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Who Pays for the Neil Lane Engagement Rings on ‘Bachelor’ and ‘Bachelorette’? Cost Details and More
While the love stories on The Bachelor and Bachelorette are heartwarming, fans are often left wondering: Who is paying for the impressive Neil Lane diamond engagement rings? Find out price details, what happens after the couple splits and more!
So, Who Pays for the Rings?
While it’s unclear who *exactly* is writing the check for the multi-carat diamond rings given to the leads and contestants on the show, there are a few theories that are likely. Either ABC pays for the ring as another production cost or Neil Lane gives the sparklers to the franchise free of charge in exchange for the massive amount of promotion he receives as being the exclusive jeweler of Bachelor Nation.
However, at least one Bachelor coughed up the dough for their own ring, and (gasp) it wasn’t from Neil Lane. Season 2 star Aaron Beurge paid out of pocket for a $32,000 Harry Winston diamond ring for winner Helene Eksterowicz. They later split, and she reportedly sold the ring on eBay for $28,300.
What Is the Cost of Bachelor Nation Rings?
The largest sparklers on The Bachelor and Bachelorette are on average between 3 and 4 carats. However, Clare Crawley received the biggest ring in franchise history from contestant Dale Moss during season 16.
The 5-carat, radiant-cut diamond, which was framed by two accent diamonds and set on a diamond-encrusted platinum band, had an estimated cost between $100,000 to $150,000, Kathryn Money, SVP of Merchandising and Retail Expansion for Brilliant Earth, told Life & Style following Clare and Dale’s engagement.
Do the Rings Belong to the Couple After the Finale?
Whether or not the reality TV couple gets to keep the ring seemingly depends on if their relationship lasts.
“There’s some rule, after a certain number of years, you get to keep it anyway. But after months … it goes back,” Chris Harrison previously told Entertainment Weekly. There have been rumblings that three years is the amount of time a couple needs to last to keep the ring, but the franchise hasn’t explicitly said.
What Happens After the Couple Splits?
You may think the ring simply goes back to Neil Lane to be sold to another couple. However, the famed jeweler divulged that’s not actually the case.
“I make rings hoping that people stay together forever, but after they get the ring, I don’t have a say in it, and what happens after that, I don’t know. Where the ring goes, I have to say, I don’t really know,” Neil previously told StyleCaster. “I just say it goes to ring heaven. That’s my response.”
Former Bachelorette Becca Kufrin corroborated his claim during an interview with Today. “I will say there is a ring graveyard. They get to keep them all locked away, hidden from everyone — all the scorned rings,” she said.
Diamonds are forever … right?
