9 ‘Bachelor’ Seasons That Didn’t End in Engagements (PHOTOS)
Season 1
Businessman Alex Michel, a.k.a. the OG Bachelor, ended Season 1 by entering into a serious relationship with Amanda Marsh. That relationship, however, was not long for this world.
Season 4
Michel’s runner-up, Trista Rehn, became the OG Bachelorette and ousted mortgage broker Bob Guiney, who later became Bachelor No. 4 and gave winner Estella Gardinier not an engagement ring but a “promise ring” to show his commitment. They broke up weeks after the Season 4 finale.
Season 5
Former NFL star Jesse Palmer also chose to pursue a relationship with his winner, Season 5 contestant Jessica Bowlin, only to announce the end of the relationship just weeks after the finale.
Season 7
Actor Charlie O’Connell — brother of Jerry — didn’t propose to Season 7 winner Sarah Brice, but he did date her off and on for the next five years.
Season 8
ER physician Travis Lane Stork opted for a relationship with Season 8 winner Sarah Stone instead of an engagement — but he admitted a week after the finale that the romance had flatlined.
Season 9
Italian businessman Lorenzo Borghese did not propose to Season 9 winner Jennifer Wilson, but instead offered her a promise ring designed by his mom. After breaking up with her within a couple months of the finale, Borghese embarked on a brief fling with runner-up Sadie Murray.
Season 11
In the shocking conclusion to Season 11, winemaker Brad Womack rejected both of his finalists, Jenni Croft and DeAnna Pappas. He later returned to star in The Bachelor Season 15, proposing to now-ex-fiancée Emily Maynard, while Pappas became Bachelorette No. 4.
Season 18
Soccer star Juan Pablo Galavis, perhaps the most notorious Bachelor in franchise history, gave Season 18 winner Nikki Ferrell a final rose instead of an engagement ring, telling her, “I like you a lot” and telling her not to be “cranky.” Their slow-motion breakup was later documented on Couples Therapy.
Season 23
NFL alum Colton Underwood let finalists Tayshia Adams and Hannah Godwin down easy in the Season 23 finale, telling them he wanted to pursue a relationship with Cassie Randolph, who had eliminated herself in the previous episode.
All Bachelorette seasons so far and most of the recent Bachelor seasons have ended with a handsome fella getting down on bended knee with a sparkling Neil Lane ring.
However, once upon a time, proposals were the exception on the franchise, not the norm. In fact, of the first 10 seasons of The Bachelor, only four ended with proposals.
Click through the gallery above for details on all the engagement-less installments of ABC’s flagship dating reality series, including Colton Underwood’s just-wrapped love journey.
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