The Shortest Engagements On The Bachelorette

For many, the thought of becoming "The Bachelorette" on the ABC reality TV show is a dream come true. What could be better than 30 handsome hopefuls vying for your affection and sweeping you off your feet? But as we all know, being the Bachelorette can be tough and it isn't all sunshine and roses. While most finales end with a proposal and an expensive diamond ring, these engagements often fizzle out within the year. Thankfully, when it comes to the Bachelor franchise, viewers come for the happily-ever-afters, but stay for the drama. Heartbreaking betrayals and dramatic breakups can be painful, but they make for good television ratings (as the show's producers already know). There's a good reason why viewers continue to tune in week after week.

According to Women's Health, 26 (or 61%) of the relationships portrayed on "The Bachelorette" have lasted a year or less. It's not the best track record, to say the least. But of all the engagements that have come and gone, which were the most fleeting? Let's take a look at the shortest engagements in the history of "The Bachelorette."

After many of the contestants on Katie Thurston's season of "The Bachelorette" chose to self-eliminate — we're looking at you, Greg Grippo! — Thurston chose to give Blake Moynes her final rose, despite his late arrival to the show. While Thurston's other suitors weren't thrilled when Moynes showed up in week five, the Bachelorette described his decision to crash her season as "probably the most romantic thing someone's ever done," via Us Weekly. "[Moynes] took all these risks for me and no one's ever believed in me like that. So for him to trust in us early on, it just means everything," Thurston added.

Sadly, the duo ended their engagement after six months together, notifying the world of their split through a joint Instagram statement. The long and the short of it? Moynes and Thurston were incompatible as partners. Thurston further opened up about the breakup in a video on Instagram, sharing that, "we just both knew if this is how our first six months was as a couple, going forward it was not going to be in our best interests for our happiness to stay together." The former bank marketing manager rebounded with another one of her contestants, John Hersey, via Us Weekly. In response, Moynes admitted to feeling blindsided by his ex-fiancee's new boyfriend on "Bachelor" alums Bryan Abasolo and Mike Johnson's podcast, "Talking It Out." "I'll be dating in the real world when I'm ready," Moynes added.

Viewers were rooting for Season 15's "Alabama Hannah" to find love on "The Bachelorette," but she and finalist Jed Wyatt didn't last very long. Sadly, Hannah Brown ended up falling for someone who wasn't there for the right reasons. From the get-go, Wyatt admitted that he'd only applied to the show in order to promote his music career, per Marie Claire. Surprisingly, Brown wasn't turned off by this revelation. "I knew that no guy was actually there for me because they didn't know who the Bachelorette was going to be," she shared with People in 2019. "So Jed being honest [was] refreshing. He didn't come for me, but he liked me. And that's what made me initially start to fall for him."

Unfortunately, the bigger bombshell didn't drop until after the Alabama native said "yes" to Wyatt's proposal. Per People, Brown soon discovered that her fiance had been in a relationship before leaving Nashville to film "The Bachelorette." After learning of Wyatt's betrayal, it didn't take long for Brown to break off the engagement, according to Us Weekly. The irony is that Wyatt's ex, Haley Stevens, is now engaged to Brown's brother Patrick, as People reported. At least one couple got their happily-ever-after! Hopefully, the Brown family get-togethers haven't been too awkward.

Per People, Clare Crawley made "Bachelorette" history when she left the show after getting engaged to contestant Dale Moss after only two weeks of knowing him. But when you know, you know, right? Despite their love-at-first-sight romance, it didn't take long for the happy couple to hit a few bumps in the road. What began as an instant spark quickly spiraled into a breakup, and the pair called it quits for the first time in January 2021, via People. As a source revealed to E! News, Crawley and Moss were not on the same page in terms of their lifestyle. In particular, Moss felt as though the relationship was moving too quickly — and though the couple eventually reunited, the relationship was clearly not built to last. By September, People reported that the hairstylist and former NFL player were 100% over.

Also in September, Crawley shared a cryptic Instagram post that hinted at trouble. Per Cosmopolitan, she tagged fellow Bachelor nation alum Abigail Heringer, sparking rumors that Moss may have cheated on Crawley and facilitated the couple's demise. But while Moss and Crawley may not be on the best of terms as of this writing, the Sacramento native doesn't regret their relationship. "I loved and have always had such a deep love for Dale and A) He doesn't go away overnight and B) I don't regret that I loved loving him," Crawley shared on Jana Kramer's podcast "Whine Down."

Another "Bachelorette" romance that quickly bit the dust was the relationship between Season 8's Emily Maynard and Jef Holm. During the finale, Maynard — the first single Mom to star on the hit reality TV series — picked Holm as her winner, according to NJ.com. Shortly after the proposal aired, the lovebirds were all smiles in an interview with "Good Morning America." Maynard and Holm boldly claimed that their romance was different from other Bachelor couples, partly due to the fact that they were not just lovers but also best friends, per ABC News.

Sadly, "Jemily" parted ways within a matter of months. In a People exclusive, Maynard described her decision to end the three-month engagement as "very difficult and heartbreaking." Meanwhile, Holm expressed similar sorrow to the outlet. "Emily will always have a special place in my heart. I don't regret a single second I spent with her or [daughter] Ricki," he said. While the couple was plagued by rumors of infidelity, according to Us Weekly, they maintained that the breakup was rooted in their lifestyle differences. Several months after the split, Holm called Maynard a "homebody" and explained that he was looking for someone who could "share in the excitement of life" with him, via Us Weekly.

Fans wanted to believe that after Andi Dorfman and Josh Murray got engaged in Season 10, the couple would be able to go the distance together. However, hope came crashing down when the two broke things off nine months later — and by this time, things had turned hostile. In an interview with Us Weekly, Dorfman revealed that Murray was emotionally abusive throughout their relationship. To top that off, she wrote in her book, "It's Not Okay," that the partnership was "the most volatile ... of my life," via Us Weekly. According to the former Bachelorette, some of the couple's issues stemmed from the fact that Murray struggled to move on after learning that she had slept with Nick Viall, the Season 10 runner-up, during the show, per Us Weekly. 

Several years later, Dorfman still hadn't made amends with Murray. When she appeared on a 2019 episode of "Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen," Cohen asked Dorfman if she could name three nice things about her ex-fiance, to which she promptly responded, "no." Still, though the relationship between Dorfman and Murray may have soured, the show's leading lady did have strong feelings for her winner at one point. "The day I got engaged was, to this day, the happiest day of my life," she told ABC News in 2016.

They may have picked a wedding date, but Bachelorette DeAnna Pappas and Jesse Csincsak never made it down the aisle. Csincsak broke the news that Pappas had decided to end their four-month engagement in a statement released on the couple's website, via People. Per the outlet, Csincsak revealed that Pappas had told him, "I love you, but I'm not in love with you." The Ohio native continued, "She's a great person but she wasn't willing to try anymore. That's a lot to swallow no matter who you are when you're in love and you put yourself out there."

In the Season 4 finale, Pappas chose between the dependable and fan-favorite dad Jason Mesnick and Csincsak, a professional snowboarder. "It came down to two totally different people," she told Extra, via OK! Magazine. "Jason, who has it all together, has everything a woman would want. And then there's Jesse, who kind of was like a wild card. For me, I felt like the wild card was going to work out." Though it unfortunately didn't, both Pappas and Csincsak eventually found their happily-ever-afters with other partners. As of this writing, Popsugar reports that Pappas has two kids with husband Stephen Stagliano. Meanwhile, Csincsak has three children with "Bachelor" alum and wife Ann Lueders, via Popsugar.