‘Bachelor’ and ‘Bachelorette’ Couples Who Split After Getting Engaged: Dale Moss and Clare Crawley, More

Breakups are a dime a dozen in Bachelor Nation. More often than not, couples who get engaged on The Bachelor or The Bachelorette end up splitting shortly thereafter — but that doesn’t necessarily mean they didn’t find lasting love on the show.

Jason Mesnick, for one, made history in 2009 when he dumped fiancée Melissa Rycroft for his runner-up, Molly Malaney, during the season 13 Bachelor finale. While Jason and Molly would go on to wed in 2010, the move was repeated — with varying success — by future leads.

Arie Luyendyk Jr. also changed his mind in 2018, getting back together with season 22 runner-up Lauren Burnham after his split from fiancée Becca Kufrin. Season 24’s Peter Weber then tried his hand at the technique, although he and runner-up Madison Prewett broke up days after footage of him ending his engagement to Hannah Ann Sluss aired in 2020.

Melissa, for her part, reflected in August 2020 on why Bachelors keep repeating the story line. “Because they’re men,” she said on Us Weekly’s “Here for the Right Reasons” podcast. “They’re guys, I mean, they short-term think with one thing, and then when the long-term comes, they’re like, ‘Oh, wait a minute.’ … I think being the Bachelor, I mean, it’s exciting for these guys. … What man does not want women fighting over them and they can get the pick of anybody that they want. So sometimes, maybe they pick the lusty one. And then they’re like, ‘Wait a minute, OK. Yeah, you were hot, [but] I need that connection,’ or there’s just too many options. They don’t know how to make up their mind. I don’t know. … They’re boys! The girls are so much better at it.”

The Dancing With the Stars champion then addressed whether fellow alums have reached out to her when Bachelors “pull a Mesnick,” quipping: “I don’t think they know who I am.”

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“I mean, let’s be honest. They were, like, 10 [when my season aired], right?” she added. “I haven’t heard from any of them, but they’re gonna be fine. They’re young, they’re hot. They’re gonna be fine.”

Although the runner-up switcheroo has become more common in recent years, other Bachelor Nation splits happen once the pairs take their relationships to the real world. Clare Crawley and Dale Moss, for instance, confirmed their breakup in January 2021 — two months after their hasty engagement aired on The Bachelorette. However, they were back on as of February 2021.

Scroll through the gallery below to see all the Bachelor and Bachelorette couples who called it quits after getting engaged on the show.