The curse of The Bachelor has foiled yet another match made in a reality heaven.
Dr. Travis Stork and Sarah Stone, the latest couple to find love through the dating series, have called it quits, they jointly confirmed to the Tennessean.
In the Feb. 27 finale of this season's Bachelor, which was filmed in Paris, Stork chose the sexy kindergarten teacher from his own hometown, presenting her with a diamond ring strung on a necklace as a sign of his commitment to their relationship, but stopping short of a proposal.
"The promise I do make is that I'm so excited to go back to Nashville and spend time with you and see where this relationship goes," Stork said. "And I want this to work."
Unfortunately, the hunky E.R. doc made that promise back in November when the show concluded taping, a good three months before the finale aired.
In the interim, the couple was prohibited from dating or being seen together in public, and both admitted that the separation eventually took its toll.
"You're in Paris and you're part of this incredible experience, this fantasy world, and then suddenly you come back to Nashville, and living in the same city I think we thought was going to be a great thing," Stork said. "But instead, you're forced to pretend you don't know someone, for essentially the last four months.
"The reality is that we were in this fantasy world. And now that we're back in Nashville, over time when you're not allowed to see someone, you grow apart."
Stone said that she thought the relationship would have lasted, had the couple met in real life, as opposed to reality life.
"I definitely think it would've worked out differently," she said. "We wouldn't have had all the baggage that comes from being on this show. It would just be the two of us being able to hang out and get to know each other in a normal situation."
However, she denied that there were any hard feelings about the demise of the relationship.
"Through this time, we realized that it was a great experience in Paris and that we're so lucky to have met one another in Paris, and we'll never forget that," Stone said. "And we both agree and know that we'll be friends forever."
Both halves of the couple claim that they are single, though Stone has been linked with a Nashville businessman in published reports.
The finale in which Stork selected Stone over also-ran Moana Dixon averaged 11.5 million viewers, making it the most-watched Bachelor episode since pro quarterback Jesse Palmer made a play for Jessica B. in May 2004. That romance, too, quickly fizzled once the camera were turned off.
In fact, to date, not one match made in Bachelor-ville has endured the test of time. Bachelorette odds are only slightly better, with lovebirds Trista Rehn and Ryan Sutter still going strong after getting hitched in December 2003.