The Worst Final Rose Regrets In Bachelor Nation History
What are the worst final rose regrets in Bachelor Nation history? The Bachelor franchise has given its viewers more heartbreaks, more drama, and more "can I steal you" moments than any other reality dating show. It's quintessential reality television that so many people indulge in week after week, and while the show and its spinoffs have entertainment in mind, there really is one goal in mind: to find love. But how successful has The Bachelor and its spinoffs been in setting couples up for success? How many love stories from the show have stood the test of time?
For all the seasons of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, only a couple of romances have both flourished and endured. Within The Bachelor alone, only one man married the person that he proposed to during the show (everyone's favorite, Sean Lowe), while the rest have either broken up or gone back to their runner-up. There's been a lot of heartbreak, and naturally, a lot of regret.
But what poor final rose choices stand out from the crowd? Which finale moments make us cringe over and over again? Here are the worst final rose regrets in Bachelor Nation history.
Matt James' final rose is one of the worst in Bachelor Nation history
Some couples from The Bachelor make it from production to the After The Final Rose special, but Matt James and Rachael Kirkconnell weren't one of them. While Matt's season of The Bachelor aired, allegations of racist behavior on Rachael's part came to light, and by the time the season had wrapped, Matt and Rachael had called it quits.
As noted by Vox, Matt was the franchise's first Black bachelor, so for him to give his final rose to a contestant who ended up having some serious allegations against her was quite a lot to watch. "It's a lot of pressure," Matt said when asked about the strain of being the first Black bachelor, before turning to Rachael and addressing the actions of her past. "The most disappointing thing for me was having to explain to you why what I saw was problematic and why I was so upset... And so when I questioned our relationship, it was in the context of you not fully understanding my Blackness," Matt said. Talk about a final rose gone wrong.
Things seemed to great for Bachelorette Becca Kufrin's final rose decision, until things soured
Becca Kufrin was a beloved leading lady of The Bachelorette. After being seriously mistreated by Arie Luyendyk Jr. (more on that later), Becca was chosen as the Bachelorette, and ended up giving her final rose to contestant Garrett Yrigoyen. But even as the season came to a close, things were a little rocky.
As noted by Us Weekly, it came to light that Garrett had engaged in some questionable social media activity — namely liking a post that made fun of the survivors of the Parkland school shooting. He addressed the mishap during the After The Final Rose special, and that seemed to be the end of the drama.
Becca and Garrett stayed together for almost two years, but the couple eventually called it quits after he was in the headlines again for his social media activity during the Black Lives Matter movement in the summer of 2020. "It wasn't based solely off of one Instagram post or somebody else's opinions or comments," Becca said during her podcast shortly after the breakup. "There's much more to it." Another final rose wilted.
Jason Mesnick's final rose and proposal to Melissa Rycroft is one of the worst Bachelor moments
This final rose regret is just cringeworthy on so many levels. At the end of his season of The Bachelor, Bachelor Jason Mesnick got down on one knee and proposed to Melissa Rycroft. Like all Bachelor proposals, it seemed like a fairytale, but things went downhill really quickly.
According to People, Jason broke up with Melissa during the After The Final Rose finale (yes, literally broke up with his fiancé on national television) and announced that he'd be pursuing his runner-up, Molly Malaney. All of it was just a disaster, making it one of the most regrettable final rose decisions.
Jason said during The Bachelor: The Greatest Seasons Ever that he called the producers of the show shortly after getting engaged to Melissa, and told them that it "wasn't working out." His runner-up, Molly, had been approached to become the next leading lady of The Bachelorette, but admitted that giving up the gig "was easy" given that Jason wanted her back. Jason and Molly ended up getting married, so it wasn't a complete disaster, but talk about a final rose gone wrong.
Hannah Brown's final rose decision was one of the most regretful decisions in Bachelor history
We all thought that the villain of Hannah Brown's season of The Bachelorette was Luke Parker, but it was really Jed Wyatt. As noted by Entertainment Tonight, Hannah sent all her guys home — including the lovely Tyler Cameron — for Jed. He proposed, she said yes, and he was given the final rose. But not everything was sunshine and rainbows.
Jed's ex-girlfriend, Haley Stevens, made headlines when she announced that Jed was still her boyfriend when he went on the show — and claimed that he only decided to compete on The Bachelorette to boost his music career. She also said that Jed intended on coming back from the show to be with her, so as you can assume, things went downhill very quickly.
Hannah confronted her then-fiancé with the news, and given that his answers to all of her questions were pretty lukewarm, it came as no shock when she called it quits. Hannah said during her After The Final Rose special that the engagement was over. "I've grown so much and I know that I deserved more than that," she said.
Pilot Pete's final rose decision was absolutely full of regrets
This final rose was truly such a mess. Pilot Peter Weber was a fan favorite from Hannah Brown's season of The Bachelorette, but when it was his turn to lead The Bachelor, he didn't do such a great job. After what seemed like a lot of convincing on his mom's part, Peter proposed to Hannah Ann Sluss. She was thrilled, accepted the proposal, and of course, the final rose.
But before the season had even finished airing, the connection crumbled. Peter ended things with Hannah Ann, put her through the ringer, and the entire breakup was captured on camera. "You took away from me my first engagement," she told him. Justice for Hannah Ann.
During After The Final Rose, Peter announced that he'd be pursuing a relationship with runner-up, Madison Prewett, much to his mom's dismay. According to Deadline, he wasn't ready to propose, but the two were "giddy" about their relationship. Unfortunately, Peter and Madison lasted for about five minutes. Cut to a couple months later, and Peter announced that he was dating his season's fifth runner-up, Kelley Flanagan. But as noted by E! News, they didn't last either. Wow.
Ben Flajnik's final rose was a very rocky rollercoaster
Ben Flajnik's season of The Bachelor had a clear villain, and he just so happened to propose to her. Courtney Robertson was thoroughly disliked while competing for Ben's heart, and when she was the recipient of the final rose, all of Bachelor Nation knew it wasn't going to last. After all, as noted by People, she was the season's "most-hated contestant."
Of course, things didn't work out well for Ben and Courtney. They broke up while the season was still airing, as Ben revealed during the After The Final Rose special that while he watched the show back, he saw Courtney for who she "really was" — and clearly didn't like what he saw.
But that wasn't enough for Ben to give up on their relationship, because he re-proposed to Courtney during the special episode. They vowed, in front of an ever-curious Chris Harrison, that they would give their relationship a real shot. That's a little laughable, given the reality of the situation. The two broke up, for real, just a couple of months later, making it one of the most regrettable final rose decisions.
Colton Underwood's final rose seemed to be for the best, until things went very downhill
Colton Underwood was the Bachelor who famously reminded the viewers every five minutes that he was a virgin. It was literally a central theme of his season of The Bachelor, so who could forget when he risked it all for Cassie Randolph? According to Refinery29, Colton sent all his vying ladies home so that he could show Cassie just how dedicated he was to her — there was fence hopping, sacrifices, and a lot of surprised facial expressions (on Cassie's part). The two left the show as boyfriend and girlfriend, and while there was no proposal, things seemed to be going ok.
That was until the restraining order. As noted by Us Weekly, Colton and Cassie called things off, but it only went downhill from there. Cassie sought a restraining order against Colton, "citing Domestic Violence Prevention." The court documents involving the case showed that Cassie accused Colton of sending "unsettling text messages," "stalking and harassing," and putting "a tracking device on her vehicle." Cassie also accused Colton of being obsessive in his approach to her and her family. Talk about a final rose gone wrong.
Crowd pleasing bachelor Ben Higgins' final rose didn't stand the test of time
When Ben Higgins came onto the scene of The Bachelor, a lot of Bachelor Nation thought they'd be watching Sean Lowe 2.0, but that really wasn't the case. Ben was such a crowd pleaser, there's no question about it, but his final rose and proposal to Lauren Bushnell didn't last.
As noted by People, Ben revealed that it was the couple's spin-off show, Ben and Lauren: Happily Ever After?, that put a strain on their relationship. Ultimately, it didn't withstand the pressure. "Yes, it was a show about us, but at the same time, we didn't know anything about each other," Ben explained during an episode of the Bachelor Nation podcast, Click Bait. "If anything, we walked into it still getting to know each other. And so we weren't teammates. We weren't good walking into it."
Things ultimately did work out for both Ben and Lauren, even though they moved on from one another. Ben got engaged to his fiancé, Jessica Clarke, and Lauren got married to country singer Chris Lane. A regrettable final rose, but it all worked out for those involved.
Clare Crawley's whirlwind season of The Bachelorette ended with a confusing final rose
Clare Crawley made history as The Bachelorette's oldest leading lady — and for having the shortest season of the show. She met Dale Moss, said that she'd met her future husband, and basically called it quits on The Bachelorette process. Dale proposed to Clare, got her final rose, and the season carried on with Tayshia Adams as the new lead.
It seemed like Clare and Dale were going to ride off into the sunset together, but their engagement didn't last. Shortly after the proposal, the two called it quits, and an insider told Us Weekly that Clare wasn't taking it well. "Clare and Dale did not agree on a lot of things in the long run," the source revealed.
Both Dale and Clare addressed the breakup on social media, with Clare saying that she'd not been made aware of Dale's announcement or decision making process. But that post has since been taken down, and according to People, Dale and Clare were spotted about a month later in Florida despite their "breakup." Was this final rose regrettable? It seems like it, but only time will tell.
Arie Luyendyk Jr.'s final rose decision didn't pan out well
All of Bachelor Nation watched when Arie Luyendyk Jr. got down on one knee and proposed to Becca Kufrin on The Bachelor. They seemed so happy, and Becca giddily accepted Arie's final rose.
However, the engagement was a regrettable one, because Arie broke up with Becca before his season had even finished airing. As noted by Variety, Arie spent the two months after proposing to Becca at a sort of personal crossroads, and finally admitted that his heart wasn't in it with her. He was still hung up on his runner-up, Lauren Burnham, and he planned on pursuing a relationship with her.
In possibly the most painful footage in Bachelor history, Arie broke up with Becca and proceeded to follow her around the house they were in trying to explain himself. It was the most drawn out, painful split to watch, and it was all shown on national television. Of course, Bachelor Nation rallied behind Becca, and Arie went after Lauren. It seemed to really be for the best, in Arie's case, because he and Lauren got married and started a family. But talk about a cringey final rose.
Andi Dorfman gave the final rose to Josh Murray, but regretted it
Andi Dorfman was a beloved leading lady of The Bachelorette, but her final rose choice of Josh Murray didn't withstand outside pressures. As noted by ABC News, Andi and Josh were engaged for about nine months before calling it quits, and despite the comfort that they found in each other during filming, her way of life outside of the show caused things to crumble.
Specifically, Andi said that Josh "didn't know how to handle [her] independence," and things just went downhill from there. "I think I blame myself for not standing up for my independence. But [there were] little things, like not being able to see my friends as often or feeling like my whereabouts were kind of always in question," Andi said. "I had never felt worse about myself... I didn't like who I was."
Andi and Josh spent months "bickering" before deciding to end their engagement. And given that Andi found it incredibly difficult to leave the house after the breakup for fear of the public's reaction, it's safe to say that her final rose was one of the most regrettable.
Kaitlyn Bristowe may have made the wrong final rose call, but she found love in Bachelor Nation
Kaitlyn Bristowe was one of the most dynamic leads of The Bachelorette. Her no-fuss attitude made her season engaging, and she left with a proposal from Shawn Booth and a final rose decision that Bachelor Nation celebrated.
The couple lasted for a while, but eventually they ended things. In an interview with Cosmopolitan, Kaitlyn said that she and Shawn hung onto the relationship for a long time, as both of them knew that a breakup would be very public. But ultimately, they just weren't meant to be. "It was really tough because there are so many people who believe in your relationship and who don't see the things that go on behind closed doors," Kaitlyn explained. "When I was with Shawn, I knew what I wanted and I knew what I deserved. I also knew I was happy on my own."
Despite her final rose decision being a touch regrettable, Kaitlyn ultimately found love with Bachelor Nation's Jason Tartick, won Dancing With The Stars, and has two adorable pups. Sometimes things don't work out so better things can come together.
Bachelor staple Nick Viall's final rose didn't pan out well for him
The Bachelor franchise wouldn't be The Bachelor franchise without Nick Viall. A couple stints on The Bachelorette, an appearance on Bachelor in Paradise, and his own season of The Bachelor — Nick is synonymous with the franchise. During his season as the leading man, Nick proposed to Vanessa Grimaldi and, naturally, gave her his final rose.
But according to The Hollywood Reporter, things between the couple didn't start off on a great note. "There have been moments where I wanted [Nick] to be a little more empathetic towards my feelings," Vanessa revealed during the After The Final Rose special, her honesty being a touch startling to Bachelor Nation. Nick was clear with his words, too. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't [have worries]," he shared. "We're still getting to know each other. That's the reality."
As you probably guessed, Nick and Vanessa broke up shortly thereafter and went their separate ways, making for yet again a regrettable final rose decision. As noted by People, Vanessa got engaged to her fiancé, Josh Wolfe. Nick, on the other hand, started dating his girlfriend, Natalie Joy, in 2021.
Bachelor Aaron Buerge's final rose decision was so regrettable, and his breakup was even worse
Leading man Aaron Buerge proposed to Helene Eksterowicz with a massive, two-carat engagement ring on The Bachelor. However, despite the seemingly fairytale ending, things between Aaron and Helene did not go well.
According to People, things started to go downhill just five weeks after Aaron's season ended. It all started when Helene's parents sent her flowers on Valentine's Day, for fear that her fiancé wouldn't treat her to anything special — and they were right. Aaron didn't come through with anything on the holiday.
The couple then met up at a Starbucks coffee shop, located near her apartment in New Jersey, and Aaron dropped the bomb: he was ending their engagement. Aaron reportedly told Helene that he was "no longer emotionally invested" in their relationship, and decided to call it quits. "It felt like a bomb dropped," Helene said about the breakup (in a Starbucks, no less, give this girl a break). "I said, 'I feel very deceived by you. You've told me every single day that you love me, and now this is it?'" A very regrettable final rose, if we ever saw one.