The Bachelor and The Bachelorette are TV shows with a goal that you don't need Bachelor spoilers to figure out:
Set up a man or woman with his/her soulmate.
Heck, nearly every season ends with a proposal, right? And yet, very few of these proposals end in actual marriage.
By the numbers, few duos from Bachelor Nation last months; let alone years; let alone an entire lifetime together.
Have there been exceptions to this rule?
Oh yeah, look at Jason and Molly. Or Sean and Cat. Rachel and Bryan. Even Arie and Lauren ... or JoJo and Jordan.
Nevertheless, it's an arduous, uphill battle -- and the odds are poor.
See Hannah Brown and Jed Wyatt. Oof. Or Peter Weber and Hannah Ann, or Peter and Madison, for that matter.
Their engagements lasted ... days? Hours?
These are unique cases, and yet ... not. Heck, Peter and Kelley Flanagan broke up too. Dude was 0-for-3 in 2020!
More recently, we have the breakup between Katie Thurston and Blake Moynes, which was predicted by -- well, just about everyone who watched Katie's season.
In other words, it was the opposite of the Tayshia Adams-Zac Clark split, which genuinely caught us off-guard.
The fact is, it's hard out there for duos spawned by this franchise to make it work -- a fact we've been reminded of over and over again during the past couple of years.
If you recall, Colton and Cassie broke up in 2020. Followed by Becca and Garrett. Then even Ashley and J.P.
On the bright side, Matt and Rachael are giving it another go after his disaster of a season.
And if you ask us, Michelle Young and Nayte Olukoya seem like a match made in heaven.
Perhaps there's hope for this franchise after all!
Looking back now, which duos are still living happily ever after after the final rose was bestowed?
Take a look at notable couples from The Bachelor and Bachelorette and see if they're still a romantic item now.
1. Michelle Young and Nayte Olukoya
Let's start with some good news: Michelle Young found love on her season of The Bachelorette, and we don't know if we've ever rooted for a Bachelor Nation couple as hard as we're rooting for Michelle and Nayte Olukoya. Nayte may have rubbed some viewers the wrong way -- there were concerns that he was too "cocky," or that he came off as aloof and uninterested on group dates. But Olukoya has since explained that while he didn't always feel comfortable on camera, he was always 100 percent at-ease around Michelle. Here's hoping these two can break the slump by becoming the first Bachelorette couple to make it to the altar in a very long time.
2. Katie Thurston and Blake Moynes
Ah, Katie Thurston and Blake Moynes. They tried, God bless 'em, but this relationship was doomed from the start. After getting engaged during The Bachelorette finale did their best to convince the world that they were head over heels for one another. But very few were convinced. The feeling among viewers was that Katie was heartbroken after the controversial departure of suitor Greg Grippo, and she went for Blake as a sort of back-up plan. It wasn't a good sign when Katie spent most of her After the Rose special fuming about Greg instead of gushing about Blake. But the good news is, Katie hasn't given up on love. She's currently dating John Hersey, a fan favorite contestant from her season. So perhaps the Bachelorette system works, after all!
3. Clare Crawley and Dale Moss
Where to begin with Clare Crawley and Dale Moss? These two got engaged after like two weeks, peaced out of the show, and were head over heels in love before a host of usual suspects - cheating allegations, long-distance relationships, conflicting priorities, the stress of the spotlight, the honeymoon phase wearing off - derailed their romance in spectacular fashion in early 2021. Is it possible for a breakup to be surprising and yet not at all? These two briefly reconciled after and appear to be making it work, but it wasn't long before the whole thing went kablooey again. Honestly, did anyone see that coming? (Yes, we're being sarcastic with that question.)
4. Tayshia Adams and Zac Clark
Now, Tayshia Adams and Zac Clark are a very different story. These two seemed destined to last, but sadly, they went their separate ways in December of 2021. Tayshia was hosting co-hosting The Bachelorette at the time, and she announced the split after Kaitlyn Bristowe noted that she wasn't wearing her ring while taping After the Final Rose. “All I have to say is that I’m heartbroken. But we tried really hard, and I still love him very much, and I’m not sure what the future holds,” the former Bachelorette explained. “You know how it is. It’s really tough." Tough, indeed. We wish these two all the best, and we hope they're able to find happiness individually.
5. Matt James and Rachael Kirkconnell
What a mess. What a complete and utter mess. An unmitigated disaster that the show will take a long time to recover from, if it ever does, no one can take away the fact that it was, truly, the most shocking season in Bachelor history. (Ironically, Chris Harrison stepped down at the end of it.) Of course Matt James, hyped for months as the first Black Bachelor, would end up giving Rachael Kirkconnell - who came under fire for racially insensitive photos and comments - his final rose. He never even proposed to her (no promise ring, no nothing) on the finale, which is probably the only good news producers could've hoped for, as their Valentine's Day breakup (a month before the season finale even aired) was relatively quick and painless. Yet, after all that, we're here eating our words in 2022, as these two are back together again, living their lives, and seemingly oblivious to criticism. Who would've ever guessed?
6. Colton Underwood and Cassie Randolph
Speaking of messes, Colton Underwood and Cassie Randolph went their separate ways in May of 2020, and the situation got very ugly in the weeks that followed. Cassie got a restraining order against Colton, whom she accused of stalking her. The split took another unexpected turn shortly thereafter, when Colton came out as gay. These days, he's the star of a Netflix reality series about his experiences, though many Bachelor fans feel that it's unethical for the streaming giant to partner with a man who's been accused of harassing his ex. It's anyone's guess what the future holds for these two, but we think it's safe to say they won't be getting back together anytime soon.
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