But while Matt James’ season is turning out to be a dramatic one filled with twists and turns that fans never saw coming, we’re not so sure the finale will be the most jaw-dropping in Bachelor history. There have been plenty of Bachelor and Bachelorette finales that have delivered on the shock value in the past. Check out the 10 most dramatic Bachelor finales in the show’s history.
The Bachelorette Season 15: Hannah Brown
Harrison didn’t need to exaggerate when he hyped up the pageant queen’s Bachelorette finale back in 2019. Though Brown happily got engaged to singer Jed Wyatt during the final episode, their fairytale romance came to a screeching halt after it was revealed that he had a secret girlfriend back home. “The reason I held back the details that I did was because I was scared that if I told you, you would walk away from me. And that’s the most coward thing to hear, I know, but that’s just the truth,” Wyatt told her. Brown ultimately called off their engagement and placed her Neil Lane ring on the table.
The Bachelor Season 13: Jason Mesnick
It’s no secret that Mesnick struggled to make a decision between his final two women, Melissa Rycroft and MollyMalaney, during the Season 13 finale—and the iconic scene of him sobbing on a balcony proves just that. But, unfortunately for all parties involved, Mesnick admittedly made the wrong choice when placing a Neil Lane sparkler on Rycroft’s finger, and ended up breaking up with her in favor of Malaney during the After the Final Rose special. “Over the last few weeks, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about Molly,” he told Harrison before ultimately breaking up with his fiancé at the time on national television.
The Bachelor Season 22: Arie Luyendyk Jr.
Following in Mesnick’s footsteps, the racecar driver also had a dramatic change of heart during his own season of The Bachelor. After proposing to Becca Kufrinin the season finale, Luyendyk admitted that he immediately felt regret. He ultimately broke things off with Kufrin and chased after his runner-up Lauren Burnham, whom he is married to today. “The more I hung out with you, the more I felt like I was losing the possibility of maybe reconciling things with Lauren,” he told Kufrin in the raw, unedited breakup scene.
The Bachelor Season 11: Brad Womack
What’s more dramatic than a Bachelor who has a change of heart? A Bachelor who chooses no one. Womack made history when he said goodbye to both of his final two women, DeAnna Pappas and Jenni Croft, during his finale back in 2007. While his decision was widely criticized, he said he decided to end the show this way because he simply didn’t see a future with either woman. And because of the entrepreneur’s unique situation, he was given another chance, and handed out the roses once again in Season 15. He ended up getting engaged to southern belle Emily Maynard, but that relationship didn’t last very long post-show.
The Bachelor Season 18: Juan Pablo Galavis
Dubbed the most hated lead in Bachelor history, the soccer player’s finale was naturally as dramatic as they come. After leading on runner-up Clare Crawley and rudely dismissing her during the finale, he gave his final rose to Nikki Ferrell. But that rose didn’t come with much else. While the pediatric nurse expressed that she loved Galavis, he couldn’t reciprocate those feelings. He told her that he liked her “a lot” and even admitted that he had an engagement ring in his pocket but didn’t want to propose to her. Talk about harsh!
The Bachelor Season 23: Colton Underwood
Two words: Fence jump. After frontrunner, Cassie Randolph, eliminated herself during Season 23, the athlete didn’t want to continue with the season. Despite two other women left in the competition, Underwood fled the scene and jumped a fence to escape cameras while filming in Portugal. He ended up saying goodbye to Hannah Godwin and Tayshia Adams in an effort to chase after Randolph and profess his love to her. The two ended up reuniting happily without an engagement.
The Bachelorette Season 13: Rachel Lindsay
After frontrunner Peter Kraus told Lindsay that he wouldn’t be able to get engaged to her, they shared one of the most dramatic breakups ever shown on the show. “I think we are both going to regret this decision,” Kraus told a tearful Lindsay. The goodbye was so painful that the attorney admitted to “crying off her fake eyelashes.” Later in the finale, Lindsay went on to choose Bryan Abasolo, whom she is happily married to today.
The Bachelorette Season 9: Desiree Hartsock
The bridal stylist was heartbroken during a majority of her finale after frontrunner Brooks Forester eliminated himself in the episode prior. After saying goodbye to runner-up Drew Kenney, whom she didn’t appear to have strong feelings for, she ultimately accepted a proposal from Chris Siegfried. Hartsock broke down in tears while giving Siegfried the final rose, admitting that she was torn apart by Forester leaving. “Throughout the journey I was torn between the two of you and I feel like I was blindsided by my feelings for Brooks that I couldn’t see the one thing I always needed was right in front of me,” she told him.
The Bachelor Season 20: Ben Higgins
Though he’s one of the most beloved Bachelors today, Higgins broke a cardinal rule during his season by telling both of his finalists—Lauren Bushnell and JoJo Fletcher—that he loved them. When it came time to make a decision, he ultimately proposed marriage to Bushnell, leaving Fletcher completely blindsided. “I wish I could hate him or be really mad at him but I can’t. I was getting my heart broken and I still didn’t want to see him cry,” Fletcher told the cameras.
The Bachelor Season 16: Ben Flajnik
Despite countless warnings from the other women, the winemaker did what every former Bachelor is fearful of: he proposed to the villain. Flajnik said goodbye to fan-favorite Lindzi Cox and chose model Courtney Robertson during his finale which aired in 2012. While the couple appeared to be happily engaged in the finale, by the After the Final Rose special, they revealed that they had seriously struggled with trust issues. Want more Bachelor gossip? Check out where the past 15 Bachelorettes are today!
