Dating shows serve up romance, intrigue, heartbreak, rejection and the natural narrative of a love affair. So it’s no surprise that they’re ridiculously popular, and The Bachelorette is one of the best. It’s a long-running show, so it can be hard to remember all the seasons. Not to worry, this handy guide will help.
From the beginning, there was something special about The Bachelorette. A spin-off of the incredibly popular show The Bachelor, where single women compete for an eligible man, this show flips the script on the concept and introduces men as the contestants.
The first show, which aired on Jan. 8, 2003, featured the runner-up from the first season of The Bachelor: Trista Rehn. Traditionally, the show takes The Bachelor’s runner-up but there are exceptions. For 16 seasons, Chris Harrison hosted the show, but now it falls to Jesse Palmer.
There are 20 seasons of the show so far, with family therapist Charity Lawson being the most recent star. Over the years, there have been marriages, divorces, shocking surprises and countless heartbreaks. With no signs of stopping anytime soon, there will be a lot more of that to come. Let’s dive in.
Season 1 – Trista Rehn
The beginning of the phenomenon. Trista Rehn eventually whittled down her 25 excited bachelors in Los Angeles to then 28-year-old firefighter Ryan Sutter. They were married on Dec. 6, 2003, share two children and as of this writing are still together today.
Season 2 – Meredith Phillips
Meredith was the standout on bachelor Bob Guiney’s season. At the time, she was a model and a makeup artist from Portland, Oregon. She chose 29-year-old equity research salesman Ian Mckee. The couple broke up in 2005.
Season 3 – Jen Schefft
Jen was the winner of Andrew Firestone’s season, but the relationship ended when she moved to Chicago for work. She then chose 29-year-old art gallery director Jerry Ferris, but ultimately she decided they were better off as friends.
Season 4 – DeAnna Pappas
DeAnna was a 26-year-old real estate agent from Georgia. She accepted a proposal from Jesse Csincsak, a professional snowboarder from Colorado. Unfortunately, they called it off before their wedding.
In 2011, she married a high school teacher named Stephen Stagliano.
Season 5 – Jillian Harris
Jillian was a 29-year-old interior designer from Canada who charmed America with her stark honesty and wacky humor. She ended up accepting a proposal from 29-year-old tech consultant Ed Swiderski in Hawaii. They broke up in 2010.
Season 6 – Ali Fedotowsky
Ali, 25, was a front-runner on Jake Pavelka’s season but ended up choosing her job and leaving the show. On her season of The Bachelorette, she accepted a proposal from 26-year-old Roberto Martinez. They were engaged for 18 months before they called it off.
She cited personality differences as the reason for the split.
Season 7 – Ashley Hebert
Ashley was a 27-year-old dentist who graduated summa cum laude from the University of Maine and then the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine. She accepted a proposal from J.P. Rosenbaum and they married on Dec. 1, 2012.
They split in 2020 after 8 years of marriage and share two children.
Season 8 – Emily Maynard
Emily Maynard was a 26-year-old Southern belle who was a full-time mom and wife until the unfortunate passing of her husband, race car driver Ricky Hendrick. She started the show in Charlotte so she could be close to her daughter, and eventually accepted a proposal from 27-year-old Jef Holm from Utah.
They called off their engagement in 2012.
Season 9 – Desiree Hartsock
Desiree was (somewhat ironically) a bridal gown designer and only 27 years old when her season of The Bachelor aired. The show’s finale was in beautiful Antigua where she accepted a proposal from 27-year-old mortgage broker Chris Siegfried.
The couple is a rare success story and is still married today, with two children.
Season 10 – Andi Dorfman
Andi made headlines when she sent herself home on Juan Pablo’s season, but the 27-year-old lawyer made waves on her season. She eventually traveled to the Dominican Republic for the show’s finale and accepted a proposal from 29-year-old baseball player Josh Murray.
The couple broke up in 2015.
Season 11 – Kaitlyn Bristowe
Kaitlyn is one of the more famous Bachelorette alums. This hilarious 29-year-old Canadian beat out Britt Nilsson at the beginning of the show and eventually accepted a proposal from Shawn Booth, shocking the runner-up Nick Viall.
The couple made it three years and broke up in November 2018.
Season 12 – JoJo Fletcher
The daughter of two doctors, JoJo ended up pursuing real estate and became quite successful at it. The show traveled the world and ended up in Thailand where she accepted a proposal from 27-year-old former quarterback Jordan Rodgers, brother of former Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
The couple tied the knot on May 22, 2022. They are still together as of this writing.
Season 13 – Rachel Lindsay
Rachel was another Southern belle, and she was one of the older Bachelorette contestants at the tender age of 32. However, she was busy crushing it in her law career over looking for love. She was also the show’s first black Bachelorette.
She eventually accepted a proposal from Bryan Abasolo, a 37-year-old Chiropractor. They married in 2019 but Abasolo filed for divorce on Dec. 31, 2023.
Season 14 – Becca Kufrin
Becca had a heart-wrenching historic Bachelor moment when she broke up with Arie from season 22. She rebounded as the Bachelorette and eventually accepted a proposal from 29-year-old medical sales rep Garrett Yrigoyen.
Unfortunately, they broke up in 2018, but Becca didn’t go public with the news until 2020.
Season 15 – Hanna Brown
Hanna was a 24-year-old from Alabama who represented her state in the Miss America pageant in 2018. In the finale in Greece, she chose 35-year-old singer Jed Wyatt. After the proposal, she found out that Jed had another girlfriend back home and while they tried to make it work, she broke it off on July 30, 2019.
Season 16 – Clare Crawley
Clare was the oldest Bachelorette in the history of the show at the age of 39. Perhaps because of this, she chose Dale Moss before the show even ended, marking another first in Bachelorette history. They eventually broke up, got back together, and broke up again before she got engaged to Ryan Dawkins.
The couple tied the knot on Feb. 1, 2023.
Season 16 – Tayshia Adams
Tayshia jumped on board quickly after Clare left the show. She eventually chose addiction specialist and New Jersey native Zac Clark and left runner-up Ben Smith in the dust. The couple wasn’t meant to last, unfortunately, and they broke up in Nov. 2021.
Season 17 – Katie Thurston
Katie was raised in Lynwood, Washington and played on her high school basketball team. She placed 11th on Matt James’ season of The Bachelor, and eventually chose Blake Moynes at the end of the show. They broke up in Oct. 2021.
She then dated contestant John Hersey. They broke up in June 2022.
Season 18 – Michelle Young
Michelle grew up playing basketball and first appeared on Matt James’ season. She chose Nate Olukoya on her season, but unfortunately they broke up on June 17, 2022.
Season 19 – Gabby and Rachel
Fan favorites Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia were co-Bachelorettes on their season. Rachel chose Tino but they broke up shortly after. Gabby chose Erich Schwer, a 29-year-old real estate analyst. They broke up shortly after as well. She cited compatibility issues.
Season 20 – Charity Lawson
The most reason season of The Bachelorette was also one of its best. It’s hard to go wrong with this show, but Charity Lawson was magnetic and stunning all at once. Charity chose 30-year-old family and child therapist Dotun Olubeko to be her husband, and they have a wedding date set for 2025.