Though the franchise is based around finding love, most Bachelor Nation leads aren’t very good at it. The Bachelor and The Bachelorette have become notorious for their poor success rate. Unfortunately, most of the relationships that emerge from the two shows don’t even make it past a year. It’s not surprising that a reality TV show isn’t the best way to find true love, but some failed Bachelor Nation relationships are worse than others.
There have certainly been some successes to come out of the franchise. One lead, Sean Lowe, has even started a family with his final rose recipient. But his and other leads’ success stories aren’t the norm. Most Bachelor Nation leads fail at finding lasting love on their respective shows. These leads stand apart as having some of the worst judgment to ever be featured in Bachelor Nation.
Peter Weber
After having his heart broken on Hannah Brown’s season of The Bachelorette, Peter Weber took center stage as the lead on the following season of The Bachelor. He garnered a lot of criticism as the Bachelor, and was accused of letting drama run rampant among his cast of women. Peter didn’t seem to have much of a spine, or an idea of what he wanted.
After Madison Prewett self-eliminated, Peter followed his mother’s advice and proposed to Hannah Ann Sluss. However, Peter’s relationship with Hannah Ann quickly fizzled out, and he gave it a go with Madison one more time…only to have that relationship crumble as well. After that breakup, Peter reached further back into his cast of women and started dating Kelley Flanagan.
The two stayed together for several months before announcing they were parting ways. A few months later they gave it another go, but it ended up another failed Bachelor Nation relationship. Kelley is now dating someone new and Peter is, unsurprisingly, still single.
Clare Crawley
Clare Crawley has a long and dramatic history in Bachelor Nation—all of it showcasing just how bad she was at looking for love. Her first appearance was on Juan Pablo Galavis’ season of The Bachelor, and she ended up coming in second. Though she was furious at the time, Clare ultimately dodged a major bullet.
Her heartbreak on The Bachelor didn’t deter her from looking for love in the franchise, and she appeared on multiple Bachelor Nation spin-offs. After two unsuccessful seasons on Bachelor in Paradise, Clare took part in the wildly underrated spin-off, Bachelor Winter Games. It was a dramatic season, and though her love interest, Benoit Beauséjour-Savard, quit the show, he proposed to Clare during the After the Final Rose episode.
The couple eventually broke off their engagement, leaving Clare free to star as the lead on her own Bachelorette season. Clare famously quit the show to be with Dale Moss. However, after an on-again-off-again relationship, they announced their dramatic Bachelor breakup. Clare seemingly learned her lesson after all that and stayed away from Bachelor Nation men. It was a decision that paid off, as Clare is now happily married to a man who hasn’t been on reality TV.
Colton Underwood
If ever there was a lead who didn’t know what they wanted, it was Colton Underwood. The former football player and favorite was named the lead after Becca Kufrin’s season, and delivered one of the most iconic moments in Bachelor history. After his epic fence jump, Colton left his season alone. However, on After the Final Rose, Colton revealed he was in a relationship with Cassie Randolf.
The couple stayed together for several months, but their relationship turned sour. Cassie ended things with Colton, who did not take the breakup well. Colton exhibited shocking and extremely problematic behavior by harassing and stalking Cassie. He sent her texts from a mystery number and put a GPS tracker on her car. Cassie was forced to file a restraining order against Colton, and it was a dark time in Bachelor Nation history.
However, in the plot twist to end all plot twists, Colton later came out and revealed that he was gay. Though it was good to see Colton living an authentic life, many fans were still hung up on the way he treated Cassie. But despite Colton’s confusion for many years, he finally found love outside the franchise and recently got married.
Arie Luyendyk
While there have been two Bachelors who changed their mind after proposing and handing out their final rose, it was Arie Luyendyk who was the most cringey and clueless. Arie’s casting came out of left field, and for many women in his cast, Arie was the last lead they expected to see. But ultimately, Arie did form a few strong connections, particularly with Becca Kufrin and Lauren Burnham.
Though Arie was very much in love with Lauren, it seemed he felt that Becca was better on paper, and he popped the question to Becca in the finale, sending Lauren home. But he regretted his decision almost immediately. In what was truly the most dramatic ending ever, Arie called off his engagement with Becca, who was clearly devastated by the Bachelor breakup.
Arie then begged Lauren for another chance, and she agreed to give their relationship a shot. It appears that, despite his indecision, Arie made the right choice. He and Lauren eventually got married and now have three children together. But that still doesn’t change the fact that Arie was terrible at making the right decision when looking for love.
Becca Kufrin
Becca may have had her heart broken by Arie, but she proved that she was just as bad at making decisions on her own season of The Bachelorette. Her journey was fairly straightforward, and it was a very predictable season. Becca got engaged to her frontrunner, Garrett Yrigoyen, in the finale, and at first it seemed that everything was going swimmingly for the couple.
However, there were some tough decisions that Becca and Garrett clearly didn’t have before getting engaged. Becca is very outspokenly liberal, whereas Garrett has exhibited much more conservative views. Their political and social values don’t align at all, which caused major strife in Becca and Garrett’s relationship. Though they stayed together for two years, the couple were just another failed Bachelor Nation relationship, and fans weren’t surprised.
Becca yet again had a difficult time finding love when she appeared on Bachelor in Paradise. She developed strong feelings for Thomas Jacobs, but broke up with him at the end of the season because he seemed “too good to be true.” Once again, Becca made the wrong choice, because she later reconciled with Thomas, and they now appear to be extremely happy together. The couple are engaged and expecting their first child.
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