The Bachelorette
The companion series to ABC’s reality dating competition show The Bachelor, The Bachelorette premiered in 2003 with Bachelor runner-up Trista Rehn as the first lucky woman vying for the affections of 25 male suitors. During filming, the men live together in a Los Angeles area mansion and go on a series of dates alone or in groups. At the conclusion of each episode, a rose ceremony is held by host Chris Harrison, and one or more men are eliminated.
Though Rehn was indeed lucky in love — she married Colorado firefighter and contestant Ryan Sutter in a TV wedding ceremony in 2003 — not all the couples featured on the series have fared as well.
Notable series breakups include DeAnna Pappas and Jesse Csincsak, who appeared on the show’s fourth season, got engaged in the show’s 2008 finale and set a wedding date, but announced their split just months later. The show’s third leading lady, Jen Schefft, received a proposal from contestant Jerry Ferris, but rejected his proposal, citing a lack of chemistry. In the time since, Schefft found love away from TV cameras, wedding Chicago PR exec Joe Waterman in 2009.
The current bachelorette is Ali Fedotowsky, who walked away from bachelor Jake Pavelka in 2010, choosing to remain at her job at Facebook instead of pursuing a romance with Pavelka. Although fans of the show have speculated Fedotowsky does not choose any one suitor in the end, Us has confirmed she indeed gets engaged on the finale, set to air Aug. 2.
