Dramatic 'Bachelor,' 'Bachelorette,' 'Bachelor in Paradise,' Splits
If you’ve seen the last season of The Bachelorette with Jenn Tran, then you know that host Jesse Palmer wasn’t joking when he said it’s one of the “most dramatic finales of all time.”
After all, the show promises every year that the new season will be the most dramatic season ever — but up until the last few episodes of The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, or Bachelor in Paradise, we can never quite tell if there’s truth there. See, all the real drama comes at the end of the Bachelor franchise shows: when real emotions are involved, a proposal’s on the line, and our leads are facing some life-changing decisions. With millions watching, many have stumbled at the finish line, second-guessing their first choices or choking on delivery. The result? The most dramatic splits in Bachelor Nation history.
Now, there’s no one way to do a perfect dramatic reality TV breakup, and Bachelor and Bachelorette contestants have been careful to give us a variety of high-stakes splits to choose from. There’s Clare Crawley’s famous speech breaking things off with Juan Pablo Galavis, where she lists everything wrong with him and storms off in a fury. There’s Arie Luyendyk Jr.’s baffling choice to air his post-engagement breakup with an unsuspecting Becca Kufrin, who then sobbed through the house begging the cameras to leave her alone.
For reality shows that are often accused of being overly scripted or fake, these dramatic breakups offer a moment when it seems clear that at least one party had no idea what was coming next — and their unfiltered reaction leads to some serious grab-your-popcorn drama.
From last-minute indecision to past secrets being revealed, here are all the most dramatic Bachelor, Bachelorette, and Bachelor in Paradise breakups of all time.
A version of this article was previously published in May 2020.
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Jenn Tran & Devin Strader
In the season finale of Jenn Tran’s season of The Bachelorette, viewers were in for a whirlwind. After seeing Devin Strader propose to her in Hawai’i, Tran revealed that they were no longer together.
“As soon as we had left Hawai’i, things were just different,” Tran told host Jesse Palmer, per People. “It kind of just felt like he was pulling away all the promises that he had made to me — wanting to move somewhere together, and wanting to have this future planned out, and wanting to see each other all the time.”
“He called me, and he basically broke off the engagement,” she said. “[He said] he didn’t love me anymore, feel the same way and felt like something had been off since the second thing he proposed. He regretted getting engaged.” Wow.
Theresa Nist & Gerry Turner
While viewers were promised a more mature and promising season when they announced The Golden Bachelor, Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist’s breakup was as messy as all the others. The pair, who got engaged during Turner’s season finale, went on to tie the knot in a live televised ceremony on Jan. 4, 2024. Three months later, they announced their split.
“Theresa and I have had a number of heart-to-heart conversations and we’ve looked closely at our situation — our living situation — and we’ve kind of come to the conclusion mutually that it’s time for us to dissolve our marriage,” Turner told Good Morning America, per Us Weekly.
Andrew Spencer & Ency Abedin
Bachelor in Paradise gets really messy and Andrew Spencer and Ency Abedin’s breakup is a prime example of that. In the 2022 season, Spencer broke things off with Abedin after a short-lived romance together. Though their connection wasn’t going for that long, the moment itself was as dramatic as can be. The colorful lights, the dramatic music, and Abedin begging him to stay all made for one intense breakup.
Check out the moment here.
Rodney Mathews & Eliza Isichei
During 2022’s Bachelor in Paradise, fans went crazy rooting for the sweet and handsome Rodney Mathews from Michelle Young’s season. At one point, things seemed to be looking up for him as Eliza Isichei from Clayton Echard’s season seemed to be as invested in him and their spark. In a sudden change of heart, however, Isichei opened up about regretting sending Justin Glaze home and broke up with Mathews.
Click here to watch the heartbreaking moment.
Rachel Recchia & Tino Franco
After getting engaged in the season finale, Rachel Recchia and fiancé Tino Franco broke things off before the season even aired. During After the Final Rose, the two talked about what went wrong, including Franco admitting to cheating on Recchia after a fight. “It was a one-time mistake and I realized immediately that I needed to be with you.” he said, asking, “Is there a way this works out, Rachel?” Recchia stood firm in her decision to end things but the moment was dramatic, to say the least.
Click here to watch it all unfold.
Greg Grippo & Katie Thurston
It was the breakup heard around the world (or at least heard around many living rooms filled with panicked, uncomfortable fans and many glasses of wine). Greg Grippo, a contestant on Katie Thurston’s season and an early frontrunner, decided to leave the show, making for a seemingly abrupt departure that shocked Thurston and the show’s viewers. What followed was an emotional breakup that threw people for a loop — causing intense Twitter discourse over who was right, who was wrong and what in the world just happened.
Watch the breakup conversation unfold here.
Clare Crawley & Dale Moss
Clare Crawley’s season of The Bachelorette was a total whirlwind. She fell in love with Dale Moss, who seemed just as smitten, too, right from the start. The pair got engaged mid-season and left together — effectively “breaking” The Bachelorette, in the words of former host Chris Harrison.
While the two seemed to make their engagement work at first, they eventually split in January 2021, which actually took Crawley off-guard. After some time reconciling, the two got back together weeks later. Their second take on their engagement didn’t last long either. The two officially called it quits at the end of September 2021, per People.
Desiree Hartsock & Brooks Forester
During Desiree’s season of The Bachelorette, she made it clear early on that she thought Brooks was the one. It seemed like a fairytale until Brooks broke up with her Fantasy Suite dates in Antigua, telling her he wanted to leave.
Desiree ended up marrying fellow contestant Chris Siegfried and they’ve been happy to this day.
Kasey Kahl & Ali Fedotowsky
Jeez, this one was a doozy. In season six of The Bachelorette, Kasey had Ali’s name tattooed on his body, and understandably, it freaked out Ali, and he went home very quickly after.
Kirk DeWindt & Carly Waddell
When Carly Waddell was expecting a proposal at the end of the second season of Bachelor in Paradise, Kirk DeWindt dumped her on national TV instead. Ouch.
Kalon McMahon & Emily Maynard
During Emily Maynard’s season of The Bachelorette, she told Kalon McMahon off when she realized he was calling her daughter “baggage.” Not only did she eliminate him, but she said, “If you had asked me about Ricki, you would see she is the furthest thing from baggage, and anyone with the tiniest heart could see that. It makes me sad for you, not for me.” Good for her!
Kamil Nicalek & Annaliese Puccini
During the Bachelor in Paradise reunion, Kamil Nicalek dumped Annaliese Puccini in front of all of her friends in such a harsh way that still hasn’t left our minds. “I might not be the guy for you, I kinda lost the spark we had in Paradise after leaving,” Nicalek said, per Entertainment Tonight.
Ashley Hebert & J.P. Rosenbaum
After roughly eight years of marriage, former Bachelorette star Ashley Hebert and her husband J.P. Rosenbaum decided to split. The couple released a joint statement on Instagram, sharing with their fans that, after all of those years and two kids together, they decided to go their separate ways.
“It is with a heavy heart that I share with you that, after months of separation, Jp and I have amicably decided to go our separate ways,” an excerpt from the couple’s October 2020 statement read.
Hebert accepted Rosenbaum’s proposal on the season finale of The Bachelorette in 2011.
Joe Amabile & Kendall Long
Joe Amabile and Kendall Long were a Bachelor Nation golden couple after they left Paradise and gave their relationship a shot. Long appeared on Arie Luyendyk Jr.’s season of The Bachelor, while Amabile didn’t make it past night one of Becca Kufrin’s season of The Bachelorette.
The two met on the beaches of Bachelor in Paradise and, after a rocky start, dated for nearly two years after the series wrapped. The two sadly split in January 2020. And fans learned on a later season of Bachelor in Paradise that the distance between the couple — Amabile wanting to stay in Chicago close to his family, and Long wishing to remain in Los Angeles where her family is — contributed to their breakup.
The two still have a lot of love for one another, and Long even supported Amabile’s proposal to Serena Pitt at the end of BiP 2021.
Krystal Nielson & Chris Randone
Krystal Nielson and Chris Randone got the unfortunate reputations of being the villains of their respective Bachelor and Bachelorette seasons. Nielson appeared on Arie Luyendyk Jr.’s season of The Bachelor, while Randone was on Becca Kufrin’s season of The Bachelorette.
The two met on season 5 of Bachelor in Paradise and walked away engaged. They even got married during another season of the reality TV series, but they split after roughly 8 months of marriage, per People.
“It hurts to announce that at this moment, we have mutually decided to separate. Never did we imagine this scenario, but we’ve come to a point where we both need to work on ourselves,” a statement from the couple read.
“We are best friends that love and care for each other so deeply. We’ve appreciated everyone’s love and support so far throughout our journey and we just ask that you please respect our privacy as we navigate through this.”
Carly Waddell & Evan Bass
In December 2020, Bachelor in Paradise alums Carly Waddell (who appeared on Chris Soules’ season of The Bachelor) and Evan Bass (who appeared on JoJo Fletcher’s season of The Bachelorette) announced their separation after three years of marriage.
“We have made the difficult decision to separate,” the couple shared in a joint statement to People. “We will always cherish our time together and continue to have the utmost respect for one another as we focus on what’s best for the future of our family. We greatly appreciate everyone’s love and support and kindly ask that you please respect our family’s privacy as we navigate through this.”
After stints on their respective seasons of The Bachelor & Bachelorette, the former couple met on Bachelor in Paradise in 2016. They married in 2017 and share two children together — son Charles “Charlie” Wolf and daughter Isabella “Bella” Evelyn.
Colton Underwood & Cassie Randolph
Colton and Cassie’s relationship took a different turn than expected. These two were supposed to head down the aisle but instead, found themselves going through a rather messy breakup.
Cassie, who won Colton’s final rose on season 23 filed for a restraining order in September 2020. The 25-year-old claimed Colton had been stalking and harassing her with text messages and even placed a tracking device on the bottom of the back bumper of her car.
Hannah Brown & Jed Wyatt
Hannah Brown accepted Jed Wyatt’s proposal in her season finale of The Bachelorette, but fans knew there would be more coming — after all, a People article had come out with details from Jed’s kind-of-ex-girlfriend from before the show. She revealed that Jed had gone on only to promote his music career, which Jed confessed himself to Hannah after filming stopped. The couple didn’t make it to After the Final Rose.
Arie Luyendyk Jr. & Becca Kufrin
When Becca Kufrin accepted Arie Luyendyk Jr.’s proposal at the end of The Bachelor, she probably thought that was the end of their love story. But when he came back a few weeks later with a camera crew, he told her he couldn’t stop thinking about runner-up Lauren Burnham and broke her heart. Becca got her own season of The Bachelorette, and Arie and Lauren are now proud parents — but it was still a devastating moment.
Hannah Brown & Luke Parker
Hannah Brown took all too long to send Luke Parker home, but it was so rewarding when she finally did. When Luke told her he wouldn’t want to continue on the show if she’d been sleeping with other men, she finally woke up to his controlling behavior and misogyny and sent him packing. When he tried to show up for the rose ceremony anyway, she iconically dragged the pedestal in front of him so she was only facing Jed, Tyler, and Peter.
Juan Pablo Galavis & Clare Crawley
When Juan Pablo Galavis sent Clare Crawley home from his season of The Bachelor, she read him the riot act before storming off. “I thought I knew what kind of man you are, what you just made me go through—I would never want my children having a father like you,” she told him.
Colton Underwood & Tia Booth
This whole situation was messy from start to finish. Becca Kufrin and Tia Booth met as contestants on The Bachelor; when Becca became the Bachelorette, Colton was her fourth-place finishing contestant. After The Bachelorette, Tia (now close friends with Becca) and Colton struck up a flirtation. But when they met up in Bachelor in Paradise, it quickly became clear that Colton wasn’t over his breakup with Becca by a long shot. He left the island in tears — but returned as The Bachelor later.
Caelynn Miller-Keyes & Blake Horstmann
Blake Horstmann’s behavior on Bachelor in Paradise was rightfully criticized, as it was revealed that he had been dating and/or hooking up with multiple contestants before appearing on the show, including Caelynn Miller-Keyes. Caelynn confronted him about his hurtful behavior on the show, and Blake had a real-time meltdown when the episode aired, posting videos of himself hysterically crying and sharing texts between him and Caelynn that he hoped would earn him sympathy.
Kaitlyn Bristowe & Nick Viall
Nick Viall was once again the #2 choice on Kaitlyn Bristowe’s season of The Bachelorette, cementing his status as heartbreak king of Bachelor Nation (and a man desperately in need of his own Bachelor season, which he then got). Kaitlyn stopped him before he could get on one knee to propose, and Nick was clearly shaken to his core.
Dean Unglert & Kristina Schulman
Dean Unglert and Kristina Schulman seemed head over heels in love when they first met on Bachelor in Paradise. But when Danielle Lombard arrived on the scene, Dean’s wandering eye got the best of him and he wound up spending more and more time with her — while insisting to Kristina that he was still interested in her, too. Kristina soon decided enough was enough, and sent herself home.
Rachel Lindsay & DeMario Jackson
In an early episode of Rachel Lindsay’s season of The Bachelorette, they had a surprise visitor on a group date: a not-so-ex-girlfriend of contestant DeMario Jackson. The girlfriend revealed that she had been dating DeMario for six months when he ghosted her to go on the show, and DeMario pretending not to know who she was did not impress Rachel. She sent him home, of course.
Jordan Kimball & Jenna Cooper
Jordan Kimball and Jenna Cooper seemed totally meant to be on Bachelor in Paradise, but the ugly scandal that broke out after shocked Bachelor Nation. Jordan released a series of text messages allegedly between Jenna and another boyfriend, talking about how she had been faking everything on the show and was just using it for exposure. Jordan broke off the engagement, and Jenna has been trying to clear her name ever since.
Rachel Lindsay & Peter Kraus
Rachel Lindsay and Peter Kraus had fiery chemistry all through her season of The Bachelorette — but in the season’s final moments, Peter revealed that he wasn’t ready to make the commitment of getting engaged and left the show. While Rachel then picked and got engaged to Bryan Abasolo, fans will surely be speculating about a Rachel and Peter reconciliation now that she and Bryan are getting a divorce.
Jason Mesnick & Melissa Rycroft
Jason Mesnick ended things with fiancée Melissa Rycroft on After the Final Rose, drawing some initial ire on behalf of the heartbroken Melissa. But it seems that Jason really did follow his heart: he and runner-up Molly are still happily together to this day.
Nick Viall & Andi Dorfman
While Andi Dorfman had already said no to Nick Viall’s proposal on the season finale of The Bachelorette, Nick came back looking for more answers on After the Final Rose. “If you weren’t in love with me, I’m just not sure why you made love with me,” he told her — and Andi went off on him for crossing the line.
