The biggest moments and things with Bachelor Nation of 2024

More than two decades later Bachelor This franchise that premiered is still making a lot of headlines.

He started the year with 5.22 million fans watching The Golden Bachelor stars Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist exchange promises live on ABC on January 4 with over 50 Bachelor and Bachelorette party alum in attendance. Three months later, they called it quits—but they weren’t the only ones.

Also in January, news of Season 13 surfaced Bachelorette party few Rachel Lindsay and Bryan Abasolo filed for divorce after four years of marriage. Things quickly got messy between the pair, with Bryan seeking a large amount of spousal support and Rachel claiming she found out he had taken legal action via text.

It wasn’t all wilted roses in 2024, though. Season 28 The Bachelor Joey Graziadei he won the hearts of Bachelor Nation and now-fiancée Kelsey Anderson. The proof was in the numbers, as Joey’s season was one of the most watched in years (outside of Gerry’s season) and both Joey and Kelsey gained a large following on Instagram (Joey is just shy of 1 million and Kelsey is hovering around 827,000). The reality show didn’t seem to nurture influencers like it used to.

And Golden Freedom Joan Vassos in 2024 he also got engaged, receiving the ring from Chock Chapple during the November finals. It’s still early days for the duo, but all signs point to a long engagement (compared to Theresa and Gerry) and plans to make it work.

Keep scrolling for more of the year’s biggest moments in Bachelor Nation — plus what they could mean for the future of the franchise:

Gerry and Theresa’s wedding, divorce and reveal
Gerry and Theresa he announced on their breakup Good morning America in April. At the time, distance was mostly cited as the reason for their divorce, as they struggled to agree on where to live, despite plans to move to Charleston. Fans learned later in December that Gerry was diagnosed with incurable cancer shortly after the wedding, which he told Lido “has a huge influence on my decisions and I think probably on Theresina as well”. Teresa she denied that she broke up with Gerry because he was ill, but acknowledged that his decision not to leave Indiana affected their marriage.

With you: After being invested in the senior franchise, some fans were quick to write it off due to Gerry and Theresa’s acrimonious divorce. While their love story was still coming to an end, learning about Gerry’s health battle, which began weeks after their wedding and just months after they met on the show, changed things. Our.

Joey and Kelsey’s love story
While the runner-up Daisy Kent Seemingly the frontrunner for Joey’s heart, there’s no denying that we all fell for some classic editing tricks when Joey and Kelsey got engaged during the March finale and they’re still going strong.

With you: Love isn’t quite dead in Bachelor Nation! Aside from giving fans something solid to root for, Joey and Kelsey nailed his tenure Dancing with the stars with a mirrored trophy and their relationship intact despite the dance competition that often coincided with Bachelor Nation couples calling it quits. Kelsey’s open communication with fans — aka asking them to stop trying to make it seem like something weird is going on between Joey and his married partner, Jenna Johnson – it certainly helped too.

Takeaway bonus: It’s time to take a closer look at the numbers in 2025. Gerry and Joey both proved that the franchise is still popular — or at least can be — but the ratings for Jenn Tran’s run on The Bachelorette and Joan’s run on The Golden Bachelorette were not. t quite compare. Historically, a male-led season brings in more fans, so all signs from this year are that the franchise isn’t going anywhere.

Rachel and Bryan’s messy breakup
Bryan filed for divorce on January 2, citing a separation date of December 31, 2023. He later revealed that he had been sleeping in separate rooms for a few months and they were in counseling. Rachel chose to stay quiet—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 the wedding. “But as women, we’re fixers, and we think we can figure it out. They are a challenge for us!” she said. “But I ended up seeing more. I’d say within two years and we’ve been married for four and a half.”

With you: All is not as it seems… unless it is? During their relationship, Rachel said several times that the lack of Instagram posts shared by the two wasn’t a sign of trouble. Bryan basically said the opposite in the July interview. “We didn’t spend enough time together. I think in my estimation, we saw what the other was doing in the relationship, mainly on Instagram, even though we lived in the same house,” he claimed.

Takeaway bonus: Get another job? We didn’t say it, the judge said it! Bryan — who claimed his annual income is $16,000 after being forced to move because of Rachel’s career — scored a major legal victory over the summer when a judge ordered Rachel to pay the chiropractor over $13,200 a month in temporary spousal support. The court also ruled that support should end in March 2026 and advised Bryan to continue working and not rely on Rachel. The court battle set to rage until 2025.

Jenn’s Journey
Just Tran made history as the franchise’s first-ever Asian lead, but some fans rooting for Daisy or other Joey fan favorites weren’t giving him a fair shot. Maria George get a gig. The season turned sour again when its winner, Devin Straderbroke up with her shortly after production wrapped, despite accepting a proposal from Jenn (remember, she was the one who proposed!) Things started looking up for Jenn when she landed a last-minute spot on DWTS (and a spot on OurList of Reality Stars of the Year) and a new love interest in a dance partner Sasha Farber.

With you: Let people show their own true colors. It was heartbreaking to watch Jenn cry over Devin’s less remorse After the final rose — especially watching the two relive their proposal live in front of a studio audience. Devin, who felt like he was being framed as the bad boy of Bachelor Nation, subsequently decided to release hundreds of his and Jenna’s private text messages to prove… well, we still don’t know what he was trying to convince Our of, tbh. He ended up looking worse and Jenn cha-cha reached 600,000 followers on Instagram, a few more weeks of telecast. DWTS aa showmance-turned-romance with Sasha.

No “BiP”
Outside of 2020 (due to Covid-19), 2024 was the first year Mexico’s beaches were closed since Bachelor in Paradise debuted in 2014. While a few crossover pairings have still been made — remember when Christina Mandrell and Brayden Bowers did she get engaged during the aforementioned Golden Wedding? — this break allowed Our be excited when the spinoff returns in 2025, as ABC has already confirmed that the show will return.

With you: We miss it! Yes, Love Island USA Season 6 was one of the best seasons of summer TV in history, but that doesn’t mean we can’t invest in it. BiPalso. Back and forth Susie Evans and Justin Glaze the romance would carry the whole season alone. Plus, we still have a few stand-alone stars from Joey’s season that we’re begging to return to our TV screens.

Joan and Chock got engaged

Twice My Weekly cover star Joan accepted Neil Lane’s sparkler from Chock during November’s finale, giving hope that the Golden franchise might finally have a happy ending. With the two spending the holidays as a blended family and wanting to split their time between their shared NYC location, Joan’s house in Maryland, and Chock’s home base in Kansas, they could be the modern fairy tale the show needs to generate buzz in 2025 for all golden seasons.

With you: He could Golden freedom revive the idea that women are more successful than men? Just like the OG Bachelorette Trista Sutter in 2003, Joan may have been the first Golden Bachelorette to get married. And during the franchise’s heyday, there were a number of female leads who seemed to crack the code with 11. Kaitlyn Bristowe, season 12 JoJo Fletcherseason 13 Rachel and season 14 Becca Kufrin they all have long-term relationships outside of the show. Yes, we know only JoJo is still with her ultimate rose winner (shout out Jordan Rodgers!), but it was one of the most successful series in franchise history.

Restraining Orders
Our I can’t ignore that in 2024 three different legal cases against contestants were revealed in two seasons. The Bachelorette Season 21 Devin’s Ex filed restraining order in 2017, “Golden Bachelor”with Gil Ramirez was defendant persecution ex a Golden freedom in second place Guy GansertHis ex-wife had once took legal action against him, later voluntarily denied her request for a protective order.

Takeaway: All three situations are different, but it certainly seems like the current setup for background checks needs to be rethought to protect potential customers.

Grant Ellis is named the new Bachelor
ABC named Grant, one of Jenna’s contestants, host of season 29 shortly after his sixth elimination. While there’s no denying Grant has the looks to lead off the season, some fans were confused by the franchise making the announcement when they did. However, this isn’t the first time this has happened to the Season 26 star Clayton Echard seemingly out of nowhere in the middle of nowhere Michelle Youngseason. While season 27 Zach Shallcross was announced in a more traditional way (AFR), viewers found him boring before they even watched a second of the season. If you are asking OurBoth Clayton and Zach turned in wildly entertaining seasons – not to mention Zach and the winner Kaity Greater they’re still together — but there’s no denying that Season 28 star Joey has been the most popular main character in a long time.

With you: The jury is clearly still out, but according to the trailer, Could Grant’s season break the curse of the random Bachelor and continue the momentum Joey brought?! Stay tuned to the 2025 Bachelor Nation recap to find out.