Since 2002, The Bachelor has been serving fans reality TV romantic drama. In 25 seasons, there have been a lot of tears shed and engagements broken. Another constant of this show: the leading man is nearly always super attractive. After all, the show is selling the fantasy of the perfect whirlwind romance, and a Prince Charming needs to be at the center of all that.
For the first season, the procuders decided to pick an eligible businessman who graduated from Harvard. Alex Michel was OK looking, but his whole thing was that he was the package deal — attractive enough, from an Ivy League school, with a generic but well-paying job. Since then, the show has focused less on the Bachelor's occupation and more on his objective attractiveness. The show now loves to open with a scene of the Bachelor showering and soaping up his six-pack abs.
Check out the evolution of the hottest Bachelors, from the earliest seasons to the newest.
Aaron Buerge
The second Bachelor ever, Aaron was a banker who provided the show with its first ever proposal in 2002 — setting the stage for years to come. However, he and his winner Helene Eksterowicz split up just a few weeks after their romantic proposal aired on TV. In fact, she said he unceremoniously dumped her.
Andrew Firestone
Handsome businessman Andrew Firestone was the season three Bachelor in 2003. Although he proposed to Jen Schefft at the end of the show, the duo broke up soon after. Jen was able to turn her heartbreak into a leading role as the next Bachelorette, where she made history by not picking either of the final two men. Meanwhile, Andrew eventually married a model name Ivana and they now have three children.
Jesse Palmer
Jesse's job as an NFL quarterback went a long way in proving his hotness to his contestants. He starred on The Bachelor in 2004, and though he didn't find lasting love, he did find a television platform. These days, he's a sports commentator for ESPN, and he's engaged to a model. Sounds about right.
Travis Lane Stork
The season eight Bachelor is also a doctor, so it's easy to see why he made this list. After his unsuccessful turn on The Bachelor (he and winner Sarah Stone only lasted a few weeks), he went on to star on the daytime talk show The Doctors for years. He's also since gotten married and had his first child — a son named Grayson.
Lorenzo Borghese
Season nine of The Bachelor took place in Italy, because its leading man Lorenzo Borghese was an Italian prince. The contestants all wanted to become his princess, but he didn't propose to anyone at the end of his season. He's reportedly still single and dedicates his time to animal advocacy.
Andrew Baldwin
Who doesn't love a man in uniform? Navy doctor Andrew Baldwin appeared on the 2007 season, and he had all the women swooning — on and off the show. He proposed to Tessa Horst at the end of the series, but the duo only made it a couple of months before parting ways. These days, he's still serving as a physician in the Navy.
Matt Grant
Matt was the show's first and only British Bachelor (on the American series that is, England has its own version of the show). The accent alone helps win him some attractiveness points. But the accent wasn't enough to guarantee a lasting romance. He and winner Shayne Lamas split a couple of months after the finale aired. He later met and married Rebecca Moring in 2017.
Jason Mesnick
One of Jason's legacies on the show is that he changed his mind post-show and dumped his winner Melissa Rycroft to marry his runner-up instead. He and Molly Mesnick are still together, though, so at least all that trouble wasn't for nothing. The duo is now raising Jason's son, Ty, from a previous relationship, as well as their daughter together, Riley.
Jake Pavelka
A lot of fans were disappointed when season 14 Bachelor Jake Pavelka proposed to that season's "villain" Vienna Girardi. No surprise to anyone, they didn't make it as a couple, and their breakup was pretty nasty with all kinds of shots fired in the tabloids. He's reportedly still single and living life as a pilot.
Brad Womack
Brad actually got to be the Bachelor not once, but twice. After his 2007 stint ended in him choosing to eliminate both of his final two women, the show gave him a second chance at love in 2011. That time, he proposed to Emily Maynard, but they split not long after their engagement, and she went on to become the next Bachelorette instead. Brad now runs several bars and restaurants and seems to have found love with a fitness influencer.
Sean Lowe
One of Bachelor Nation's biggest success stories is thanks to Sean Lowe. He proposed to Catherine Giudici during the show's 2013 finale, and they had a televised wedding the year after. The duo is now still happily married with three children. He's the only Bachelor who married his original winner and actually stayed together.
Ben Higgins
Fans loved Ben Higgins from Kaitlyn Bristowe's season of The Bachelorette, so it was a no-brainer that he became the next Bachelor. Ultimately, his engagement to Lauren Bushnell didn't work out, but he's now happily engaged to his new fiancée Jessica Clarke.
"I was super nervous. She's my best friend, my partner and I love her. I was nervous to kind of do this whole thing in front of her. I wasn't anxious, it's just a big moment!" he later said of the proposal.
Aww, he's just as cute and sweet as ever.
Nick Viall
After appearing on two seasons of The Bachelorette as well as Bachelor in Paradise, Nick Viall got a fourth chance at love on the 21st season of The Bachelor. Though he proposed to his winner Vanessa Grimaldi, the duo split up soon after. Now Nick has a successful career as a podcaster and Instagram influencer who loves to take his shirt off for selfies. We certainly don't mind.
Arie Luyendyk Jr.
Five years after he came in second place on Emily Maynard's Bachelorette season, Arie became the Bachelor in 2018. By then, the race car driver had a salt-and-pepper hair thing going on and somehow seemed even hotter than he had five years earlier. He's now married to his runner-up Lauren Burnham and they have one daughter and have twins on the way.
Peter Weber
Peter's season was hard to watch because the then 28-year-old made a lot of dumb decisions. He got engaged to one woman only to dump her so he could get with his runner-up only to break that off so he could get back together with his fifth place finisher. Now that relationship is also over. But the pilot is still hot, so he'll land on his feet.
Matt James
Matt James, the 2021 Bachelor, is definitely one of the hottest contestants the show has ever seen. His women were falling all over themselves (literally, one of them tripped) to make a good first impression on him and have a chance to win his heart. His season has only just started, so we don't know the outcome yet, but hopefully one lucky lady will get engaged to him at the end of the season.
