearances on Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team, and hosting Redneck Island.

Ali Fedotowsky

Ali Fedotowsky appeared on The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, accumulating a strong social media following afterward. She has since served as a judge at the 2012 Miss USA Pageant, hosted NBC’s 1st Look, been an E! News correspondent and co-hosted the Home & Family talk show. She also competed on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.

Keltie Knight

After a short stint on Brad Womack’s season of The Bachelor, Keltie Knight (née Busch) continued her climb to fame as a correspondent for CBS’ The Insider, before moving to Entertainment Tonight. She then went to E! News as the chief correspondent and later co-host of the entertainment news program. She co-created the LadyGang podcast, which was eventually turned into a TV series on E!, and she’s also one of the minds behind the game show Superfan.

Ben Flajnik

For the most part, Ben Flajnik went back to his winery following his time on The Bachelorette and leading The Bachelor, but he stayed in the headlines due to an appearance on Keeping Up with the Kardashians and rumors that he was having an affair with Kris Jenner.

Lauren Bushnell Lane

After accepting a proposal from Ben Higgins on The Bachelor, Lauren Bushnell starred with her fiancé in their own reality show on Freeform, Ben and Lauren, Happily Ever After? It, in fact, wasn’t happily ever after, and Bushnell went on to marry country music star Chris Lane. She has since maintained a successful career as an influencer.

Mike Johnson

America fell in love with Mike Johnson on Hannah Brown’s season of The Bachelorette, to the point that he almost became the next Bachelor. Instead, however, he appeared on Bachelor in Paradise before going on to compete on Celebrity Family Feud. He also co-hosted Bachelor Nation’s Talking It Out podcast alongside Bryan Abasolo.

Catherine Giudici Lowe

After getting engaged to Sean Lowe on The Bachelor, Catherine Giudici said “I do” on live TV, in a wedding special that aired on ABC a year later. The couple has since appeared on Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars and CNBC’s Billion Dollar Buyer. Catherine has a strong social media presence, and found success with brands like LoweCo stationary and the furniture line Home by Sean and Catherine Lowe.

Andi Dorfman

Andi Dorfman has built an impressive following since appearing on The Bachelor and starring on The Bachelorette. In addition to her two books — It’s Not Okay and Single State of Mind — she started a clothing line for runners called Andorfins. She has competed on both Celebrity Family Feud and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.

Hannah Godwin

Hannah Godwin increased her social media following after appearing on The Bachelor and Bachelor in Paradise through her work as a model, YouTuber and TikTok celebrity. In addition to several endeavors as an influencer, Godwin created the Setty photo filter app.

Becca Kufrin

Many people came to know Becca Kufrin for the brutal breakup she endured at the hands of Arie Luyendyk Jr. on The Bachelor, especially after it was parodied on Saturday Night Live (with Cecily Strong portraying Kufrin). She not only went on to star on The Bachelorette and Bachelor in Paradise, but she hosted the official Bachelor Nation podcast Bachelor Happy Hour for three years and served as the emcee of the “Bachelor Live on Stage” tour. Kufrin is the creator of Bourdon wines and Improv booze-free cocktails.

Sean Lowe

Sean Lowe came to fame on The Bachelorette before starring on The Bachelor, and he followed his reality dating experiences with a live wedding special and appearances on Dancing with the Stars, Celebrity Family Feud, Celebrity Wife Swap, Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and Worst Cooks in America: Celebrity Edition. He published his memoir For the Right Reasons: America's Favorite Bachelor on Faith, Love, Marriage, and Why Nice Guys Finish First in 2015.

Ashley Iaconetti

In addition to appearing on The Bachelor, two seasons of Bachelor in Paradise and The Bachelor Winter Games, Ashley Iaconetti has been seen on Celebrity Family Feud and Million Dollar Matchmaker. She’s made numerous TV appearances and worked as a correspondent for Access Hollywood, as well as hosted the Almost Famous podcast with Ben Higgins and the I Don’t Get It podcast with her sister Lauren. Iaconetti and her husband Jared Haibon co-authored the children’s book Lucy & Clark: A Story of Puppy Love.

Not all of The Bachelor contestants were successful in finding love, but it’s nice to see that many of them were able to use the experience to find fame and develop their careers.