Bachelor Nation's Biggest Moments and Deals of 2024

More than two decades later Bachelor The premiere, the franchise still never fails to deliver many headlines.

The year started with 5.22 million fans to see The Golden Bachelor stars Jerry Turner and Teresa Nista to exchange vows live on ABC on January 4 with over 50 Bachelor and Bachelorette alum present. Three months later, they called it quits, but they weren't the only ones.

Also in January, news appeared that the 13th season Bachelorette a couple Rachel Lindsay and Brian Abasolo had filed for divorce after four years of marriage. Things quickly turned messy between the pair, with Brian seeking a lot of spousal support and Rachel claiming she found out he had started proceedings via text message.

However, it was not all roses in 2024. Season 28 The Bachelor Joey Graziadei won the hearts of Bachelor Nation and now brides Kelsey Anderson. The proof was in the numbers, as Joey's season was one of the most watched in years (outside of Jerry's) and both Joey and Kelsey gained large Instagram followers (Joey is just shy of 1 million and Kelsey hovers around 827,000). it felt like the reality show wasn't about cultivating influencers like it used to be.

AND Golden Bachelorette Joan Vassos also got engaged in 2024. accepting the ring from Chuck Chapple during the November finals. It's still early days for the duo, but all signs point to a long-term engagement (compared to Teresa and Gary) and plans to make it work.

Keep scrolling for more of the year's biggest Bachelor Nation moments, and what they could mean for the future of the franchise:

Gary and Teresa's wedding, divorce and revelations
Gary and Teresa announced their divorce is happening Good morning America in April. At the time, distance was mainly cited as the reason for their split, as they struggled to agree on a place to live despite plans to move to Charleston. Fans later learned in December that Jerry was diagnosed with terminal cancer shortly after the wedding, which he told People, “had a huge impact on my decision, and I think Teresa probably did too.” Teresa denied that she broke up with Gary because he was ill, but admitted that his decision not to leave Indiana affected their marriage.

To take away: After being invested in the older franchise, some fans were quick to write it off due to Gary and Teresa's stormy divorce. While their love story was still winding down, learning of Jerry's health battle, which began several weeks after their marriage and only months after they met on the show, changed things. We.

Joy and Kelsey's love story
While the runner-up Daisy Kent It seems like he was the leader of Joey's heart, now there's no denying that we all fell for some classic montage tricks since Joe and Kelsey got engaged during the March finale and are still going strong.

To take away: Bachelor Nation love isn't completely dead! Not only did Joey and Kelsey give fans something solid, but they lived up to their job Dancing with the stars with the mirror ball trophy and their relationship intact despite the dance competition that often coincides with Bachelor Nation couples calling it quits. Kelsey's open communication with fans asking them to stop trying to make it seem like there's something weird going on between Joe and his married partner, Jenna Johnson – definitely helped too.

Bonus takeaway: It's time to take a closer look at the 2025 numbers. Both Jerry and Joy proved that the franchise is still popular, or at least can be popular, but the ratings for Jen Tran's season of The Bachelorette and Joan Gold's season of The Bachelorette did not. t quite compare. Historically, the men's main seasons draw more fans, so all signs this year are that the franchise isn't going anywhere.

Rachel and Brian's messy divorce
Brian filed for divorce on January 2, setting their divorce date as December 31, 2023. He later revealed that he had been sleeping in separate rooms and attending counseling for a couple of months. Rachel, on the other hand, chose to remain silent—at least at first. During an appearance on The View in December, she noted that she saw “signs” that things might not work out between them even before marriage. “But as women we are fixers and we think we can figure it out. They are a challenge for us!” she said. “But in the end, I saw more of it. I'd say we were married four and a half years in two years.

To take away: All is not as it seems…unless it is? During their relationship, Rachel said several times that the lack of Instagram posts they shared was not a sign of trouble. Brian basically said the opposite in his interview in July. “We didn't spend enough time with each other. I think, in my estimation, we saw what the other was doing in the relationship, mostly on Instagram, even though we lived in the same house,” he claimed.

Bonus takeaway: Get another job? We didn't say it, the judge did! Brian, who claimed his annual income was $16,000 after being forced to relocate due to Rachel's career, scored a major legal victory over the summer when a judge ordered Rachel to pay the chiropractor more than $13,200 a month as temporary spousal support maintenance. The court also ruled that the support must end in March 2026, recommending that Brian continue to work and not rely on Rachel. The court battle this is expected to continue in 2025.

Jen's journey
Jen Tran made history as the franchise's first Asian lead, but he wasn't always given a fair chance by some fans who favored Daisy or Joey's other fan favorites. Maria Georgia to get a gig. The season was painful again when her winner Devin Straderbroke up with her shortly after production wrapped, despite accepting Jen's proposal (never forget, she was the one who proposed to him!) Things started looking up for Jen when she landed a last-minute spot on DWTS (and the WeList of reality stars of the year) and a new love for a dance partner Sasha Farber.

To take away: Let people show their true colors. It was heartbreaking to watch Jen cry over the less remorseful Devin at After the Final Rose — especially watching the two of them relive their offering live in front of a studio audience. Devin, believing he's been set up as Bachelor Nation's bad boy, then chose to release hundreds of his and Jen's private text messages to prove…well, we still don't know what he was trying to convince. We no, tbh. He ended up looking worse, and Jen's cha-cha reached 600,000 Instagram followers with several more weeks of TV viewing. DWTS and a the show turned into a romance with Sasha.

No “BiP”
Outside of 2020 (due to Covid-19), 2024 was the first year that Mexican beaches were closed since Bachelor in Paradise debuted in 2014. While several crossover duos were still forming — remember when Christina Mandrell and Braden Bowers got engaged during the aforementioned Golden Wedding? — allowed this break We to rejoice when the series returns in 2025, as ABC has already confirmed that the show will return.

To take away: We miss you! Yes, Season 6 of Love Island USA was one of the best seasons of summer TV in history, but that doesn't mean we can't invest BiPalso. Back and forth from Susie Evans and Justin Glass the romance would have done the season alone. Plus, we still have several individual stars from Joey's season that we're begging to return to our TV screens.

Joan and Chock get engaged

Twice Us Weekly Cover star Joan took on Neil Lane's sparkler from Chock in November's finale, raising hopes that the Golden franchise could produce a happy ending after all. With the two spending the holidays as a blended family and willing to split their time between a dual location in New York, Joan's home in Maryland, and Chuck's home base in Kansas, they could be the modern-day fairy tale the show needs to generate buzz for any golden season in 2025.

To take away: It could The Golden Bachelor revive the idea that female leads have more success than male leads? Like the OG Bachelorette Trista Sutter In 2003, Joan might be the first Golden Bachelor to get married. And in the franchise's heyday, there were a number of women who seem to have cracked the code with Season 11. Caitlin Bristow, Season 12 JoJo FletcherSeason 13 Rachel and Season 14 Becca Kufrin all have long-term relationships outside of the show. Yes, we know that only JoJo is still with her last rose winner (shoutout Jordan Rogers!), but it was one of the most successful series in franchise history.

Restraining Orders
We it cannot be ignored that in 2024 three different legal cases against the contestants were opened over the course of two seasons. had submitted ban him in 2017, The Golden Maidens Gil Ramirez was the accused for stalking the former and The Golden Bachelor vice champion Guy Gansertex-wife once had legal actions taken against her, later voluntarily denying her request for a protective order.

Note that all three situations are different, but it seems that the current background check setup needs to be re-evaluated to protect potential customers.

Grant Ellis is named the new Bachelor
ABC named Grant, one of Jen's contestants, the host of season 29 shortly after his sixth-week elimination. While there's no denying that Grant has looked to lead the season, some fans were confused by the franchise's announcement when they did. However, this isn't the first time this has happened to the Season 26 star Clayton Echard is seemingly pulled out of the middle of nowhere Michelle Youngseason of the year. While the 27th season Zach Shallcross was communicated in a more traditional way (AFR), viewers found him boring before even watching a second of the season. If you ask Weboth Clayton and Zach delivered wildly entertaining seasons — not to mention Zach and the winner Katie Bigger are still together, but there's no denying that season 28 lead Joey was the most popular lead in a long time.

To take away: The jury is obviously still out, but based on the trailer, Could Grant's season break the Curse of the Random Bachelor and continue the momentum Joey built?! Stay tuned to the 2025 Bachelor Nation recap to find out.