There are many lessons to be learned from the Bachelor franchise, but perhaps one of the biggest is that its female stars are pretty good at making quick decisions.
In the past decade (at least), the only Bachelor who has gotten engaged to the recipient of his first impression rose was Peter Weber, who then dumped her in favor of another woman. But over on The Bachelorette, out of 14 stars who have handed out first impression roses, only six haven't ended up with those men at the end. Some of those relationships have now fizzled, but several are now happily married.
Season 16, starring Clare Crawley, hasn't even begun airing yet, but Clare has apparently already found her happily ever after. Sources tell E! News that after communicating with one of her contestants before filming began (which she had time to do, thanks to the pandemic), Clare handed him her first impression rose and then decided that was it. She no longer needed to go on any more dates, and can now hand over the reins to her successor, Tayshia Adams.
It's the happiest ending we have ever gotten before we even saw a beginning, and just adds yet another name to the list of Bachelorettes who knew what they wanted before they handed out the first rose.
Sure, there's a world in which you could consider this totally cheating since Clare had much more than a cocktail party's worth of time to decide she's in love, but she's on the list nonetheless.
While we wait for more updates and for this wild, twist-filled season to finally premiere, take a look back at all the Bachelorettes who chose either very right or very wrong on night one.
Jen was the first Bachelorette to hand out a first impression rose, and she gave it to a man named Keith. Keith only made it a few weeks, and Jen ended up with Jerry Ferris in the end, though their relationship didn't even last until the finale actually aired.
In 2008, the season four lead was given three roses to hand out before the rose ceremony. Her picks: Jeremy Anderson, who made it to the finale three; Richard Mathy, who was sent packing in episode three; and Jesse Csincsak, who also clinched the final rose. Though the pair eventually called off their engagement, DeAnna found her happily ever after in Stephen Stagliano. (His brother competed on The Bachelorette season five!) The duo have kids Addison, 5, and Austin, 3.
Good just didn't cut it: The Canadian Love It Or List It host gave her coveted rose to David Good during 2009's fifth season. But, in the end, she accepted a proposal from Ed Swiderski. They split a year after the finale aired and, today, Jillian has two babies with longtime love Justin Pasutto.
She thought she picked a winner. Back in 2010, on season six, Ali gave her first and last rose to Roberto Martinez. They quickly began planning a wedding for spring 2011, but constantly kept pushing the date back until they finally announced their split in November of that year. She now has kids Molly, 2, and Riley, 11 months, with husband Kevin Manno.
Fans watching Ashley on season immediately knew J.P. Rosenbaum was a contestant to watch. Our lead, on the other hand, did not. On night one, she gave the coveted boutonniere to Ryan Park, who, after getting the boot, begged for a second chance on the penultimate episode. In the end, however, J.P. was her perfect match. They exchanged vows in 2012—Chris Harrison officiated!—and now live happily ever after with their two adorable kids in Florida.
Looking back on season 8, the most well-know contestants were obviously Arie Luyendyk Jr., Jef Holm and Sean Lowe. (They were also Emily's final three!) But, on night one, she was actually most impressed with, uh, Doug Clerget. As Bachelor Nation knows, Emily chose Jef, which resulted in a tumultuous, up-and-down affair. These days, the mom of four is happily married to Tyler Johnson.
Though Des presented Drew Kinney with the first rose on the premiere of season nine, by the finale, she told her runner-up she just didn't see a "future together. I feel like there's something missing." Later in the episode, she accepted a proposal from Chris Siegfried. (Remember when fan-favorite Brooks Forester abruptly quit the show!) The Seattle-based pair wed in 2015 and now are parents to two boys.
Ah yes, this is where the never-ending, always entertaining feud between Nick Viall and Josh Murray took shape. From the get go, the two had captured Andi's heart, but, in the end, Josh was the one to take her first and final rose on season 10. Their fairy tale was short lived. Following their split, Andi chronicled their volatile romance in her 2016 tell-all, It's Not Okay. "If I talked to another man," she wrote, "I was a 'whore.' If I disagreed, I was 'argumentative.'" Josh, on the other hand, has denied the allegations.
Nick Viall returns! Alas, not in time to score the first impression rose. Before his comeback in a later episode, Katilyn was swept off her feet by none other than Shawn B, er, Shawn Booth. Though he, like Josh, butt heads with Nick throughout season 11, Shawn came out victorious. He and Kaitlyn were engaged and living in Nashville together until 2018. Now, she dates fellow alum Jason Tartick.
From the moment Jordan Rodgers stepped out of the limo, it was game over for the other season 12 contestants. He earned JoJo's first rose, the last rose and her forever. The duo are still engaged—and are in no rush to say "I do."
Bryan Abasolo had her with three little words: "I'm 37-years-old." Yes, really. Impressed by his maturity and eagerness to settle down, Rachel was quick to bestow the chiropractor with her first impression rose (and a hot make out session). Fast forward eight weeks into season 13 and he was down on one knee. They're now married!
After Garrett Yrigoyen rolled up the Bachelor mansion in a minivan—a nod to his future skills as a soccer dad—Becca was ready to do the damn thing, a.k.a. offer him her rose. And it came as no surprise that he later proposed on the season 14 finale, though the couple had to address some controversial social media activity on Garrett's part. They've since broken up, having struggled with differing views throughout the Black Lives Matter movement.
Hannah actually got to give out two first impression roses—one on live TV, and one on her actual first night. Cam Ayala won the live one with an attempt at a rap, and the infamous Luke Parker earned the real one. Hannah ended up briefly engaged to Jed Wyatt before he was revealed to have had a girlfriend, and is currently single.
When Dale Moss stepped out of the limo, it was love at first sight. The Bachelorette quite literally whispers to herself in the premiere, "I knew it! It feels like I just met my husband. Oh my god. I'm shaking."
She later gives him the first impression rose, telling him, "I've talked to so many men and you're the one I still wanna keep talking to. And I feel like as much as we talked, I want more of that, I absolutely want more of that."
After a brief three-week romance and a shocking departure from the show, the pair is now engaged!
After taking over for Bachelorette Clare Crawley, the 30-year-old meets the remaining contestants and introduces four new men, one of which is Spencer Robertson.
At first sight, Tayshia feels a connection, but the other guys vying for her love don't. Clearly, Spencer asking, "Who scared away Clare?" didn't make a good impression on the men.
But the only opinion that matters is Tayshia's, right?
The Bachelorette will premiere on ABC later this fall.