We all love romance, and we all love reality television. What happens when you bring these two together? The Bachelor, of course! Along with sister-shows The Bachelorette and Bachelor in Paradise, the journeys of single people looking for love have been depicted for seventeen years now. It's as exciting as it is emotional, but more often than not, it crushes our hopes when it comes to finding a soulmate. Perhaps trying to meet The One on national television isn't the most conventional of methods. Many of the relationships we saw on the show ended up in sad and, at times, very public breakups.
Because it's going strong, clocking in on 22 seasons, it's only natural some couples were more memorable than others. Certain personalities made it easy for fans to root for certain relationships. The question is, did they work or not? Let's take a trip down memory lane and revisit the most loved winners of the show. It's time to find out who made it, and who called it quits in the end!
Sean & Catherine
It took seventeen seasons for a contestant of The Bachelor to find love. While that sounds a bit depressing, the fact that Sean and Catherine have been together ever since he chose her to be his one true love does mend our hearts. They met in 2013, and they were tying the knot less than 12 months after we saw them on the After The Rose episode.
The fact that they got married so soon and have been going strong for over half a decade isn't even the best part! Sean and Catherine's fairytale was completed with the blessing of two beautiful children, Samuel and Isaiah. They share a blissful life together, and they serve as advisers for other couples from the show. That's just how sweet they are!
Evan & Carly
Good things take work. We've all learned that life works in mysterious ways and things that seem doomed or simply not meant to be sometimes end up surprising us! Evan and Carly are a perfect example of this. During Bachelor In Paradise, these two shared some pretty clumsy and stiff times together.
And yet, here we are! Everybody doubted these two could ever work or become a thing, but the heart wants what the heart wants, and Evan and Carly ended the season engaged. Much like the previous couple, the happy ending went even further. They got married in 2017, and in early 2018, they welcomed their first child together. Beautiful and hopeful, especially considering Carly had already tried her luck in the 19th season of The Bachelor.
Trista & Ryan
The first Bachelorette was a lot luckier than the first sixteen bachelors. When Trista first showed up on our TV screens, ready to find love, we were all a tad skeptical. But for this lucky girl, the first time was actually the charm, and she found her soulmate, Ryan. This is a victory for fans and the couple alike since they proved you can actually find true love on the show.
The pair have been married for fifteen years—yes, fifteen!—and seem to have built something truly wonderful. They live in Colorado, together with their two children, and they've shared with the public the secrets for their strong, beautiful relationship. Keep the romance alive, and make your partner a priority—and you might just be as lucky as they have been!
Jason & Molly
Before being a show about finding love, The Bachelor is pure, delicious, and quality reality television. And the show has had its fair share of shocking moments that entertained the audience beyond belief. One of these instances was the unforgettable moment when Jason broke up with the girl he originally chose on their After the Rose episode in order to ask Molly, the runner-up, for a second chance.
This moment rocked everyone to the core, but apparently, he knew exactly what he was doing. Jason and Molly have been married for almost a decade now, and they welcomed baby girl Riley in 2013. Forever one of the most memorable couples to ever be on the show, Jason showed everyone that you should always follow your heart—it will most likely lead you to true happiness.
Kaitlyn & Shawn
It was heartbreaking for fans everywhere when Bachelorette Kaytlin announced she was splitting from Shawn, the man she chose at the end of her season, with every sign of being on the right track for a wonderful relationship. They were engaged, although they never set a date, and they were together for three years before announcing the split.
It was never clear why the beloved couple called it quits, but Kaitlyn did state they didn't seem to be aligned on certain values that she deemed necessary for a relationship. Things got even harder when she began dating fellow Bachelorette contestant Jason Tartick, and Shawn went on record seeming quite broken over losing his best friend.
Ashley & JP
Ashley's season on The Bachelorette ended like a fairytale with JP popping the question, leaving fans wondering if this relationship would last. Turns out, these two pulled quite a stunt and managed to stay together up until now. Ashley and JP got married in 2012 for the entire world to see and renewed their vows last year to mark their five-year wedding anniversary.
In the past six years, the happy couple welcomed two beautiful children: daughter Essex and son Fordham. While no one can predict the future, especially when it comes to relationships, these two seem like one of the strongest couples to ever come out of the show, and everything points to a long, blissful family life for many more years to come.
Desiree & Chris
The best couples will always be the ones who start off rocky and unsure and end up building some of the strongest, most beautiful relationships out there. Such is the case of Bachelorette Desiree and her now-husband, Chris. When she was faced with her final choices, Desiree was still fighting to understand whether or not Chris was really the one.
Turns out he was, and their relationship made a strong statement on love. The two ended up getting married in 2015, and have since welcomed two children, Zander and Asher. Desiree went on to say that she felt like even if the two were to have met by chance anywhere else, they would've still ended up together.
Alex & Amanda
Because they were the first original couple stemming from The Bachelor franchise, these two will forever be remembered, even though things didn't really work out in the end. Alex, the first ever bachelor, ended up choosing Amanda by the end of the first season of the show. What he didn't do was propose to her, leaving audiences wondering where the show was supposed to be after all.
We later found out he never popped the question because he couldn't get over Trist, who eventually became the first Bachelorette (see above). Alex and Amanda only dated for a few months, and while they weren't successful as a couple, it was an important first step for the show and future couples to understand the do's and don'ts of looking for love.
Jillian & Ed
The fun-loving and hilarious Jillian was the first-ever Canadian contestant on The Bachelorette. Beloved by fans everywhere to this date, there were high hopes that she would get to live her fairytale with Ed, the man she ended up choosing at the end of her season. Unfortunately, things didn't go down a very happy road.
Jillian was heartbroken when she found out her fiancé had been unfaithful to her. They called it quits before they even made it to the one-year mark, which devastated the audiences. Jillian did deserve a fairytale, but she made the wrong choice when it came to Ed, who didn't show any traces of remorse and seemed more interested in becoming a reality TV star than in falling in love.
JoJo & Jordan
It was a hard journey for JoJo during her season, which is why fans became so invested in her in the first place. No one really knew what was going to transpire, and how, after she chose Jordan in the end. But these two are just another great example of how things that seem shaky at best end up being absolutely wonderful.
They have been engaged for three years, and they felt like it was a wise decision to slowly get to know each other and bring their lives together before tying the knot. This, however, seems to be making their relationship grow stronger by the minute, and the two have created a perfect life together, showing fans everywhere just how happy they are!