This Reality Show Resulted in the Most Happy Relationships and It's Not 'The Bachelor'
Updated March 27 2019, 10:35 a.m. ET
It seems like there's a reality show for everything. Heck, there was even one about giving birth in the wild, and another dedicated to Britney Spears and her ex Kevin Federline's love life.
So it comes as no surprise that there are reality TV shows orchestrating human circuses of love where individuals are subjected to rejection from members of the opposite sex, all for their shot at a long-lasting relationship.
But how successful are programs like The Bachelor at really fostering long-lasting relationships? Well, compared to another reality show, not too good.
There are a few people from The Bachelor and The Bachelorette that have still been going strong after a few years. Trista Rehn, the first ever "Bachelorette," is still with firefighter Ryan Sutter. They have two kids together after being married on December 3rd, 2006 (their ceremony was broadcast on live TV). Rehn says that the key to their marriage is forgiveness.
Couples from seasons 7, 9, 11, 12, and 13 of The Bachelorette are still together, and the season 17 couple from The Bachelor are still an item as well.
Although the number of couples who are still together from The Bachelorette are way higher than those who met on The Bachelor, both shows combined still have fewer happy pairs than another program that has less to do sweaty embraces of love and more to do with sweat.
The Biggest Loser.
Antoine Dove and Alexandra White hit it off on the eighth season of the extreme weight loss show. He proposed to her right on air, and she said yes.
Marty Wolff and Amy Hildreth, who competed in Season 3 of the show, appeared on a reunion show in September 2007. Marty got down on one knee and popped the question to Amy, who said yes.
Suzy Preston and Matt Hoover were the first couples from the show to ever get hitched. Matt won the season 2 competition and Suzy was the second runner-up. They revealed at the end of the show that they were dating in secret.
Sam Poueu and Stephanie Anderson were head-over-heels for each other — that was plain to see for anyone who watched season 9. Plus, it also helps that they entered the show already dating. In 2010, Sam proposed to Stephanie at The Biggest Loser ranch, and the two were married in April 2012.
However, Sam and Stephanie's marriage dissolved two months before the birth of their child, when Sam admitted to cheating on her throughout their whole relationship.
Ramon Medeiros and Jessica Limpert, from season 12, got married after dating for six years.
Rebecca Meyer and Daniel Wright fell in love while competing on the show, after not really liking one another that much at first.
All right, so The Biggest Loser doesn't blow The Bachelorette out of the water when it comes to relationships, but there are more people who got together on the weight-loss program than The Bachelor, which, when you think about it, makes sense.
When you're appearing on one of those "love competition" shows, you're auditioning your best self. On TV. You're not cursing to yourself while sitting in a pool of of your own sweat feeling super unsexy and defeated. No one really gets to see you under real pressure on The Bachelor or Bachelorette, because you're carefully choosing your words and mannerisms in order to get someone to think you're an attractive mate.
Although it changes every season, the average percentage of Bachelor and Bachelorette couples who call it quits is 83%. Maybe all of that pomp and circumstance and preening and designer clothing and "auditioning" is something that can't be truly lived once the veneer of whatever persona you're creating starts to fade.
I've got an idea for a reality TV show: Make hopeful Bachelors and Bachelorettes date through grueling workouts, then have them talk to each other after they're fed up with everyone and everything. That'd make some for some honest television for once.
