‘Bachelor’ and ‘Bachelorette’ Contestants Who Came Back After Being Eliminated

Credit: ABC/Craig Sjodin (2); ABC/Maarten de Boer

‘Bachelor' and ‘Bachelorette’ Contestants Who Came Back After Being Eliminated

Bachelor Nation is big on first impressions … but what about second chances? While the majority of eliminated Bachelor and Bachelorette contestants don’t turn the limo around, sometimes the heartbroken man or woman attempt to rejoin the series. Luke Parker, a controversial contestant on Hannah Brown’s season 15 of The Bachelorette in 2019, was sent home by the former Miss Alabama after he slut-shamed her during the fantasy suite dates. However, the elimination didn’t stop Luke from showing up at the rose ceremony. “She doesn’t realize I still love her and that I’m not through,” he told the ABC cameras. “This isn’t over for me yet. I couldn’t go home without talking to her again and sharing my heart with her and getting a few things off my chest. She has never told me that she loves me, but I know she loves me. I know without a shadow of a doubt she still has feelings for me. I believe she’s making a big mistake, and I’m going to tell her that. She doesn’t know it yet, but I’m on my way and I’m coming. I want to prove to her how serious I am about this.” After Hannah pleaded with “narcissistic” Luke to go home, her finalists Peter Weber, Tyler Cameron and Jed Wyatt were forced to step in and he finally left for good. [jwplayer qspvJ6S5-l3ahXupL] “We, as producers, we're thinking there’s going to be some Luke P. fatigue setting in about now, and, if left to our devices, we probably would have gotten rid of him and that storyline earlier to get Hannah on track for what we would hope to be a happy ending,” Chris Harrison said on the “Bachelor Party” podcast at the time, noting that there was “a lot” of behind-the-scenes discussions about Luke’s return. “We knew there would be fatigue, but Hannah and Luke P. couldn’t resolve their relationship and their issues, so, therefore, it lingered on, and he needed to come back because it wasn’t done. And he wasn’t done.” The following season, contestant Bennett Jordan pleaded with Tayshia Adams to bring him back after she sent him home during a feud with fellow suitor Noah Erb. While the former phlebotomist let the Harvard grad briefly rejoin the show, she sent him home again within 24 hours ahead of the hometown dates. Scroll through for more examples of contestants returning after their elimination:

Credit: ABC/MARIO PEREZ

Ed Swiderski

Ed walked away from Jillian Harris’ season 5 of The Bachelorette in the middle of the competition after his then-employer, Microsoft, gave him an ultimatum. Not long after his exit, however, Ed returned because he still had feelings for Jillian … and he ended up winning the season! Ed and Jillian got engaged during the 2009 finale but split in 2010.

Credit: ABC

Ali Fedotowsky

On Jake Pavelka’s season 14 in 2010, Ali had a similar arc to Ed. But when she walked away from the pilot to return to work at Facebook, Jake wasn’t as forgiving as Jillian had been when Ali tried to come back.

“One of the reasons it was OK for me to leave in the first place was because I thought, if this is love and he really cares about me then he is going to come and find me,” Ali said on The Ellen DeGeneres Show at the time. “He’s a pilot, like fly to get me. That would be amazing. I was pretty shocked. I thought we had something really great.”

Ali went on to become the season 6 Bachelorette and was briefly engaged to winner Roberto Martinez in 2010 before settling down with husband Kevin Manno.

Credit: ABC/Craig Sjodin

Hannah Brown

While some fans may not know this, Hannah crashed Colton Underwood’s hometown dates on season 23 of The Bachelor. The scenes didn’t air, but the former football player later revealed that the pageant queen showed up while he was in Alabama for contestant Hannah Godwin’s hometown date.

“She was still stewing about not getting a rose and wanted more clarity from me,” he wrote in his 2020 memoir, The First Time. “In reality, it seemed she wanted to lash out and vent. She went off on the remaining four girls and told me they didn’t have the qualities that made her so amazing. It was the beast in her, roaring and raging.”

Credit: ABC/Ed Herrera

Luke Parker

Luke’s decision to return only solidified his role as the villain of Hannah’s season of The Bachelorette. To make matters worse, he ended up being sued by producers for violating his post-show contract.

Credit: ABC/Maarten de Boer

Alayah Benavidez

After Peter Weber eliminated Alayah during week 3 of season 24, she returned just long enough to stir the pot and reveal the information she learned while back in the real world … Victoria Fuller secretly dated Chase Rice, who performed on the season in 2020. Alayah’s second stint didn’t last long as Peter eliminated her at the next rose ceremony.

Credit: ABC/Craig Sjodin

Bennett Jordan

Bennett wasn’t thrilled with Tayshia’s decision to send him home within 24 hours of welcoming him back to the Palm Springs resort where they filmed season 16.

"That was really, really tough, kind of feeling like I had the rug pulled out from underneath me was one of the hardest things I've ever been through. I spent 24, 36 hours crying," Bennett recalled on the Men Tell All in December 2020. "I was very insecure and super nervous, but at least wanted to tell you how I felt and what I had come to. And then the cocktail party was canceled and I was sent home [again]. It was really, really tough without any sort of explanation."

Tayshia apologized at the time. "It was a lot to take in at that moment. I had just come off of a date, and I wanted to give you the respect also of thinking about it. I didn't want to say goodbye to you just then and there, because I respected those words from you and I respect you," she said. "But we just weren't exactly there yet. And there were relationships that had formed and were a little bit stronger at the time."

Credit: ABC/Craig Sjodin

Ben Smith

After he failed to say the L-word during the hometown dates — even though he told his sister he was in love with Tayshia — Ben was sent packing during season 16. While he failed to get emotional during the goodbye, Ben returned for a second shot with Tayshia during part one of the December 2020 finale.