After 22 years of The Bachelor and its various spinoffs, many have tried their luck to find love in the franchise — but not many have remained together. Most recently, Bachelorette star Rachel Lindsay and Bryan Abasolo shocked Bachelor Nation with news of their divorce after four years of marriage.
However, over 20 couples have beat the odds so far, proving that it is possible to have a long-lasting relationship with someone in reality TV.
Case in point are Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist, the Golden Bachelor couple, each in their 70s, who have reinvigorated love (and ratings) for the franchise, and who are set to marry in a two-hour televised wedding special airing Thursday night (8 p.m. on ABC).
Below, The Hollywood Reporter takes a trip down franchise memory lane to see which couples remain together. (This list will be updated.)
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Trista and Ryan Sutter
Image Credit: John Parra/Getty Images As the first-ever Bachelorette in 2003, Trista ended up with the perfect pick: firefighter Ryan. They married the same year of the Bachelor spinoff’s debut in a ceremony that was later televised on ABC. The couple has the longest-lasting marriage in Bachelor Nation, as they celebrated their 20th anniversary in 2023. They share two children: Maxwell and Blakesley.
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Jason and Molly Mesnick
Image Credit: Paul Hebert/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images Though season 13 Bachelor Jason Mesnick popped the question to Melissa Rycroft, he had a change of heart and realized that runner-up Molly was the one. They married in 2010, a year after their season aired. Mesnick, who made history on the show as the first Bachelor to be a single dad, had a second child with Molly after Tyler, named Riley.
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Ann Leuders and Jesse Csincsak
Image Credit: Denise Truscello/WireImage Jesse Csincsak’s engagement to season four Bachelorette DeAnna Pappas didn’t last, but he was able to find love through Bachelor Nation anyway — just not onscreen. He met season 13 contestant Ann Lueders in 2010 and married the same year, while Lueders was four months pregnant with their first child, Noah. Since then, they had two more children: Charlotte and Carter.
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Peyton Wright and Chris Lambton
Image Credit: David L Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images Peyton Wright and Chris Lambton were both runner-ups in their respective seasons of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, but found love offscreen after being introduced by Bachelor Nation friends in 2010. They married two years later and have two children: Lyla and Hayes.
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Holly and Blake Julian
Image Credit: Craig Sjodin/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images (2) Before Bachelor in Paradise, there was Bachelor Pad. After vying for Matt Grant in season 12 of The Bachelor didn’t work out, Holly Durst got engaged to Michael Stagliano, who appeared in Jillian Harris’ season of The Bachelorette. They broke up shortly afterwards. Though they competed in — and won — Bachelor Pad’s second season, Holly found love with another contestant: Blake Julian from Ashley Hebert’s season of The Bachelorette. They got married in 2012 and have two children, Poppy and Knox.
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Sean and Catherine Lowe
Image Credit: Christopher Willard/ABC via Getty Images The Lowes became one of Bachelor Nation’s biggest success stories, beating all odds during Sean’s run as the Bachelor in season 17. The former Denver Broncos quarterback initially showed interest in other women, not having his first one-on-one date with Catherine until episode six, but that time together helped Catherine turn into a frontrunner throughout the rest of the season. The couple got married in 2014, nearly a year after their season aired. They share three children: Samuel, Isaiah, and Mia. Sean and Catherine regularly make appearances in Bachelor Nation shows, giving advice on how to make the most of their time in the villa.
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Desiree Hartsock and Chris Siegfried
Image Credit: Earl Gibson III/Getty Images When she had picked her final three men, Desiree Hartsock made it seem like Brooks Forester was her first choice, as she could easily picture a future with him. This changed when Forester realized he wasn’t in love with Hartsock, taking himself out of the running, Hartsock made the decision to marry Chris Siegfried instead. They married in 2015 and have two sons, Asher and Zander.
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JoJo Fletcher and Jordan Rodgers
Image Credit: Patrick Ecclesine/USA Network via Getty Images At the end of her season, JoJo Fletcher ended up picking former NFL player and Aaron Rodgers’ younger brother Jordan. Their engagement lasted a whopping six years before tying the knot in 2022.
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Jade Roper and Tanner Tolbert
Image Credit: Randy Shropshire/Getty Images Jade Roper and Tanner Tolbert made Bachelor in Paradise history by becoming the first couple to get married through the show after beginning their love story on the spinoff’s second season. They got engaged in 2015 and married the following year in a televised ceremony. The couple shares three kids: Emerson, Brooks and Reed.
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Raven Gates and Adam Gottschalk
Image Credit: Cooper Neill/Getty Images When the production of Bachelor in Paradise‘s fourth season was temporarily halted while investigating a sexual misconduct claim, participants were able to spend some quality time together off-camera. A pair that ended up hitting it off during that time was Raven Gates and Adam Gottschalk, who realized they were a good match after a night out at a bar in Dallas. Though they didn’t get engaged on the show, they established themselves as a couple and got engaged two years later in 2019 and married in 2021. They have two sons, Gates and Max.
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Lauren and Arie Luyendyk
Image Credit: Randy Holmes via Getty Images In a moment that shocked Bachelor Nation fans, season 22 bachelor Arie Luyendyk broke off his engagement with Becca Kufrin on camera, deciding that he was meant to be with runner-up Lauren Burnham instead. After getting engaged on After the Final Rose in 2018, they wed the following year. The couple share three kids, Alessi and twins Lux and Senna.
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Astrid and Kevin Wendt
Image Credit: Richard Lautens/Toronto Star via Getty Images Though they had a bumpy start on Bachelor in Paradise, Astrid Loch and Kevin Wendt repaired their relationship in the season five finale in 2018. They got engaged the following year and had their first child, Auggy, in 2021. COVID delayed their wedding, but they eventually married in October 2022.
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Ashley Iaconetti and Jared Haibon
Image Credit: Taylor Hill/WireImage Ashley Iaconetti and Jared Haibon beat the odds after one of the roughest starts in Bachelor in Paradise. They met in season two and while Iaconetti was all in, Haibon decided to end their relationship. When they returned for season three, Iaconetti tried to win him back, as he explored a romance with Caila Quinn. Ultimately, Iaconetti’s persistence paid off, with the two getting back together in 2018, marrying the following year. They have a son named Dawson.
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Joe Amabile and Serena Pitt
Image Credit: Monica Schipper/Getty Images Joe Amabile, who was given the moniker “Grocery Store Joe” in the franchise, was able to find love after his painful breakup with Kendall Long, whom he met on season five of Bachelor in Paradise. Despite having to deal with being reunited onscreen with Long for season seven a year after their split — and her being ready to give their relationship another go — Amabile realized that Serena Pitt was a better fit. They got engaged at the end of the season and married in October 2022.
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Hannah Godwin and Dylan Barbour
Image Credit: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images In another Bachelor in Paradise success story, Hannah Godwin met Dylan Barbour in season six and got engaged during their run on the show. They married in August 2023.
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Becca Kufrin and Thomas Jacobs
Image Credit: Craig Sjodin/ABC via Getty Images After both of her engagements in The Bachelor and The Bachelorette fell through, Becca Kufrin eventually found her match during the seventh season of Bachelor in Paradise with Thomas Jacobs. Though they broke up during the season, their time apart didn’t last long, as they got engaged in May 2022. The couple had a son in September 2023 and married the following month.
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Caelynn Miller-Keyes and Dean Unglert
Image Credit: Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images Caelynn Miller-Keyes and Dean Unglert’s love story in Bachelor in Paradise‘s sixth season started out with some challenges, as Unglert was worried they weren’t compatible due to their lifestyles and decided to leave the show. He then realized his mistake, returning and asking Miller-Keyes to give their relationship another go. They got engaged in 2022, nearly four years after their romance began, and married in September 2023.
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Mari Pepin and Kenny Braasch
Image Credit: Stewart Cook/ABC via Getty Images In season seven of Bachelor in Paradise, Mari Pepin and Kenny Braasch immediately took an interest in each other. Though their relationship wasn’t smooth sailing, they realized that they were meant to be, ending up engaged in the finale. The couple married in November 2023.
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Abigail Heringer and Noah Erb
Image Credit: Presley Ann/Getty Images Though Abigail Heringer and Noah Erb broke up during season seven of Bachelor in Paradise, they rekindled their romance after filming the show. The pair got engaged in August 2023 after two years of dating.
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Chris Conran and Alana Milne
Image Credit: Paul Archuleta/Getty Images Though Chris Conran initially had his sights set on another Bachelor in Paradise contestant, Jessenia Cruz, during season seven, he realized he was more interested in Alana Milne upon the moment they met. After other BIP participants urged Conran to leave for betraying Jessenia, he put Milne in an awkward spot, asking her to leave with him. The couple is still going strong.
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Matt James and Rachael Kirkconnell
Image Credit: Ethan Miller – Formula 1/Formula 1/Getty Images Matt James’ final pick during his history-making season as the first Black Bachelor was met with controversy after photos of Rachael attending a plantation-themed party and wearing a Native American costume resurfaced. However, the couple remains together.
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Jordan Chapman and Corrinne Jones
Image Credit: Hatnim Lee#1004016#51C ED/Getty Images Corrinne Jones and Jordan Chapman didn’t have much luck while vying for Matt James and Tayshia Adams, respectively, but connected off-camera in 2021. They recently celebrated their two-year anniversary.
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Anna Redman and Chris Bukowski
Image Credit: Paul Archuleta/Getty Images; Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images Chris Bukowski didn’t find love while appearing in various Bachelor Nation shows — including two stints on The Bachelorette, three on Bachelor in Paradise and a season of Bachelor Pad. However, he still ended up meeting his partner Anna Redman, who was in Matt James’ season of The Bachelor, off-camera thanks to Bachelor Nation. They started dating in May 2022.
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Greg Grippo and Victoria Fuller
Image Credit: Craig Barritt/Getty Images; Mindy Small/Getty Images Though Victoria Fuller got engaged to Johnny DePhillipo on Bachelor in Paradise‘s eighth season, she ended up with another Bachelor Nation alum: Grep Grippo, who was one of the men during Katie Thurston’s stint as Bachelorette.
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Zach Shallcross and Kaity Biggar
Image Credit: John Fleenor/Disney/Getty Images During Zach Shallcross’ season as the Bachelor, viewers were concerned that all progress in his relationship with Kaity Biggar was lost after him admitting to being intimate with other women in the fantasy suite, breaking his self-imposed “no sex” rule. Ultimately, Biggar decided to forgive Shallcross for his decision despite being irate, and accepted his proposal in the finale.
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Charity Lawson and Dotun Olubeko
Image Credit: John Fleenor/Disney/Getty Images Charity Lawson, who is the latest Bachelorette, fell in love with Dotun Olubeko. She accepted his proposal during the series finale and they are currently in the process of planning their nuptials.
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Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist
Image Credit: Disney/John Fleenor Widower Gerry Turner became the first Golden Bachelor at 72 years old, and ended up proposing to 70-year-old Theresa Nist. Though he initially was unsure if Nist was the one, he realized she was the right choice after their stay in the fantasy suite. A piece published by The Hollywood Reporter questioned the show’s narrative of Turner not having dated since before he was married when a woman, who requested anonymity, identified herself as Turner’s ex-girlfriend and said they dated for more than two years. Turner has since addressed the claims and the pair’s wedding airs live on ABC on Jan. 4.