The Bachelor and its many spin-offs have produced some of the most colorful and unique figures that have graced our screens over the years. Throughout the spectacular dates, the drama, and the hundreds of roses, many contestants have stood above the rest as some of the most memorable in the franchise, both good and bad.
Though it’s tough to choose only a few fan favorites out of seventeen years of unforgettable programming, we have tried to narrow down the list to include those that left their mark on the franchise indelibly, and in doing so, we have also singled out some contestants that definitely could have improved their game. Read on to find out if your favorite contestant made the cut on our countdown!
Fan Favorite: Lucy Aragon
Okay, so this free spirit hippie-lady is definitely unconventional, especially for a Bachelor contestant. But that’s why we loved her, right?
Aragon participated in Juan Pablo’s season of The Bachelor but didn’t last very long. That didn’t seem to stop her from making a comeback on Bachelor in Paradise, where she was ultimately eliminated on week 5. After her tenure on The Bachelor, she ended dating Evan Spiegel, CEO of Snapchat, and rubbing elbows with celebrities like Kate Upton. Check out her YouTube channel for some hilarious season run-downs of The Bachelor in song form!
Fan Favorite: Brady Toops
Singer-songwriter Brady Toops didn’t last long on The Bachelorette, but it didn’t stop him from becoming a memorable contestant!
Toops was introduced to audiences on the 11th season of the show in the infamous first episode that pitted Britt Nilsson against eventual Bachelorette contestant Katelyn Bristowe. In an awkward deviation from the traditional format, the show allowed the male contestants to vote for their favorite girl to become the Bachelorette for the season. While the majority of the men voted for Katelyn, Toops voted for his crush, Britt, and when she exited the show, he jumped in the limo after her. The two had a short-lived whirlwind romance, and while it didn’t work out in the end, Toops said of Nilsson, “What I felt for Britt was true and deep. I’m sad it didn’t work out.”
Couldn’t Stand: Courtney Robertson
She made it clear that she didn’t come to the Bachelor to make friends, but did Courtney Robertson come for the right reasons? Well, either way, Ben Flajnik proposed to her at the end of the season, though their relationship unsurprisingly did not survive long after.
Throughout the season, the women in the house disliked Robertson’s seemingly two-faced behavior. With the girls, she was haughty and rude, but with Flajnik, she was perfectly kind and sweet. Master manipulator or misunderstood? We’ll let you decide.
Fan Favorite: Gia Allemand
Model Gia Allemand was introduced to America in the infamous On the Wings of Love edition of the Bachelor, in which she was thrust into competition with 24 other women for the love of pilot Jake Pavelka. Allemand made it to Week 7, in which she was eliminated in favor of finalists Vienna and Tenley.
Allemand later appeared on Bachelor Pad, the short-lived spin-off series that awarded lucky contestants with money but wasn’t necessarily great for finding long-lasting love. Allemand, who had a boyfriend at the time of the show, refused to participate in the Kissing Competition challenge, thus eliminating herself from the show. Allemand was sweet, genuine, and stayed true to herself throughout her tenure on the show. Tragically, she passed away in 2013 but she is remembered fondly by fellow contestants and fans.
Fan Favorite: Rachel Lindsay
As the first Bachelorette of color, the intelligent and beautiful Rachel Lindsay had the tough decision of picking a single winner out of 31 men, and she did so with both wit and charm! Though she had her fair share of men who definitely weren’t there for the right reasons, (ahem, DeMario and Lee?) Lindsay didn’t entertain the drama and ultimately sent the disingenuous men packing.
She found her perfect guy in chiropractor Bryan Abasolo, and the two are still engaged! They are reportedly planning their wedding for this August, and hope to become pregnant soon after. Here’s hoping Bachelor Nation can see their happy ending soon!
Couldn’t Stand: Jake Pavelka
His season was an absolute trainwreck. Jake Pavelka might have been “on the wings of love” but as it turned out, his relationship after the show with winner Vienna Girardi was nothing short of toxic.
After getting excitedly engaged on the season finale, the two quickly became the subject of their own melodramatic breakup special, in which Pavelka and Girardi threw insults, fought on-screen, and resolved absolutely none of the tension they felt toward one another. Famously, Girardi called Pavelka a “fake liar” and stormed out crying after he bellowed, “Please stop interrupting me!” Keep it classy, guys.
Fan Favorite: Sarah Herron
Sarah Herron is a role model to people everywhere. Born with an incomplete arm as a result of Amniotic Band Syndrome, Herron is a strong and independent woman who decided to look for love on Sean Lowe’s season of The Bachelor. Lowe, the gentleman he is, was not fazed by this. Herron didn’t find her soulmate in Lowe, so she decided to travel to Paradise on both the 1st and 3rd seasons.
Unfortunately, she found herself the focus of the vicious Chad Johnson’s intoxicated tirade, in which he called her a “one-armed b**ch.” Though he was not treating her with respect, she handled the incident with grace and class, replying to Johnson, “The way you’re talking about women is so disrespectful. I want nothing to do with it.” We couldn’t agree more, and the fact that Herron was able to move past the incident is what makes her a great person! She is now currently dating someone and recently announced that she won’t be returning to Paradise for season 6.
Fan Favorite: Bekah Martinez
Though she was young, Bekah Martinez’s time on Arie Luyendyk’s season of the Bachelor was characterized by great maturity and open-mindedness. Not only did she try to commit herself to the then 36-year-old Arie, but she repeatedly fought off his claims that she was too young for a serious relationship.
Many would agree that Martinez dodged a bullet after Luyendyk’s rejection of fiancee Becca Kufrin on national television. However, Martinez has since found herself a new man and has given birth to an adorable baby girl named Ruth! It seems like her life after the show is only looking up.
Fan Favorite: Juelia Kinney
Juelia Kinney has one of the most tragic backstories in Bachelor history. Her husband Dustin Kinney, unfortunately, passed away in 2013, leaving Juelia as a single mom to her lovely daughter Ireland. Kinney has tried to incorporate positive changes into her life, though, and first appeared on Chris Soules’s season of The Bachelor. Since her relationship with Soules didn’t work out, she traveled to Paradise and was blindsided by master manipulator Joe, who led her on to extend his stay on the show.
However, sweet Juelia ended up with her own happy ending, as she is now engaged to none other than Aaron Bass, the brother of Evan Bass! Evan appeared on the show and eventually married Carly Waddell, so it just goes to show that you never know who you may meet in the future!
Fan Favorite: Sean Lowe
Sean Lowe is one of the most stand-up contestants in Bachelor history. Not only was he serious about looking for love on the show, but he was true to himself in the process. And, in the end, after a satisfying season, he chose Catherine Guidici as his winner and eventual wife.
Lowe and Giudici married in 2014 and they now have a beautiful family together! When he’s not spending time with his sons, Lowe is active in Christian organizations and sometimes goes on public speaking trips with his wife.
Couldn’t Stand: Juan Pablo Galavis
It’s not okay. Juan Pablo Galavis is widely remembered by fans of the series as the worst Bachelor in history for his indifference toward the contestants, his arrogance, and his inability to even tell one of the contestants that he was in love with her. His famous catchphrase “it’s okay” annoyed the women and fans of the show alike.
Andi Dorfman, who ended up with her own season of the Bachelorette, eventually told off Galavis, calling him out on his inappropriate behavior before rightfully leaving the show on her own volition. Even worse, Galavis refused to answer Chris Harrison when he asked if he loved the last lady left standing, Nikki Ferrell. Yikes.
Fan Favorite: Wells Adams
Wells Adams first appeared on JoJo’s season of the Bachelorette, and from then on, he has been a standard in the franchise! Adams, who works as a radio DJ and a podcast host, is extremely laid-back, courteous, and definitely likable, as he even took Jorge the bartender’s job on spin-off Bachelor in Paradise. Even though he wasn’t a contestant on the 4th and 5th seasons of Paradise, some of the ladies definitely wished they could land a guy as stand-up as Wells.
Though he didn’t find love on the show, he is now dating Modern Family star Sarah Hyland, with whom he poses with in the cutest Instagram photos!
Fan Favorite: Emily Maynard
Emily Maynard first made her mark on the Bachelor franchise by appearing on Brad Womack’s second season, in which she was crowned the winner. However, the couple didn’t end up working out, so Maynard decided to try her hand at love again on her own season of The Bachelorette.
Maynard had experienced the loss of her first husband before appearing on the show, leaving her a single mom with a young daughter, Ricki. With her down to earth character, loving nature, and Southern charm, Maynard was definitely an irresistible and relatable Bachelorette to many. She is responsible, however, for one of the most dramatic moments in the show’s history, in which she sent contestant Kalon McMahon home for allegedly referring to her daughter Ricki as “baggage.” Though Emily didn’t stay with winner Jef Holm in the long-term, she eventually married a different man later on, with whom she has had three sons!
Couldn’t Stand: Bentley Williams
This guy is one of the absolute worst contestants, and what he did to Bachelorette Ashley Hebert is unforgivable.
When he found out that Emily Maynard was not the Bachelorette, the single-dad did the unthinkable and decided to stay on the show and manipulate Hebert into falling for him, even though he professed to cameras that he was not at all interested in her. Unfortunately, for a few weeks, his plan worked out, until he decided to break the news to the stunned Hebert that he was going home. Despite making disparaging comments about Hebert and saying that he would “rather swim in pee” than plan a wedding with her, Williams returned later on only to leave poor Hebert hanging again. Luckily, she found her forever guy on the show, and it wasn’t in Bentley.
Couldn’t Stand: Arie Luyendyk, Jr.
Arie Luyendyk, Jr. might have charmed his way into our hearts on Emily Maynard’s season of the Bachelorette, but on his own season, he graced audiences with some of the most uncomfortable television in the franchise’s history.
Though this isn’t the first time a contestant has had doubts about their final choice (hi, Jason, how are ya?) this is the first time that a breakup with the final contestant was filmed in real-time, away from an audience, with multiple cameras. Luyendyk decided, after a number of months, that he regretted his choice in proposing to fiancee Becca Kufrin, as he was still having lingering thoughts about Lauren Burnham, the girl he had rejected.
What could have been a respectful, off-screen split with Kufrin ended up inciting anger in the Bachelor Nation, and permanently tarnishing Luyendyk’s reputation within the franchise.
