For many years, The Bachelorette held the best track record within the entire The Bachelor franchise when it came to season leads actually finding a lifelong partner on the show. Now, however, it seems like even the relationships cultivated on The Bachelorette are failing left and right. When the Bachelor Nation franchise started in 2002 with the first lead Alex Michel, viewers assumed he'd get engaged by the end. However, Alex didn't propose to anyone by the end, and he also had a failed The Bachelor relationship.
After ABC created a spin-off of the show with a female lead, viewers thought that women would be much better at finding their perfect match. The first-ever Bachelorette, Trista Sutter, is still married to her final pick, Ryan Sutter, who's suffering from a mystery illness. The couple married in December 2003, less than a year after they met and got engaged. The pair have been married for almost 18 years at this point, and they've welcomed two children within that time frame.
So why are so many relationships formed on The Bachelorette failing as of late? Kaitlyn Bristowe was the first female lead to start the slew of successful relationships that went on to fail. She and former fiancé Shawn Booth were together and engaged for more than three years before they decided to call it quits in 2018. Fans were shocked by the split, as Kaitlyn and Shawn were one of the most successful couples within Bachelor Nation. After their split, Becca Kufrin and Garrett Yrigoyen broke up in 2020, while Hannah Brown and Jed Wyatt broke up before the After The Final Rose ceremony. Most recently, Clare Crawley and Dale Moss broke up for good earlier this month, while Katie Thurston and Blake Moynes called off their engagement this week.
One of the main reasons why The Bachelorette relationships are failing is that women are now falling for the wrong guys. Most of the relationships work out for a few months or even a few years, but after some time has passed, the relationship no longer works. Just look at Ashley Herbert and JP Rosenbaum: they were married for eight years and had two children together before they decided to call in quits in October 2020. Even though the relationship was successful for a long time, Ashley and J.P eventually ended their relationship. The same goes for Kaitlyn and Shawn, who were engaged for several years, moved in together, and bought a house before they decided to separate. It seems the women are good at picking a guy for a long-term relationship, they are just not their forever person.
Some recent relationships for The Bachelorette are still intact such as Rachel Lindsay and Bryan Abasolo, who tied the knot in 2019. JoJo Fletcher and Jordan Rodgers, who set their third wedding date for 2022, are still going strong as well. Jordan even re-proposed to JoJo in 2019 while looking at wedding venues together. In recent years, it is clear that The Bachelorette couples haven't worked out, but they still have a better track record than The Bachelor.
The Bachelorette airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. EST on ABC.