The Most Devastating Bachelor Breakups In The Franchise's History

The Bachelor franchise doesn't have the greatest track history when it comes to producing long-lasting couples. According to Life & Style, out of 22 seasons of The Bachelor, 14 seasons of The Bachelorette, five seasons of Bachelor in Paradise, and one lonely season of The Bachelor Winter Games, only 17 couples from the long-running franchise are still together. That's... not a lot. Yet, we still tune in every season hoping to witness an eligible single meet the love of their life on a primetime reality dating show. Hey, there's nothing wrong with a little optimism. 

While it's always a joy to see love blossom onscreen, we have to admit that being privy to all the drama that unfolds along the way is undeniably entertaining. That said, The Bachelor and Bachelorette have shown us some seriously dramatic break-ups throughout the years — some too heartbreakingly uncomfortable to watch more than once. You should probably go ahead and grab a box of tissues, because we're about to take a tearful trip down memory lane to relive some of the most devastating break-ups in Bachelor history. 

There was no fence to be jumped during Arie Luyendyk Jr. and Becca Kufrin's break-up, but these two will forever be a part of Bachelor history due to the way in which their surprising split was announced to the world.

In the 22nd season of ABC's long-running reality dating program, Luyendyk Jr. got down on one knee and proposed to the 27-year-old publicist, telling her, "I choose you today, but I choose you every day from here on out." Unfortunately, that didn't last long.

Immediately after witnessing their proposal, Bachelor fans were shown Luyendyk Jr. and Kufrin's brutal break-up, which was filmed and aired unedited. No one was more caught off guard by the split than Kufrin, who was under the impression that the production crew was present to capture sweet moments during her romantic weekend getaway with Luyendyk Jr. Instead, the race car driver confessed to her that he couldn't stop thinking about Lauren Burnham, the woman he sent home before ultimately proposing to Kufrin. 

Seeing her cry for nearly an hour was certainly uncomfortable for audiences — but seeing Kufrin find love on The Bachelorette almost made up for it. Almost. 

If you were a fan of Andi Dorfman on The Bachelorette, you have Juan Pablo Galavis to thank for jumpstarting her Bachelor Nation career by being perhaps the worst bachelor the franchise has ever seen. Dorfman competed as a contestant on Galavis' controversial season of The Bachelor, only to eliminate herself once she realized that Galavis was much more interested in repeatedly (and condescendingly) saying, "It's okay," rather than actually listening to anything she had to say. 

However, contestant Clare Crawley was much more optimistic about the bachelor's potential, sticking with him through their own ups and downs throughout the season. When she arrived to the final rose ceremony ready to accept his proposal, Galavis revealed that he "[had] to say goodbye" to her, which did not sit well with Crawley. As he approached her for a goodbye hug, Crawley pushed Galavis away, understandably angry that he waited until the last minute to break things off rather than sparing her some heartbreak by letting her go earlier. 

"I've lost respect for you," Crawley said while walking away. "I would never want my children having a father like you." 

Arie Luyendyk Jr. wasn't the first bachelor to dump his leading lady for his runner-up. Instead, that unfortunate barrier was broken by Jason Mesnick all the way back in 2009.

Mesnick's season of The Bachelor ended with him proposing to an elated Melissa Rycroft. However, before he got down on one knee, he had to send away the other woman vying for his heart — Molly Malaney. Though Malaney was blindsided and upset by Mesnick's decision, it seemed the bachelor himself was the most devastated of all. After the two said their goodbyes, the man had a full-on breakdown, giving birth to a now-famous Bachelor clip in which Mesnick can be seen sobbing over a balcony. 

It didn't take long for Mesnick to realize he made the wrong decision in proposing to Rycroft. However, as he was still contractually obligated to the show, Mesnick claimed Bachelor producers made him dump Rycroft on After the Final Rose in order to ask Malaney for another chance. 

"I wish more than anything that last day you would have just let me go, " Rycroft said, after calling Mesnick — ahem — a choice word.

Bentley Williams' self-elimination is possibly the most iconic of all time. And, due to how blatantly manipulative and mean he appeared — his decision to leave was welcomed by viewers.

Not only was Williams the resident villain in the seventh season of The Bachelorette, he was just a straight-up jerk — and shamelessly so. Unfortunately, Ashley Hebert was too infatuated with Williams to recognize the ten million red flags surrounding her relationship with him — even though former Bachelor contestant Michelle Money warned Hebert before her season even began that Williams only signed up for the show to promote his trampoline business. Yes, you read that correctly — his trampoline business. 

Williams freely confessed to the camera that he wasn't into Hebert at all, revealing, "I've been saying from the beginning she's not my type." In the third episode of the season, the trampoline professional broke things off with the bachelorette, telling her that he missed his daughter too much to stay on the show. However, he told the camera a different story, calling Hebert an "ugly duckling" and saying things would have been different if the bachelorette had been Emily Maynard. 

Never has there been a Bachelorette contestant more beloved than Peter Kraus. After his break-up with Rachel Lindsay, many fans wanted (and expected) Kraus to be announced as the next bachelor — but alas, Arie Luyendyk Jr. was chosen instead. Of course, this felt like a personal attack to Kraus' many super-fans who desperately wanted to see the former Bachelorette contestant find true love after having his heart broken on national television. 

Kraus and Lindsay's break-up is still one of the most talked about Bachelor Nation splits, because the two seemed absolutely made for each other. However, while Kraus wanted to take things slow and continue dating in the real world rather than rushing into an engagement, Lindsay was insistent that she leave the show an engaged woman. Eventually, Kraus told Lindsay he'd propose if that's what he had to do in order to be with her, but Lindsay said that she felt he'd grow to resent her if she allowed that to happen. After hugging and crying for what seemed like hours, the two parted ways after their Fantasy Suite date, and Lindsay is still engaged to her final pick, Bryan Abasolo.

Britt Nilsson may not be an active part of Bachelor Nation these days, but this gal once made headlines for her polarizing personality that was put on full display while competing for Chris Soules' heart. 

While Nilsson gave the immediate impression of being a quiet, kind, and gentle type of person, viewers witnessed a surprisingly cutthroat side of the Bachelor contestant the moment she felt she was no longer the frontrunner in Soules' mind. During a group date with Soules and fellow contestants Kaitlyn Bristowe and Carly Waddell, Nilsson lost her cool when Bristowe was given the group date rose, securing an all-important hometown date. Nilsson had just had a heart-to-heart (and steamy make-out session) with Soules, and seeing another woman being validated before her was a situation she simply wasn't equipped to handle. 

"I'm not mad, I'm just confused and really, really hurt right now," Nilsson told Soules in front of both Bristowe and Waddell when she didn't receive the rose. Soules later sent Nilsson home sobbing — and the tears kept flowing when she appeared in the hot seat during the Women Tell All special. 

As you probably know by now, host Chris Harrison refers to literally every season finale of any Bachelor franchise show as "the most dramatic season finale ever." However, Becca Kufrin breaking up with Blake Horstmann on the 22nd season of The Bachelorette actually did result in the most dramatic Bachelorette finale ever — and to be quite honest, we're still not over it.

Poor Horstmann was blindsided and incredibly confused when Kufrin confessed that she had stronger feelings for Garrett Yrigoyen and sent the Colorado native home just as he was getting ready to propose — and he wasn't alone in his confusion. The majority of Bachelor Nation thought Horstmann and Kufrin would leave the show an engaged couple, especially since Kufrin confessed in a one-on-one interview (via Elite Daily), "I am in love with Blake and I can't imagine not having Blake in my life." 

Horstmann was so taken aback by Kufrin's decision that he almost needed medical attention. A source revealed to Us Weekly, "Producers thought Blake was going to pass out [...] His mouth dried up, he went pale and suddenly started dripping sweat. They were concerned." 

Hannah Brown, a former contestant on Colton Underwood's season of The Bachelor, was given a second shot at finding love on reality TV when ABC picked the beauty queen to step into the leading role for The Bachelorette's 15th season. Brown went on to experience what was truly one of the most dramatic seasons of The Bachelorette to date, ultimately leaving the show engaged to aspiring country musician and dog food jingle-writer Jed Wyatt.

However, Brown's happy ending came crashing down when it was revealed that Wyatt had a girlfriend while competing on The Bachelorette — an offense that resulted in Brown swiftly calling off her engagement to Wyatt in a pre-recorded sit-down chat aired during The Bachelorette's live After the Final Rose special. Shortly after taking off her Neil Lane engagement ring, Brown made the decision to put an end to her relationship with Wyatt for good. 

While Bachelorette fans were happy to see Brown sticking up for herself and standing by her values, it was certainly devastating to see the former Miss Alabama USA have her heart broken on national television once again. 

While Tayshia Adams and John Paul Jones didn't immediately strike up a romance, the two eventually began to fall for each other toward the end of Bachelor in Paradise Season 6. Still, Adams put an end to her relationship with Jones before the much-anticipated Fantasy Suite dates, leaving him sobbing and brokenhearted. However, much to the delight of BiP fans, the couple reunited after Season 6 filming wrapped, and, during the post-Paradise finale special, Adams and Jones revealed they were giving their relationship a second shot in the real world.

Unfortunately, these two seemingly just couldn't make things work, even without the BiP cameras following their every move. In an October 2019 Instagram post announcing their split, Adams wrote (via Glamour), "The reality was, we were living on opposite coasts, and working insane schedules that made it impossible to see each other and build a life with each other." She continued, "We are the best of friends and will continue to remain in each other's life because regardless of the situation, we make each other happy."