The Bachelor franchise, in theory, is all about finding love. Not everyone gets it right the first time, so the franchise also employs the “if at first you don’t succeed” mentality. For many, especially contestants-turned-leads, this works out in their favor. However, some people try, try again one too many times for fans’ liking.
The addition of Bachelor in Paradise opens up a plethora of options for contestants, and there’s definitely a precedent now that you can return for multiple seasons. To do that, though, you need to be compelling enough for viewers to want to see again so you can extend that fifteen minutes of fame just a bit longer. With this new pattern becoming increasingly common, more and more contestants are returning for second and third seasons. Love them or hate them, these people ultimately are the face of the franchise. These are the contestants who can’t stop showing up on The Bachelor and its spin-offs.
Kristina Schulman was a fan favorite Bachelor Nation contestant
After being sent home in the seventh week of Nick Viall’s season of The Bachelor, Kristina Schulman wanted another shot at love on Bachelor in Paradise Season 4. Unfortunately, most of her time was wasted away by Dean Unglert’s flip-flopping attitude. While she may not have gotten the romance she wanted that summer, she certainly had fan support.
Her third shot at love would be even more confusing. Schulman joined the beach of Bachelor in Paradise Season 6 right in the middle of the Blake Horstmann Stagecoach debacle. She used her date card as a chance to chastise Horstmann for his behavior. Then she gave her rose to Horstmann, and had a sort of friendship alliance with him for the rest of the season. If there was some kind of evil genius plan behind any of it, we’re still waiting on the explanation.
Amanda Stanton wrote a book about all her Bachelor appearances
As far as the Bachelor franchise goes, Amanda Stanton was eliminated from Ben Higgins’ season and was shipped off to Paradise for its third season. There she had an unfortunate entanglement with one Josh Murray. Murray won his season of The Bachelorette and had been engaged to Andi Dorfman until they ended their relationship in 2015. History would repeat itself and Murray would get engaged to Stanton, only for the relationship to fall apart shortly after, making for one of the shortest engagements in Bachelor history. Stanton later returned in Season 4 and had a brief romance with Robby Hayes.
In 2019, Stanton, who’s been a part of some of the craziest Bachelor moments you didn’t see on TV, published the concisely titled Now Accepting Roses: Finding Myself While Searching for the One… and Other Lessons I Learned from “The Bachelor,” a memoir of her time in the franchise and her life afterwards, including her September 2018 arrest for domestic violence.
After all the drama, it doesn’t look like Stanton is returning anytime soon. “I would never go back to Paradise. It’s so much better being on the other side of the TV, and not being a part of all the drama, because it’s really stressful,” she told Entertainment Tonight.
Contestant Jen Saviano almost got together with a then-future Bachelor
Jennifer Saviano had a fairly uneventful time on Ben Higgins’ season of The Bachelor, but, of course, that would all change on Bachelor in Paradise. For the show’s third season, she would hit it off with Nick Viall. However, because it was Paradise, chaos soon followed. She got mixed up in a sort of love quadrangle with Viall, Josh Murray, and Amanda Stanton. Somewhere along the way there was an argument about “boom-boom room,” and it was a mess. To top it all off, Viall was announced as the next Bachelor before the season had even finished, so the fact that the relationship would not work out was spoiled for fans.
Saviano returned for approximately two minutes on Paradise Season 6 to have a date with Chris Bukowski and then get eliminated. Since then, there hasn’t been much of a splash from her. As of this writing, her last retweet was in August 2019 to promote her appearance on the show. Based on her Instagram, it looks like she’s focusing on her influencer career.
Bachelor in Paradise contestant Jordan Kimball seemed to start a fight for the drama
Jordan Kimball is one of those people who was practically made for reality television. He made an impression on the 14th season of The Bachelorette with his golden underwear and his masterful way of commanding whatever space he was in. It was a surprise to no one when he landed on the beach for Bachelor in Paradise Season 5. Kimball had a turbulent yet endearing romance with Jenna Cooper during the season and ended up engaged to her. The two would split after text messages revealed some incredibly shocking behavior from Cooper (via Us Weekly).
Kimball’s return on Season 6 was more of a joke than anything. Rather than seriously pursue any relationships, he practically jumped at the chance to cause drama with Christian Estrada and was promptly kicked off the beach for the violence. We’d say it’s very possible he was just there to cause a scene. For fans who love the show’s drama, Kimball was their golden boy.
Contestant Annaliese Puccini was dumped on the Bachelor franchise many times
Annaliese Puccini’s Bachelor journey shares a lot of similarities to Jordan Kimball’s. She was on the Bachelor season preceding Kimball’s, and would also find herself on Bachelor in Paradise Seasons 5 and 6. The two would even share a brief romance early on. Puccini eventually left the beach in a relationship with Kamil Nicalek, who would break up with her at the reunion show.
The show’s magic had truly left her the next time she returned to Paradise as she was quickly eliminated in the first week. Her luck quickly changed after leaving the show. “It was right after doing Paradise, and I was done with men for a bit,” she told the We Suck at Dating podcast. Puccini evidently found romance while playing wing-woman to a friend. “It’s the first time, maybe ever, that I’m like, ‘Wow, I’m worthy of this kind of relationship,'” she said. “I don’t know if maybe if I thought in the past that I deserved somebody this great and he’s really amazing.”
Wills Reid is friends with many contestant from the Bachelor franchise
Of all the people on this list, Wills Reid definitely ranks among the more chill types. His cool, calm demeanor on Becca Kufrin’s season of The Bachelorette made him more relatable than some of the more extreme personalities in the mansion. He would return for both Bachelor in Paradise Season 5 and 6, and be eliminated in both almost immediately. Reid’s time on the franchise is relatively unremarkable, but he does make the cut for the three-timers club, though maybe more show appearances are in his future.
While the ladies of Bachelor Nation don’t seem to appreciate him, the same can’t be said for the men. Reid has been seen hanging out with his fellow contestants, even appearing on Celebrity Family Feud with them in July 2019. Reid seems to be a pretty private guy with little social media presence, a rarity especially for Bachelor franchise contestants.
Contestant Eric Bigger is done with the Bachelor franchise
Oh, how the Bigger have fallen. Eric Bigger had some decent momentum after being in the final three of Rachel Lindsay’s season of The Bachelorette. There was even some speculation that he could possibly be the next Bachelor. Instead of going straight to Paradise, as is usually the case, he was on the cast of the underwhelming The Bachelor: Winter Games. But Bigger would indeed make it to the beach in Bachelor in Paradise Season 5.
Things seemed to go well for Bigger at first. His relationship with Angela Amezcua seemed genuine. Then Bigger apparently decided to act like a jerk. After spending an intimate date night with Amezcua, he would go on a date with new arrival Cassandra Ferguson, leading to Amezcua’s elimination. Then, he moped around afterwards, claiming that watching Amezcua leave Paradise was painful before ultimately eliminating himself.
Since his exit, it doesn’t look like Bigger will return to the franchise anytime soon. “I think after doing Paradise, I’m not supposed to,” he told the website Betches, adding, “And I learned so much about myself on these shows … but I think I served my space in that world.”
Bachelor contestant Haley Ferguson played up her twin identity
Haley Ferguson appeared on The Bachelor Season 20, as well as Bachelor in Paradise Seasons 3, 4, and 6. Up until her Season 6 appearance, she had been part of a matched set with twin Emily. The two really played up their twin identity with uncomfortable antics like switching places during a date. On Paradise Season 4, they returned with a really sour attitude late in the game and made some rude comments about their co-stars.
“We said some really, really awful things that we wish we could take back,” Haley told Us Weekly. Emily added, “We thought we were going to be [arriving] in the middle. So that’s why I was excited about going.” She noted, “I think we were hopeful of at least being able to go on one date, so I think we were really bitter that we didn’t even get to go on on a date.”
Haley returned without Emily in Season 6 since Emily was already in a relationship. Her appearance wasn’t all that noteworthy, but her date with John Paul Jones did lead to the iconic Tahzjuan meltdown.
Bibiana struggled to get a one-on-one date on the Bachelor shows
In a way, Bibiana Julian has one of the worst records in Bachelor history by being on four seasons and not having a single one-on-one date under her belt by 2019. She was on Season 22 of The Bachelor and became a bit of a fan favorite by butting heads with season villain Krystal Nielsen. She was a member of The Bachelor Winter Games season and came to Paradise for its fifth and sixth seasons. She made the controversial move of giving Colton Underwood a friendship rose, effectively giving him a second chance after he messed things up with Tia Booth.
The hard times continued for Julian off-camera, as she revealed on an interview with the I Don’t Get It podcast that she went through a period of depression after Paradise. Thankfully, it looks as if the headstrong woman has benefited from time away from the franchise.
Bachelor franchise contestant Dean Unglert turned from playboy to committed boyfriend
For a few years, Dean Unglert was one of the well-known men to avoid of Bachelor Nation. He was popular after appearing on Rachel Lindsay’s season of The Bachelorette and was sent to Paradise Season 4. This is where the trouble started. He hit it off with Kristina Schulman, but began to pursue Danielle Lombard at the same time. Unglert eventually chose Lombard, but regretted his decision and left to pursue Schulman outside of the show.
He would then go on to Winter Games and have a short relationship with Lesley Murphy. That seemed to be the end of the Unglert train until Bachelor in Paradise Season 6 came around. It looked as if Unglert was back to his old tricks when he pursued Caelynn Miller-Keyes only to leave her hanging… on her birthday. After some time away — and a shave — Unglert returned to win Miller-Keyes back.
Ashley Iaconetti chased the man of her dreams throughout her time on the Bachelor franchise
Ashley Iaconetti, who is one of many Bachelor contestants who look nearly unrecognizable since their early days on the franchise, spent most of her Bachelor Nation career fawning over one guy. No, it wasn’t Bachelor Chris Soules, whose season she appeared on. Iaconetti seemed to only have eyes for fellow Bachelor in Paradise member Jared Haibon. She pursued him exclusively on Season 2 and fell for him hard, but he ultimately left her heartbroken and crying on the phone. When they both returned for Season 3, Iaconetti was almost doomed from the start to spend the whole season crying.
Iaconetti was shipped off to Winter Games which luckily had no Haibon for her to fixate over. She ended up dating fellow contestant Kevin Wendt post-show. Then, at the most inopportune moment, Haibon apparently realized his feelings for Iaconetti. “I was dating Kevin like out in the real world for two weeks and Jared came out about his feelings and he kissed me in the airport,” Iaconetti admitted on the Almost Famous podcast (via People). She again returned to television screens as Haibon proposed to her in a cameo on Paradise Season 5… in front of Wendt.
After all the controversy, Iaconetti finally got her happy ending by marrying Haibon. Hopefully, that means no more tears.
Nick Viall has four failed relationships from the Bachelor franchise
Known as one of the worst Bachelors in Bachelor history, Nick Viall has, for better or worse, made himself somewhat of a poster boy for the Bachelor franchise. His commercial for Halo Top exemplifies this perfectly as he plays into his rotten luck with love. He was first heartbroken by Andi Dorfman on her season of The Bachelorette, leaving as the runner-up. Then he famously showed up to Kaitlyn Bristowe’s season of The Bachelorette and was allowed to compete… only to again leave as second-choice.
He was on Bachelor in Paradise Season 3 where a whole debacle with Jennifer Saviano happened. As the next Bachelor, though, he could finally call the shots. He proposed to winner Vanessa Grimaldi at the finale, only to break up five months later. It’s safe to say that, while arguably an expert by this point, Viall is not very good at playing the Bachelor game. Non-fans of Viall will be pleased to know that when asked by Us Weekly what it would take to return to the franchise, Viall replied, “Imprisonment? I don’t know. A gun?”
Bachelor Nation contestant Wells Adams could be Chris Harrison's replacement
Wells Adams occupies a very special place in Bachelor Nation. He’s no longer a contestant, after appearing on both The Bachelorette and Bachelor in Paradise and starting a strange relationship with actress Sarah Hyland, but he’s been in a number of seasons. That’s because he’s been bartending for Paradise since Season 4. Adams gets a front seat to all the drama, and therefore gets to give a third-party perspective when interviewed on it all.
His unique role in the franchise has even led fans to speculate whether he would take over for Chris Harrison eventually as host. Bustle even awarded him the “Most Likely To Be The Next Chris Harrison” award in 2018, to which he replied, “The fact that Bachelor Nation thinks that I’m competent enough to let a bunch of people know that there is only one rose left is a huge honor. However, joke’s on you BN… ’cause I can’t count.” Whether Adams takes over for Harrison or not, hopefully he sticks around to keep bringing his enthusiasm, humor, and dance moves to our screens.
Bachelor Nation contestant Chris Bukowski has appeared six times
As of this writing, no one has dethroned the grandpa of Bachelor Nation himself, Chris Bukowski, in terms of appearances. Bukowski has been on a whopping six seasons of the franchise. His list includes The Bachelorette Season 8, Bachelor Pad Season 3, The Bachelorette Season 10 (albeit, not for very long), and Bachelor in Paradise Seasons 1 and 2. And at that point, Bukowski “retired” from reality television.
This, of course, did not last, as he reappeared for Paradise Season 6, even returning with a walker. Things seemed to be changing for Bukowski as he left engaged to Katie Morton. The cracks began to show quickly, though, at the reunion when Morton appeared without her engagement ring. The two announced their split on Dec. 10, 2019 on Instagram. As of now, there’s no word on whether Bukowski would ever return for another try on a Bachelor show, but fans shouldn’t hold their breath. It might be time for Bukowski to retire for good.
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