The course of true love never did run smooth, and as countless seasons of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette have shown us, finding your fairytale ending isn’t always an easy task!
From awkward group dates to explosive televised breakups, the men and women looking for love on the hit reality series have provided plenty of ‘OMG’ moments throughout the years.
Who could forget the controversy that erupted after Aussie Bachelor Blake Garvey dumped Sam Frost, only to reunite with runner-up Louise Pillidge? Or how about US Bachelorette Kaitlyn Bristowe’s hot hook-up with runner-up Nick Viall?
Relive those scandals and more with our list of the craziest Bachelor and Bachelorette moments here
On season 13 of The Bachelor (US), Jason Mesnick stunned fans by proposing to winner Melissa Rycroft in the finale, only to break up with her on the post-finale After The Final Rose event to get back together with runner-up Molly Malaney. The two are happily married now and have two children together, Riley and Ty.
Jason Mesnick breaks up with Melissa Rycroft to date runner-up Molly Malaney
Season 14 Bachelor Jake Pavelka and his winning bachelorette Vienna Girardi had one of the show’s messiest breakups ever – after going down on one knee during the finale of his season, the two split just months later during a televised special hosted by Chris Harrison.
Vienna Girardi and Jake Pavelka break up on TV
On season one of The Bachelor NZ, contestant Poppy Salter’s little slip-up during a one-on-one date with Bachelor Arthur Green gave the pair a good laugh!
The Bachelor NZ Poppy farts on her date with Art
On season 11, Bachelor Brad Womack became the first in history to wind up alone at the end of the series after saying goodbye to both DeAnna Pappas AND Jenni Croft in the final episode. He would later have a second shot at love on the 15th season of The Bachelor, where he proposed to Emily Maynard (the two later split up).
Brad Womack picks no one on The Bachelor US
She’s still in the running to capture Jordan Mauger’s heart on this season of The Bachelor NZ, but feisty contestant Naz Khanjani ruffled some feathers early on with her bold approach and her infamous ‘hit list’.
The Bachelor NZ: Naz warns Jordan about Anna
Juan Pablo Galavis quickly became one of the most hated Bachelors ever after his season aired. Among many other scandals, the 35-year-old reportedly told runner-up Clare Crawley “I love f–king you but I don’t know you” during what was meant to be a romantic date, leading to her epic outburst after he dumped her for winner Nikki Ferrell.
On season 11 of The Bachelorette, Kaitlyn Bristowe and contestant Nick Viall’s late-night rendezvous hit headlines when the two were shown heading back to Kaitlyn’s hotel room after a date together. Kaitlyn later chose Shawn Booth as her final pick, after a heart-wrenching breakup with Nick in which he told her, “It’s not fair to tell me that what I feel, you feel the same. Because you don’t and if you did, you’d have a ring on your finger right now.”
Australian Bachelor Blake Garvey popped the question to Sam Frost on the finale of his season, but the pair’s romance ended in flames after he broke things off and reunited with second runner-up Louise Pillidge (the couple broke up in April, while Sam went on to become Australia’s first Bachelorette).
The drama on season two of The Bachelor New Zealand really got started after star Jordan Mauger picked his final Bachelorette, Fleur Verhoeven – only for the couple to split just days after the finale aired on Kiwi screens. Fleur announced the shocking news in a TV interview, revealing Jordan had totally blindsided her.
Jordan and Fleur split
Earlier this year, Jordan hit headlines once more after revealing he had chosen the winner of his season by flipping a coin. “The first helicopter was waiting and they [the producers] said, ‘who are they putting in it?’, so I flipped a coin,” he told The Spinoff, eventually choosing Fleur as his final pick.
