Lacy Faddoul and Marcus Grodd, Bachelor in Paradise Season 1
Length of Relationship: Less than two years
He Said: The couple from Paradise's inaugural season returned to the beach in 2015 to exchange vows in front of ABC's cameras. But when they returned to California, "It was just a very different situation with her,” the sports medicine manager told People in 2016, addressing their split. “It was kind of like postponing our plans. That was the drop of our relationship.”
While the pair had intended to put together a legal ceremony and officially start their lives together, “She didn’t want to live together anymore," he continued, having dubbed her a runaway bride that largely ghosted their relationship. "She wanted to be able to take time apart again. Things just drastically changed after I got back."
She Said: Though the elderly care facility owner largely kept silent at the time, she's an avid Bachelor viewer who likes to remind fans that not everything is as it seems. Reposting an article of the biggest franchise scandals in 2020, she wrote on X (formerly Twitter), "I’m the runaway bride.....that ran to the life I’ve always had. Such a scandal....Shame on me."
Michelle Money and Cody Sattler, Bachelor in Paradise Season 1
Length of Relationship: Two years, off and on
She Said: Six months after falling hard in Mexico, the pair announced their split in December 2014. "I am so grateful I followed my heart and that it lead me to Cody," the Salt Lake City hairstylist wrote on Facebook. "He has made me feel so loved and so appreciated. I only wish that it could have ended up the way we had hoped."
The pair's hearts brought them back together—and to a 2016 stint on Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars, but they broke up again once filming wrapped. “I really do wish him all the happiness in the world,” she told Us Weekly that June. “But I don’t see us really having a future together.”
He Said: Noting his time with the Utah resident and her daughter Brielle, now 19, made him "a better person," the trainer wrote on Instagram, "Michelle and Brielle will always hold a special spot in my heart and I wish all the best for them."
Andi Dorfman and Josh Murray, The Bachelorette Season 10
Length of Relationship: Seven months
She Said: More like that she wrote, as Andi detailed her nasty 2015 split in her book, It's Not Okay, accusing Josh of being verbally and emotionally abusive. She also wrote he prohibited her from taking photos with other men and called her a "whore" for sleeping with Nick Viall in the fantasy suite.
He Said: Josh denied everything in Andi's memoir during his 2016 stint on Bachelor in Paradise. "I can't comment on specific things in any kind of book that my ex has written, because it's a fictional story," he said. "There's stuff that's so ludicrous; how do you comment on stuff like that?"
Juan Pablo Galavis and Nikki Ferrell, The Bachelor Season 18
Length of Relationship: Less than a year
He Said: One of the more polarizing Bachelors, the Venezuelan former soccer player received major flack from fans (and host Chris Harrison) for not getting down on one knee or telling Nikki he loved her in the finale. But he's largely stayed silent about their 2014 breakup.
She Said: "There was a point where we said we loved each other, like a normal relationship," the now-married nurse later told Chris. "There was a while where I did feel like he was totally in love with me. Was it too late? Probably. I think at that point I had come to the conclusion that we were different people and we were never going to be on the same page."
Emily Maynard and Jef Holm, The Bachelorette Season 8
Length of Relationship: Six months
She Said: "I am sorry to tell you that Jef and I have, indeed, parted ways," the Bachelorette said in a statement when they called things off in 2012. "It was a very difficult and heartbreaking decision."
A few years later, she would write in her book that she immediately knew accepting Jef's proposal was a mistake when her daughter Ricki joined them, and she wondered if he was ready to be a "stepparent."
He Said: He conveyed quite a bit without words just before the couple announced their official split, by changing his relationship status on Facebook and removing Emily from his Twitter bio pic ahead of the official confirmation that they were done. He later said they wanted "different things."
Ben Fjajnik and Courtney Robertson, The Bachelor Season 16
Length of Relationship: Nine months
He and She Said: The winemaker and the model had a particularly rough go after their 2012 season aired, with fans critcizing her I'm-not-here-to-make-friends attitude. But when they announced their split, they blamed "the distance, time apart, and our need to focus on our respective careers."
Courtney later revealed at least one fight took place over an offer she had for Dancing With the Stars. Sharing in her 2014 tell-all that he didn't approve, she wrote, "I noticed a tinge of jealousy. ‘If you do it,’ he added coldly, ‘you won’t have a fiancé.'"
Ashley Hebert and J.P. Rosenbaum, The Bachelorette Season 7
Length of Relationship: Nine years
He Said: "While I realize that this will come as a complete shock to everyone, I can assure you that this is something that has been developing in our relationship for quite a while," the Miami-based real estate developer wrote on Instagram in 2020, announcing the end of their eight-year marriage. "Please please please know that there is no one to blame, that there’s no event that triggered this decision, that no one is the victim, and that we’ve done absolutely everything we possibly can to try to salvage this marriage. I think we’ve both come to realize that we are just two very different people, with very different personalities and perspectives, who just don’t see eye to eye on a lot of life fundamentals, those which are the building blocks for a happy and healthy marriage."
She Said: Quite simply, the pediatric dentist shared on her own profile, "We see the cup differently." But the pair remain tight enough to coparent their two kids.
Brad Womack and Emily Maynard, The Bachelor Season 15
Length of Relationship: Six months
He Said: In a statement to People, the two-time Bachelor said that "the demise of our relationship was completely my fault." But he later changed his tune, saying, "I think I dodged a bullet with that relationship."
She Said: Filming The Bachelor: The Greatest Seasons — Ever! special in 2020, Emily also took accountability, telling Chris Harrison, "I was 24. I'm 34 now. I didn't have the maturity to deal with all of that. And it was really hard. We both put in a lot of work traveling back and forth and all of that, but I think we both knew, 'This is just not fun anymore. This is just not going to work.'"
Though he probably could have found a better way to close the loop on that discussion. In her 2016 book, I Said Yes: My Story of Heartbreak, Redemption, and True Love, Emily revealed Brad once broke up with her by cc'ing her on an e-mail to producers.
Ali Fedotowsky and Roberto Martinez, The Bachelorette Season 6
Length of Relationship: One and a half years
She Said: "We were really trying to make it work, and realizing it wasn't getting better," the Bachelorette said after the couple's 2011 split. "We were unhappy more than we were happy, and something needed to change...I didn't want to let people down. I felt anger from my followers, fans...The pressure was to make sure we did what would make both of us happy."
He Said: The insurance agent has never spoken out publicly about the end of their engagement.
Jake Pavelka and Vienna Girardi, The Bachelor Season 14
Length of Relationship: Seven months
He Said: Remember that iconic trainwreck of a sitdown interview they gave after their 2010 split? Jake accused Vienna of undermining him and selling stories to tabloids, and yelled at her for interrupting him, then opined, "What guy in America would ever want to be intimate with someone who undermines him, emasculates and doesn't respect him?"
She Said: "You are a fame whore is what you are," Vienna said, adding that Jake ignored her throughout their relationship and only cared about being on TV. "When we were at home [it was] lonely," she said. "I just wanted him to be around me and talk to me and kiss me like a normal relationship."
Jillian Harris and Ed Swiderski, The Bachelorette Season 5
Length of Relationship: One year
She Said: After months of defending her fiancé from cheating allegations, the Bachelorette left Ed and his Chicago home behind in 2010. "He's not a bad guy," she told Us Weekly at the time. "He's just not quite ready to grow up."
He Said: During his stint on Bachelor Pad 3, Ed basically confirmed the reports of him cheating on Jillian, saying, "I'm not an angel. There was certainly some truth to what was in the tabloids."
Jason Mesnick and Melissa Rycroft, The Bachelor Season 13
Length of Relationship: A few weeks
He Said: Um, I made a mistake. During their After the Final Rose special in 2009, lovable single dad Jason admitted he had made the wrong choice in the finale, and was in love with runner-up Molly Malaney. (They're now happily married with two kids.)
She Said: Yeah, you could say Melissa was pissed. "You're such a bastard," she said. "I wish more than anything that last day you would've just let me go instead of doing this to me. I'm so mad at you."
Proving time really does heal all wounds, the married mom of three reflected in 2020, "I think when Jason proposed to me, he genuinely thought it was me and was being honest about his feelings. He realized the relationship didn't work, and that's how it ended."
Shayne Lamas & Matt Grant, The Bachelor Season 12
Length of Relationship: Two months
He and She Said: Releasing a statement to announce their 2008 breakup, The Bachelor: London Calling pair said, “We tried hard to make it work but we realized that we were both heading in different directions. We truly care about each other and will remain close friends.”
Maybe not that close, though as the British financier was far more candid on the 2010 The Bachelor: Then & Now special. "Did I find true love on the show? Um, no. Not one little bit," he said. "I proposed to a woman who was about a foot and a half shorter than me, who had nothing in common with me, and thought there were palm trees in London. Did I make a mistake? Yes. Did I look like an idiot? Yes. Do I regret it? A little bit."
DeAnna Pappas and Jesse Csincsak, The Bachelorette Season 4
Length of Relationship: Less than a year
He Said: Jesse decided to post a YouTube video detailing their 2008 split, noting the Bachelorette broke it off with him by saying, "'I love you, but I'm not in love with you.' She's a great person but she wasn't willing to try anymore," said the snowboarder, "that's a lot to swallow no matter who you are when you're in love and you put yourself out there."
She Said: "I chose someone that I could not be more incompatible with," she reflected to E! News in 2022. "He loved to snowboard. I freaking hate the snow. He would, seriously, wake up at 5 a.m. to go and snowboard all day, and I am a night owl. He came to stay with me in Georgia. But it was so freaking hot and he hated it. So honestly, when we broke up, I was baffled by how devastated he pretended to be."
Andy Baldwin and Tessa Horst, The Bachelor Season 10
Length of Relationship: A few months
He and She Said: Before officially discharging their romance, the couple released a statement in 2007 announcing that they had ended their engagement but remained "commited" to their relationship. As for the social worker's plans to join the naval officer in Hawaii, "With the possibility of reassignment to a new location, we decided it was not the ideal time for Tessa to uproot herself."
Lorenzo Borghese and Jennifer Wilson, The Bachelor Season 9
Length of Relationship: One month
He and She Said: Nothing really, with just a show publicist confirming their breakup shortly after their finale aired. Lorenzo went on to briefly date his runner-up, publicist Sadie Murray, but they also split after several months.
Travis Stork and Sarah Stone, The Bachelor Season 8
Length of Relationship: Three months
He Said: With their season set in Paris, Travis admitted returning to their real lives in their shared town of Nashville (and being kept apart by producers while the show was airing) put a huge strain on their romance. As he said, "You're forced to pretend you don't know someone for four months."
She Said: Sarah believed they may have had a chance if they had met under different circumstances. "I definitely think it would've worked out differently," she told The Tennessean. "We wouldn't have had all the baggage that comes from being on this show. It would just be the two of us being able to hang out and get to know each other in a normal situation."
Charlie O'Connell and Sarah Brice, The Bachelor Season 7
Length of Relationship: Five years
He Said: After their on and off again romance officially came to an end in 2010, the actor told People, "I think it was a mutual break-up. The thing is that we dated for five years...and were just arguing over the same things and stuff like that. And then eventually you've got to go your separate ways."
She Said: While Sarah attributed their initial 2007 breakup to Charlie’s drinking, he decided to get sober after that first split. “We were definitely still talking a lot,” she told Reality Steve in a 2018 podcast interview. Though they officially reunited a year later, she told Steve, she realized Charlie wasn’t ready to get married. “He did not deny it,” she said, “and so I was like, ‘I can’t be here anymore. I’m done.’”
Byron Velvick and Mary Delgado, The Bachelor Season 6
Length of Relationship: Five years
He Said: After their assault incident in 2007, the Bachelor admitted, "Just because you met on a reality show, got engaged on this beautiful incredible setting doesn't mean that we're Prince Charming or Beautiful Princess. It's nothing like that. It's just a real couple going through real things."
She Said: After being arrested three times since her season aired in 2004, including once for allegedly assaulting Byron, the former NFL cheerleader gave an interview in 2016 revealing her struggle with depression. "There was a big pressure also to have a successful relationship for TV and the show."
Meredith Phillips and Ian McKee, The Bachelorette Season 2
Length of Relationship: One year
She Said: "Our relationship began with great expectations for a happy ending, but unfortunately things didn't work out as we had hoped," the couple said in a statement at the time of their 2005 breakup. "What we experienced together was incredible and we are both sad to see it end. We thank you for your support." Years later, Meredith revealed her battle with alcoholism, saying she was "drunk every night" during filming.
He Said: The show's co-executive producer Lisa Levenson later revealed Ian was skeptical about reality TV romances, sharing, "From day one, he said he could never see himself proposing to a woman on national television or saying the words ‘I love you.'"
Jesse Palmer and Jessica Bowlin, The Bachelor Season 5
Length of Relationship: One month
He Said: "Jessica and I shared an incredible romantic journey on the show that began with a friendship that remains strong today. We simply realized that, individually, our next steps take us in different directions," the former NFL player said in a 2004 statement after their short-lived relationship.
She Said: Jessica continued in the statement, saying, "With too much distance and too little time these were not ideal circumstances in which to start a relationship. Jesse is a great guy and has a wonderful family. Who knows what the future holds?" Spoiler alert: Not a whole lot. Now-host Jesse wed model Emely Fardo in 2020.
Bob Guiney and Estella Gardinier, The Bachelor Season 4
Length of Relationship: Three months
He Said: The Bachelor took the blame for their 2004 split, telling People mag, "It was largely my fault. I've been pulled in so many directions, and the one that I don't think got enough of my time was our relationship." He cited his promotional tour for his book and his music career as reasons for things falling apart.
She Said: In an interview post-breakup, Estella told People she blamed Bob's hunger for the spotlight as a reason for their demise. "He's not the person I thought he was," she said. "I don't see any reason to ever have a conversation with him."
Andrew Firestone and Jen Scheftt, The Bachelor Season 3
Length of Relationship: Ten months
He Said: "I was probably a little too young," Andrew told Us Weekly in 2008. "The relationship felt right at the time."
She Said: Of their 2003 split, Jen told Us Weekly, "I was naive in thinking [the relationship] was going to be great in the real world, since we got along so great [during taping]." She would go on to hand out roses as the third Bachelorette, but rejected both of her final suitors. Tell 'em boys bye!
Aaron Buerge and Helene Eksterowicz, The Bachelor Season 2
Length of Relationship: Two months
He Said: The Bachelor agreed to do a televised interview about the split after his former girlfriend went on the record. "I have nothing bad to say about her," he said, "and I don't want different accounts of my story turning into rumors."
But fan attention certainly added to the stress. "The tabloids were showing up in Springfield, my hometown in Missouri," Aaron told E! News in 2022. "And they were calling me at the bank all the time and walking in the lobby."
She Said: Helene said she was shocked when Aaron told her he was no longer invested in their relationship. "It felt like a bomb dropped," she said to People shortly after their 2003 split. "I said, 'I feel very deceived by you. You've told me every single day that you love me, and now this is it?'"