It’s been quite a year for fans of the Bachelor franchise.
Ups, downs, lefts, and rights have been happening all over the place, and while we’ve already discussed a few of those major milestones, it’s time to pay tribute to the ones we lost—even the ones we lost before we barely even got to know them.
Some lasted months, or even years. Some barely made it past the end of whatever show they formed during. One fell apart spectacularly on the same day the proposal episode aired, and one break up played out in front of our horrified eyes in a way we’ll never be able to forget, no matter how hard we try.
We’ve taken a moment to say goodbye to them all, even if there are a few we hope can still make it in the end. And by a few, we mean two. For most of them…they made the right decision.
ABC/Paul Hebert
Arie Luyendyk Jr. and Becca Kufrin
We never really had this couple long enough to lose them, but when we watched the break up play out over 40 minutes on national TV after Arie first proposed to Becca then changed his mind in favor of Lauren Burnham, it felt like we had lost something. Arie and Lauren are now planning to get married in early 2019 and are expecting a baby, but we’ll always remember Arie and Becca for how uncomfortable they made us. RIP.
ABC
Luke Pell and Stassi Yaramchuk
You might be asking “Who?” which is perfectly valid. Luke was from the U.S., Stassi was from Sweden. They got together during Winter Games and only lasted until the end of Winter Games, because as we learned at the reunion, he never even got her number. We’ll always remember them for her absolutely destroying him during that reunion. RIP
Lorenzo Bevilaqua/ABC
Ashley Iaconetti and Kevin Wendt
Ashley had a Jared Haibon-free happy ending on Winter Games, leaving the show with Canadian Kevin after being named the winning couple, but they parted after a few months. Ashley then immediately found her way back to Jared, who she had spent years pining after, and this time he was all in. Now they’re engaged! Plus, Kevin’s now dating Bachelorette contestant Astrid Loch, so all is well here. We’ll always remember them for probably being the catalyst that finally pushed Jared to make up his mind about Ashley after all those years. RIP
Article continues below
Paul Hebert/ABC
Clare Crawley and Benoit Beausejour-Savard
What a whirlwind this was. She sent him home during Winter Games, then realized she had made a mistake. They started dating after filming stopped, so then at the reunion, they not only revealed they were together, but they got engaged right there on stage. Two months later, it was over. We’ll always remember them for the fact that Clare dumped Benoit only to argue with the German guy about a jacuzzi. RIP
ABC
Dean Unglert and Lesley Murphy
Despite their kiss choreography on Winter Games, Dean and Lesley split after four months of dating. They cited distance and traveling as the main factor in the breakup, and we’ll always remember them for once again, that choreographed kiss. RIP
ABC
Courtney Dober and Lily McManus
The two Australian and Kiwi imports were the best couple from Winter Games (you know it’s true) and they also lasted the longest before announcing their split. They made that announcement on Instagram, which is the same platform where it is clear they are still constantly together and clearly in love with each other. They say it’s as friends, and we’ll accept that for now, but we’ve still got hope they can make it work some day. We’ll always remember them for drinking alcohol out of a shoe. RIP
Article continues below
Paul Hebert/ABC
Jordan Kimball and Jenna Cooper
Hoo boy. Where to begin with this one?
We were genuinely happy for these two when it appeared they had found love in Paradise, especially because Jordan seemed like one of those contestants who would remain a character in this world for a long time. But they looked so happy as they left the show engaged, and then on the day that proposal episode aired, s–t hit the fan. Reality Steve posted screenshots of an alleged text exchange between Jenna and another guy, and it seemed to imply that Jenna had been cheating on Jordan and was just using him for publicity for her business.
Jordan immediately broke things off (handling the whole thing pretty well, actually) and Jenna started threatening legal action and even revealed “forensic investigation” results proving it was all fake. The damage was done no matter what.
We’ll always remember them for so many reasons, but we’ll truly never be able to forget Jordan throwing that giant stuffed animal into the ocean in a rage.
Kaitlyn Bristowe and Shawn Booth
This one hurt. Three years after they got engaged on Kaitlyn’s season of The Bachelorette, and after three years of hilarious Snapchats and sharing a dog and a house and a whole life in Nashville, this franchise fave couple announced their breakup. Their lives were going in different directions, and they couldn’t make it work anymore. No word yet on how Tucker, the golden retriever, is handling the split.
We’ll always, always, always remember this pair as great wine guys, and we plan to never ever forget Rick and Donna.
The Bachelor returns Monday, January 7 on ABC.