Do Bachelor Couples Stay Together?

• How many couples from The Bachelor series are still together?
• What versions of the show have the higher success rate?
• We have the odds that this season’s Bachelor, Colton, marries and stays hitched

With The Bachelor Season 23 in full swing with noted virgin Colton in an epic journey to find love, wouldn’t it be interesting to know just how many couples have actually gone the distance since the show premiered? Spoiler alert: most don’t. Does The Bachelor or Bachelorette (or Bachelor in Paradise!) have the best success rate of finding true love?

‘Bachelor’ Colton Underwood: ‘I don’t wear underwear’ https://t.co/3x7AgYDiwR pic.twitter.com/wqDAS2l7ve

— Page Six (@PageSix) January 11, 2019

Before we get to that, first we must examine what the likelihood is that Colton finds his woman and proceeds to share a lifetime of happiness with her, or whether the couple will break up like so many of their predecessors.

Odds on length of Colton’s Relationship

The odds are simply stacked against Colton. In just nine of the 36 (25% success rate) total Bachelor/Bachelorette seasons the couple has stayed together, with just five at this point lasting longer than five years.

Doing a deep dive into the respective seasons reveals a lot. In 22 total Bachelor seasons only three couples are still together (and in 2007 The Bachelor didn’t pick any women to “win” the season) The success rate of The Bachelorette is much more formidable, with six of the 14 couples attached.

#TheBachelor premieres tonight and here are the couples from past editions of the show who are still together! https://t.co/Qb2jHUamiQ

— JustJared.com (@JustJared) January 7, 2019

Bachelor Series Couples

*Woman was original runner-up, but was later chosen by The Bachelor

Those two instances created major firestorms when first Jason picked Melisssa but then decided to change his mind to Molly and this last season Arie upset Bachelor nation by jilting Becca in favor of Lauren after originally proposing to Becca.

ABC exec Rob Mills: "What we learned with Arie and Becca is that we will continue filming regardless"#TheBachelor https://t.co/D7Z1I1Mq7k pic.twitter.com/LM0MZ3xZyo

— Variety (@Variety) January 8, 2019

Just five relationships have been ongoing for five or more years, with the other four all since 2016. Suffice to say, longevity isn’t exactly the name of the game for The Bachelor franchise.

"The Bachelor" couple Ben Higgins and Lauren Bushnell split https://t.co/cXb4gkhuj4 pic.twitter.com/5bloeNAQYh

— BuzzFeed (@BuzzFeed) May 15, 2017

Success found on Bachelor in Paradise

Though the summer sensation Bachelor in Paradise (where an eclectic mix of men and women are on a tropical island together) has only been on the air for five seasons, there’s been a surprising amount of couples to come from it. Some during the season, and others afterwards.

Couples from Bachelor in Paradise

*Ended up together after filming the season

Of these couples Jade/Tanner and Carly/Evan seem the most solid since they’ve since gone on to have children together. Ashley I and Jared are especially notable because she pursued him on multiple seasons and he declined. They’ve since let their walls down to become a couple.

CONGRATULATIONS to Ashley Iaconetti and Jared Haibon — ENGAGED yesterday while in Mexico for the upcoming fifth season of Bachelor in Paradise! 💍❤️ https://t.co/WdXeGAyOkk@BachParadise@BacheloretteABC #BachelorInParadise pic.twitter.com/rev2Axmorg

— Good Morning America (@GMA) June 18, 2018

Other Bachelor Success Stories

Not to be outdone are a few couples from other Bachelor spin off shows. Holly and Blake are an item after competing in Bachelor Pad and Courtney/Lily are together after meeting on the Bachelor Winter Games. Three other couples are together who weren’t on their original seasons together (Jesse/Ann, Peyton/Chris and Becca/Clay.)

The Bachelor Bottom Line

To count on Colton sticking with one woman is fools gold considering the shows and his past. This is particularly true because of Colton’s noted wishy washy tendencies as evidenced by his on-again, off-again relationship with Tia.

#TheBachelor Colton Underwood's ex-girlfriend Tia Booth is speaking out on her own terms about their relationship. https://t.co/zwTsomPnuO

— USA TODAY Life (@usatodaylife) January 8, 2019

Perhaps the show has finally had an epiphany with recent couples that have actually stayed together in recent years. But don’t bank on it. It’s a long shot that Colton will find ever lasting love. Is he even in it for the right reasons?