True love conquers all — well, sometimes, that is. On February 14, the Bachelor 20th Anniversary Special took a walk down memory lane, revisiting some of the highs and lows of the romantic reality show. In addition to catching up with some of the franchise's success stories, the Valentine's Day episode included a brief update from current Bachelor Ben Higgins on where his heart is, as well as a wedding and, of course, tears — lots and lots of tears.
Who's Up to What
First and foremost, host Chris Harrison caught up with happily married Bachelor nation alums in various stages of their post-reality show lives.
Ryan Sutter and Trista Sutter, who got married 12 years ago on live TV, reported that their love story "gave people hope" that they too could find that special someone. Ryan offered up his best marriage advice, noting, "You have to carve out time for each other. You have to make your relationship a priority."
Kaitlyn Bristowe and Shawn Booth revealed that when they can't sleep, they sometimes watch his wedding proposal from the show — and also that they can't agree on how many kids to have. "She wants four kids and I want five, but we both agree that we'll talk after one," Shawn explained. (It didn't appear that Shawn and his one-time rival, Nick Viall, had any interaction at the event, so it's safe to assume that everyone has moved on.)
Jason Mesnick happily told the host that he and wife Molly Mesnick "are still married" even though she was unable to attend the bash. Molly chimed in via video message, saying their daughter Riley, who turns 3 next month, is "the greatest addition" to their lives.
Chris and Desiree Siegfried announced that they'd recently bought a house and have entered the exciting phase of life that involves picking out paint colors. J.P. and Ashley Rosenbaum are enjoying parenthood with their 1-year-old son, Ford, and said there is "talk and action of more babies" soon. Rounding out the pack of married folk were Sean Lowe and Catherine Giudici, who gushed about how excited they are to be welcoming their first child soon.
Ben Higgins Is in Love With Two Women
Chatting with Harrison, Ben said, "It's really nice to be in this environment and see so many success stories from the show." It sounded like he could use that boost of confidence, too, since he openly admitted he's in love with two different women. (Yikes!)
"It wasn't something I expected. When we talked at the beginning of the season, I was going to do this to the best of my ability and it led me to fall in love with two women," he said with a sigh. Harrison didn't have much to say in response, and Ben left to rejoin his "date"— former Bachelor Chris Soules.
Jade and Tanner Get Married
It wouldn't be much of a special without a wedding, so Jade Roper and Tanner Tolbert tied the knot in front of the bevy of Bachelor alums. (A few of their family members were there as well.) ICYMI, Jade and Tanner fell in love last year on Bachelor in Paradise 2 and got engaged on the season finale of the show.
Though they had only known each other for about two months when Tanner asked Jade to be his bride, they reported that everything had gone smashingly since then and they were having "a ton of fun" wedding planning.
Both Jade and Tanner were misty-eyed before she'd even made her way down the aisle and they exchanged touching, personalized vows. "My heart loved you even when my head told me it was way too soon," Tanner said with a smile. "You went from a girl I thought was cute on TV to my best friend in the entire world and I wouldn't spend my life with anyone other than you. I promise to go through the ups and downs of life with you because the downs with you are even better than the ups without you." Because he is a wise man, Tanner added, "I promise to remember that you are always right and I am always wrong."
For her part, Jade told Tanner, "There came a point in my life where I never thought I was going to get married. I had seen marriages in my family give their best and fail and I became afraid to fully open myself up to somebody, and that is until I met you." She took a breath and continued, "Tanner, you are the love of my life. We both know that I am not perfect but I promise to always give you my best and I promise to love you all my life."
They christened their new marital status with a first dance to "Kiss From a Rose" by Seal. Oh, and Seal was there to sing it.
Ashley I. Is Still Not Over Jared
It also wouldn't be much of a Bachelor special without some waterworks, and Ashley Iaconetti (who spent most of Bachelor in Paradise 2 crying over Jared Haibon) was there to provide them. And yes, the tears were still for Jared.
"Last time you guys saw me I had my heart smashed by Jared and I was crying a lot, like waterfalls every day, but I haven't cried for a long time now because Jared and I have cultivated a very nice friendship since Paradise," she revealed. "But if he is not making any moves tonight, at a wedding, with an open bar, I'm going to murder him." The self-confessed virgin also added that she would be willing to go third base with him if he were interested.
He wasn't. When it became clear that he wasn't interested in moving out of the friend zone, Ashley I. broke down.
"Everything's good. We're really good friends," she said crying to the camera. "I just want to be with him."
Other highlights included Clare Crawley calling herself an "old lady" at the party (which, to be fair, she kind of was) and two of the franchise's most, uh, "memorable" stars, Ashley Salter and Erica Rose, each being pregnant and engaged.
Tell Us: What was your favorite moment from the special?
