Where Are 8 ‘Bachelorette’ Runners-Up Now?
The Final Rose
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We know about the stars of The Bachelorette and the men who won their final roses over the years. We’ve calculated the ABC dating show’s dismal success rate. And we remember many of the runners-up from the past 18 seasons, especially those who returned for another season of The Bachelorette or who leveled up to The Bachelor…or both. (Hey, Nick Viall!)
But what about the other dudes who almost walked away from The Bachelorette with an engagement? Ahead of Season 18’s premiere on Tuesday, October 19, here are updates on eight of the Bachelorette No. 2 finishers, whose journeys ended there and then.
Charlie Maher
As of 2020, Maher—the runner-up from Season 1—was working as a vice president of the medical technology company Stryker, according to Bustle. He and his wife, Katrina, have a daughter named Sienna, Us Weekly reports.
John Paul Merritt
This Season 3 runner-up is the founder and CEO of Pony Oil, an impressive position for someone who was bankrupt at age 27, as D Magazine reports. In 2018, Merritt and his wife, Kristi, gave the magazine a tour of the Dallas-area home they share with their four young children.
Kiptyn Locke
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Jillian Harris’ silver medalist from Season 5 is an entrepreneur and businessman who welcomed his first child with then-girlfriend Samm Murphy in 2015. “When you introduce kids, a new road comes about,” he told People at the time. “My path has changed a little bit, but it’s the path I’ve always wanted.”
Chris Lambton
This Season 6 also-ran turned his landscaping business into a television career, having judged the Discovery+ series Clipped and hosted the DIY series Lawn and Order and Yard Crashers. He’s married to The Bachelor Season 10 contestant Peyton Wright, with whom he hosted HGTV’s Going Yard, and the couple have a son and a daughter.
Drew Kenney
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Desiree Hartsock’s final castoff in Season 9 has become an actor in recent years, with small roles in American Horror Story, The Bold and the Beautiful, Veronica Mars, and Special.
Robby Hayes
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This Season 12 runner-up, a partner of the marketing agency Rebella, returned to headlines this August after former roommate and fellow Bachelorette alum Jef Holm briefly filed a restraining order against him. Holm accused Hayes of harassment, but Hayes told Page Six it’s Holm “who’s actually been the one harassing, physically abusing, and making threats of violence.”
Peter Kraus
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You won’t find mention of The Bachelorette on his business’s website, but this Season 13 runner-up is the owner of Peter Kraus Fitness, a 24/7 gym in Middleton, Wisconsin. “Over the past 12 years, I have developed a great deal of knowledge in the world of health and fitness through my education, training, and travels,” Kraus says on the site.
Blake Horstmann
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When he’s not spinning records in the DJ booth, this Season 18 runner-up is cohosting Behind the Rose, a podcast “where The Bachelor meets country music and everything in between!”
The Bachelorette, Season 18 Premiere, Tuesday, October 19, 8/7c ABC
