First comes love, then comes … a televised wedding. Despite the frequent heartbreak, Bachelor Nation is actually filled with happy couples who met on a journey orchestrated by Chris Harrison. While each season is usually chock-full of drama, some duos are able to see it through all the way down the aisle. From Trista Rehn and Ryan Sutter to Tanner Tolbert and Jade Roper, there are some seriously adorable pairs to come from our favorite reality franchise.
One more major perk of a televised wedding is ABC most likely picks up the tab. Although the network has declined to comment on if they pay for all or part of the TV wedding, it would be a logical incentive for the Mr. and Mrs. to agree to broadcast their special day. Secondly, the show already assists in many other expenses for the happy couples.
For the reality stars who make their love last, the franchise helps them start on the right foot. They provide gorgeous Neil Lane engagement rings. Some of the sparklers are up to four-carats in size and worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, but it comes with a contractual agreement.
“If you make it to the end of The Bachelor and decide to get married within the two years following the show, the producers own the exclusive rights to your wedding. As for the ring given to you by Neil Lane? You don’t own it — and therefore can’t sell it — for two years,” author Amy Kaufman claimed in her book, Bachelor Nation: Inside the World of America’s Favorite Guilty Pleasure.
The reality franchise has never explicitly stated this as fact, but host Chris Harrison corroborated the sentiment. “There’s some rule, after a certain number of years, you get to keep it anyway. But after months … it goes back,” he told Entertainment Tonight in 2016.
While Bachelor Nation has its fair share of unmarried couples breaking up through the years, the same can’t be said for those who tied the knot. Take Krystal Nielson and Chris Randone, for example. They were the first husband and wife in the franchise to announce their divorce. The Bachelor in Paradise couple wed in June 2019, almost one year after getting engaged at the end of season 5. They called it quits eight months later.
In October 2020, Ashley Hebert and J.P. Rosenbaum were the second Bachelor divorce after revealing via Instagram they decided to go their separate ways for good “after months of separation.”
In December 2020, Bachelor in Paradise couple Carly Waddell and Evan Bass announced their split after three years of marriage. “We will always cherish our time together and continue to have the utmost respect for one another as we focus on what’s best for the future of our family,” the former flames said in a joint statement. “We greatly appreciate everyone’s love and support and kindly ask that you please respect our family’s privacy as we navigate through this.”
Don’t worry, there are still plenty of happy couples left.
Scroll through the gallery below to see photos of the most beautiful Bachelor Nation weddings ever!