Katie’s journey is about to begin as our new Bachelorette but before we start diving into her season, let’s take a look at the past 13 recent Bachelors and Bachelorettes from Chris Soules in 2015 or what is the start of the “influencer era” where the show picked up in popularity so much that the contestants are going on the show to gain fame to Matt James who was the first Black bachelor in January.
13. Matt James
The mean girls drama got on my NERVES. Plus, the lack of travelling and not-so-interesting dates were a bore. Matt James also never really seemed into the show. Although he got back together with his final pick Rachel at the end, he basically humiliated her at the AFR calling her out for her past racist actions.
12. Becca Kufrin
After Becca was heart broken by Arie, we all just wanted the best for her. While she and the men she chose are great individually, they weren’t very entertaining for TV. Nothing memorable happened and her relationship with Garrett didn’t last either.
11. Arie Lyuyendyk Jr.
Arie himself was a snooze fest as a lead with not many people connecting to him. Although his girls provided a bit of drama, the most climatic part of his season was really his switch-up proposal that lead to him dumping Becca on live television and going straight into runner-up Lauren’s arms. We are glad they are happily married but the weeks leading up to that moment was boring.
10. Jojo Fletcher
We had high expectations for Jojo who came off as a fan favourite from Ben’s season. She had the looks, the personality – but her taste of men was very disappointing. The only interesting phenomena was big bad villain Chad who threatened to beat other contestants. Other than that, most of her men gained a bad rep post-show in one way or another. Only her engagement to Jordan who she is still engaged to now is what saved her season at the end.
9. Peter Weber
Pilot Pete was a strong contender to being an almost perfect lead. He was this wholesome and charming fan favourite on Hannah Brown’s season but quickly now deemed the worst Bachelor of all time. He was not only disingenuous with his proposal to Hannah Ann, but what was so frustrating was the fact that he couldn’t make up his mind and dated Madison and Kelley after the show ended! The girls on his season were fun to watch though. We got contestants like aggressive Tammy, the champagne gate incident with Kelsey and Hannah Ann, and Victoria’s date with ex Chase Rice performing. Plus, the plot twist at the end that his mom Barb was the real villain after all.
8. Ben Higgins
Ben Higgins is known as the best Bachelor of all time – which he himself is but his season? A bit of a bore. There was no real drama that occurred other than front runner Olivia calling Amanda a teen mom and Ben saying “I love you” to two women.
7. Chris Soules
Chris Soules may be a bit dull personality wise but the women on his season are still unforgettable till this day. He had the whole Prince Farming tagline where he needed to find a woman who is willing to move to a farm in the middle of Iowa. We had the Ashley Vs. Kelsey two-on-one date in the Badlands, Jade’s princess date, Kaitlyn’s witty banter, and everyone toasting champagne when Britt left the show.
6. Nick Viall
The girls had a lot of personality on Nick’s season. We got iconic lines from villain Corrine Olympios who invented the phrase “platinum vagine,” recalls herself having a nanny, and defending her stance on napping. Not to mention her argument with Taylor about emotional intelligence. Other memorable girls on his season were Raven, Rachel, Vanessa, Kristina, and Danielle L. It was overall an upbeat season despite his lack of connection with a lot of women.
5. Hannah Brown
The former Miss Alabama was a mess as a lead but that’s what made for great TV. She was awkward, bold, and cutesy with her men. Remember when she lifted her podium of roses when Luke wouldn’t stop bothering her? But it was the drama at the end that really sealed the deal when she got engaged to Jed and found out after that he had a girlfriend all along! Hannah caused intense drama even after her season when she asked runner-up Tyler out on a date at AFR and snuggled up on Peter’s lap during his season.
4. Colton Underwood
Colton’s season was once memorable for his iconic fence jump when he got dumped by his final pick Cassie only to convince her to be with him. We also got great contestants like Demi who had the sassiest comebacks and the whole pageant drama surrounding Caelynn and Hannah B. Now, Colton’s season is memorable for him being the first gay Bachelor to ever appear on the show.
3. Rachel Lindsay
Rachel’s witty and funny personality was so fun to watch! Plus, we got diversity as she lead the way as Bachelor Nation’s first Black lead. Her season consisted of outstanding moments from telling Demario off when she found out he had a secret girlfriend to Dean’s bizarre hometown date. While we are happy that Rachel ended up marrying her final pick Bryan, we cannot forget the most tear-jerking breakup ever with her Peter Kraus where she “cried her eyelashes off.”
2. Clare Crawley / Tayshia Adams
Who could forget the season where Clare got engaged to a contestant after 3 weeks and had to replaced by Tayshia? Although it started out dramatic, Tayshia gave audiences an extremely satisfying season by being poised as the lead and selecting a group of fine men before ultimately ending up with Zac who gave the most romantic proposal of all time!
1. Kaitlyn Bristowe
Kaitlyn’s season will always be memorable for many reasons. One, it started out being a battle of two bachelorette leads where the men had to choose who they wanted night 1 as the lead. As Kaitlyn won the votes, we had fun watching her sassy personality and seeing her guys genuinely fall for her (this was pre-influencer days). She also had great taste as her final four (Jared, Ben, Nick, and Shawn) who are deemed the best group yet. We also had the controversial Nick entrance where he came in half way and later slept with Kaitlyn. Lastly, although their relationship didn’t last, Shawn and Kaitlyn still had one of the best connection of all time.
Which season do you think was the GOAT?
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