The Top 10 Most Dramatic ‘Bachelor’ Finales
Brad Womack
Season 11
Brad Womack stunned audiences by turning away both DeAnna Pappas and Jenni Croft. DeAnna went on to be The Bachelorette, while Brad later returned as The Bachelor and proposed to Emily Maynard, but their relationship didn’t last — but Emily earned her Bachelorette season. Looks like Brad’s exes proved to be great Bachelorettes!
Jason Mesnick and Melissa Rycroft
Talk about awkward! Jason Mesnick proposed to Season 13 winner Melissa Rycroft, and six weeks following the finale, dumped her on live TV during the After the Final Rose special. Jason claimed he made the wrong choice in not selecting runner-up Molly Malaney. While Melissa did not take the on-camera drama lightly, Jason and Molly tied the knot during a special televised wedding ceremony.
Season 11′ Kaitlyn Bristowe
Bristowe’s finale wasn’t terribly dramatic but it was Nick Viall’s comments during After the Final Rose about them having sex during the fantasy suite date that was scandalous. Kaitlyn Bristowe and Shawn Booth are still engaged while Viall is still single, so who’s the real winner?
Alex Michel
Season 1
The very first Bachelor didn’t even propose! Alex Michel instead asked winner Amanda Marsh to move to California with him. While she probably would have preferred a ring, who can say no to moving to the Golden State?
“I want to make sure that we feel the same way about each other outside of the fantasy world of mansions and limousines,” Alex told Amanda at the final rose ceremony. Smart man — they broke up a few months later.
Season 18’s Juan Pablo
This list honestly wouldn’t exist without Juan Pablo. Talk about a scandal. This Bachelor quickly became hated because of his dismissive attitude and his infamous ‘Okay’ line whenever things were definitely not okay. This finale was hard to watch as he humiliated Clare Crawley by supposedly whispering sexual explicit words into her ear on a helicopter ride and saying he didn’t know her. To top it off, Pablo asked Nikki Ferrell to be his girlfriend but wouldn’t propose. Their relationship didn’t even make it to After The Final Rose.
Season 21’s Rachel Lindsay
I really hate to do this but Rachel Lindsay did Peter Kraus so wrong in both the finale and especially during After the Finale Rose. It seemed like she only picked her fiancé Brian as a default because Kraus said he wasn’t ready to propose. The couple is still engaged proving Lindsay made the right choice for herself, but I just wish she didn’t try to drag Kraus.
Charlie O'Connell
Season 7
Leave it to Jerry O’Connell’s brother to shake up The Bachelor. Charlie O’Connell asked both his final women, Krisily Kennedy and Sarah Brice, to continue dating him after the show. Eventually he gave Sarah a promise ring on After the Final Rose. To fans’ surprise, they dated on and off for five years before Sarah reportedly sold the ring on eBay.
Season 2’s Meredith Phillips
You could argue Phillips was the original Ben Higgins when it came to saying “I love you” to multiple contestants. She told contestant Matthew Hickl that she was in love with him and hoped to get his proposal only to choose Ian McKee which left viewers shocked.
New Zealand Bachelor Season 2’s Jordan Mauger
I know he wasn’t on the American version butfans did learn more about his story when he came on The Bachelor Winter Games. If you didn’t watch, Mauger couldn’t decide between the final two on his season so Mauger flipped a coin to decide between Fleur Verhoeven and Nazanin Khanjani. Based on the coin toss he chose Verhoeven. The engagement ended just a few hours later.
Season 22’s Arie Luyendyk Jr.
It hasn’t been confirmed yet but Twitter has erupted with rumors that confirm Chris Harrison isn’t lying when he says it’s “the most dramatic season of The Bachelor yet.” I have a feeling he’s going to earn this spot on the list.
Since The Bachelor franchise entered into our lives almost 16-years ago, Chris Harrison has been delivering the same line to viewers: “This will be the most dramatic finale in Bachelor history.”
Well this can only mean one thing….Drama https://t.co/DkS8KEFjbc
— Chris Harrison (@chrisbharrison) February 28, 2018
And while most of the time it’s just a big tease to entice viewers to tune in—especially during some of the quieter seasons—some finales still have Twitter talking.
What earns a spot on our most dramatic list includes a lack of proposals, The Bachelor or The Bachelorette toying with the final two’s hearts, and my personal favorite: the old switcheroo on live television when The Bachelor or The Bachelorette changes their minds last minute.
The most memorable seasons, after all, are the ones with dramatic finales and heated After The Final Rose specials. It’s even better when The Bachelor or The Bachelorette does something so shocking that they become a verb.
For example, if you leave both people at the end and don’t propose you’ve Brad Womack-ed the final two; if you love both of your final two, you’ve pulled a Ben Higgins (still our favorite Bachelor), and lastly if you’re emotionally ill-equipped and just downright insensitive you’ve Juan Pablo’d.
Click through the gallery above to revisit some of Bachelor’s biggest scandals.
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