A fresh new season of The Bachelor Australia is right around the corner and the optimist in us is hoping that our latest leading man, Jimmy Nicholson, joins the list of Bachie success stories.
WATCH: Bachelor Jimmy Nicholson talks about his family
Pilot Jimmy Nicholson is putting his heart on the line on the upcoming season of The Bachelor and we are ready to watch his love story unfold.
Will the 31-year-old’s journey go the way of Sam Wood and Snezana Markoski, who have not only tied the knot but welcomed two daughters since meeting on the show?
Or will it all go belly up like it did for 2019’s Bachelor Matt Agnew and his short-lived relationship with Chelsie McLeod?
Or could he even end up pulling a Honey Badger and pick no one?
While we wait for Jimmy’s season to take off, pardon the pun, we’ve taken a trip down Bachie memory lane to see which couples have stood the test of time and which love stories crashed and burned once the cameras stopped rolling.
Tim Robards and Anna Heinrich | The Bachelor 2013
After falling in love on the OG Aussie Bachelor in 2013, Tim and Anna tied the knot in a lavish ceremony in Puglia, Italy in 2018.
“Pinching myself all night… I’m a very lucky man! I can’t believe I got to marry the most gorgeous human I know! What a journey… and it’s only just begun,” Tim penned of his stunning Bachie bride.
While Anna proudly debuted herself as “Mrs Robards” as she declared she’d just had the best “three days of my life”.
Then in November 2020, the couple welcomed a baby daughter, Elle Robards, into the world.
These two restore our faith in the franchise and prove you can find true love on the show.
Blake Garvey and Louise Pillidge | The Bachelor 2014
To say their relationship has been unconventional is an understatement. Meeting on a reality TV show, realising that you picked the wrong woman and then starting a life with the second runner-up instead? Not exactly a textbook story of romance.
Needless to say, they were doomed from the start and they failed to make it past the 18 month mark.
In April 2016, Blake Garvey and Louise Pillidge announced their break-up.
In an interview with Today Tonight, Blake and Louise cited the severe impact the constant public scrutiny had on their relationship.
“I’ve gone through bouts of depression and I know we’ve both gone through some acute anxiety,” Blake said.
“You get looks and you know that you’re starting a series of conversations in the room just because you’ve entered it. That and many [other] factors make you really very self-conscious.”
“I was just sad. You think you’re going to spend the rest of your life with this person,” Louise added.
As for his views on falling in love through a reality TV show, Blake admits the magic of production makes it hard to not to feel connections with people.
“You’d have to try pretty hard not to at least find a pretty good bond or a great connection… but do you know everything about the person and do you know if you’re going to be compatible for life? Who knows that?”
Louise and Blake both appear to still be single.
Sam Wood and Snezana Markoski | The Bachelor 2015
After the disaster that was Blake Garvey, the third season of The Bachelor was the win the series needed.
Enter Sam Wood and his Snow White, Snezana Markoski.
Despite living in separate states, the pair have made their romance last long after the cameras have stopped rolling.
Sam popped the question to the single mother after just a few months of dating and in October 2017, they welcomed a gorgeous daughter called Willow Wendy Wood – the nation’s very first Bachelor baby.
The couple married in a romantic Byron Bay wedding ceremony at the end of 2018, and just a few months later, the couple welcomed their youngest daughter, Charlie Lane.
“I actually wasn’t planning on having any more. I was happy with the beautiful little girl that I have… But then I met Sam and things changed,” Snez told NW of expanding their brood.
“I don’t know if it made me feel cluckier, but it was good to see his gentle side and how great he is with kids, which does make you think, ‘Oh, it would be nice to see what he’s like with a baby.'”
Sam Frost and Sasha Mielczarek | The Bachelorette 2015
It was her second chance of love after Blake Garvey famously dumped her for second runner-up, Louise Pillidge.
After taking the ultimate chance, Sam agreed to star on the first Australian season of The Bachelorette.
What happened next was nothing short of a fairytale – the nation watched in delight as the bubbly beauty fell head over heels in love with construction worker, Sasha Mielczarek.
“From the very first moment that I met you, I got a feeling that I never got before. I’ve been waiting my whole life to meet you. I feel so blessed that you are here,” an elated Sam told Sasha during the finale in October, 2015.
However 18 months later, and after months of speculation their relationship was on the rocks, the pair confirmed their sad split in December, 2016.
A source close to the pair told Woman’s Day it was Sam who ended it because Sasha was too controlling.
“Sash holds a lot of power over Sam and she hasn’t been herself for a while,” a friend said at the time, adding they split months before their official announcement came.
Home & Away star Sam dated Dave Bashford for almost three years but, like her ex, is reportedly currently single. Though there were some whispers she was dating her Summer Bay co-star Tim Franklin.
Speaking to Now To Love last month, the actress explained that, while she understands that people are interested in her love life, she is trying to keep a lid on things for the time being.
“I think I have tried to keep that [her love life] a bit more private while I figure things about myself, and I have at times talked about things prematurely,” Sam told the publication.
Richie Strahan and Alex Nation | The Bachelor 2016
The country was caught off guard by their love but Richie Strahan and Alex Nation had no doubts they were meant to be together. At the time, the rope technician vouched to look after Alex and her son Elijah, from a previous relationship.
“The little guy can always come to me,” Richie told us.
But since the show wrapped, things went pear-shaped pretty quickly with the pressures of a long distance set-up getting the better of them.
Alex fell in love with her AFL teammate Maegan Luxa and the pair were briefly engaged before they pulled the pin on their romance.
The couple were briefly reunited on the second season of Bachelor in Paradise and though Richie pursued a fling with Cass Wood and Alex with upcoming Bachelorette Brooke Blurton as well as Bill Goldstein, neither relationship worked out.
Now, Richie has found love with girlfriend Jenayah Thompson while Alex is expecting a child with her partner Carson Jory.
Georgia Love and Lee Elliott | The Bachelorette 2016
Since Georgia Love picked Lee Elliott on The Bachelorette 2016, these two have been joined at the hip.
Having the blessing of both being based in Melbourne meant they didn’t have the added challenge of long distance.
In March this year, the couple tied the knot in a stunning ceremony in Tasmania after their original plans to marry in Sicily, Italy were dashed due to COVID.
Taking to Instagram at the time, the new Mrs Elliott shared a gorgeous black and white snap from the big day.
Dressed in a stunning sleeveless white frock, Georgia looked radiant as she shared a smooch with her new hubby.
“It was always you ✨05.03.21 #aloveleewedding”, the journalist wrote.
Matty Johnson and Laura Byrne | The Bachelor 2017
Our 2017 recruits to the VIP Bach club are crazy in love!
With the show wrapping in September 2017, Matty Johnson and Laura Byrne are still very much in love.
“I think initially it was her confidence that really drew me in. She’s a really intelligent person and having a conversation with her is just really engaging and interesting,” Matty admitted to Now To Love.
He added: “It’s easier to sit on different subjects because we just see eye-to-eye on so many different things. Even how ambitious she is and how creative she is… there’s so many things about her that really appeal to me.”
Not only that, but the couple have since become engaged and have welcomed two children together: Marlie-Mae and Lola Ellis.
Sophie Monk and Stu Laundy | The Bachelorette 2017
It was supposed to be her happily ever after.
But in January, Sophie Monk confirmed she and boyfriend Stu Laundy had ended their relationship after just six months together.
The Bachelorette star said she gave the relationship her “best shot” but it simply “didn’t work out.”
“I don’t know how to explain this because it’s an unusual circumstance to be in,” Soph’s statement said.
“But because I entered this relationship so publicly, I know I owe an answer to Australia about my personal life.”
“I went into this experience looking to settle down and start a family,” she continued. “I gave it the best shot I could and my intentions were everything I said I was looking for, but unfortunately it just didn’t work out.”
The reality television star didn’t go into the specifics of why the relationship ended, but she did admit that she and the millionaire publican are very different people.
“As much as I respect him, we are just very different people,” she wrote in the early-morning post. “There were no contracts or pressure to stay together whatsoever from anyone and we remain friends.”
Since then, Stu is reportedly still single and focusing on his boxing, though he was previously linked to Carys Courtney, ex-wife of V8 supercar driver James Courtney.
As for national treasure Sophie, she is engaged to her partner Joshua Gross.
Nick “Honey Badger” Cummins and no one | The Bachelor 2018
Ok, so it’s not exactly your traditional love story, but it seems like The Honey Badger learned to love and be true to himself.
Former Wallaby Nick Cummins made headlines around the country when he chose neither Brittany Hockley or Sophie Tieman in the jaw-dropping Bachelor finale. He even fled the country as it aired to hike the Kokoda Track in Papua New Guinea.
But it turns out that while he doesn’t regret the experience, Nick says his search for love wasn’t exactly fun.
“I didn’t enjoy it a great deal but I don’t regret it because I learnt a lot,” Cummins revealed to the Daily Telegraph’s Sydney Confidential column at the 2018 Melbourne Cup.
While Nick is allegedly still single, he was previously linked to Steggles chicken heiress Lucy Steggles who he hiked the Kokoda Track in October 2018.
Ali Oetjen and Taite Radley | The Bachelorette 2018
She was pipped at the post by Anna Heinrich in the first season of The Bachelor Australia and her romance with American Grant Kemp on Bachelor In Paradise ended in scandal, but Ali seemed to find her Prince Charming in Taite Radley.
The couple had grand plans to open their own fitness studio in Ballarat but after two years and still no engagement announcement, Ali and Taite revealed they had split in July 2020.
“It seems to me that she sacrificed a lot of what she wanted to fit into his life,” Ali’s Bachelorette runner-up Todd King said of the break up.
“From what she told me two years ago, she had a pattern of doing that. A pattern she was trying to get out of. Maybe that was it, or they fell out of love quickly.”
Matt Agnew and Chelsie McLeod | The Bachelor 2019
We had high hopes for astrophysicist Matt Agnew and chemical engineer Chelsie McLeod to go the distance.
But after six months of dating, the pair revealed that they’d ended their relationship after it didn’t translate from filming to the real world as they’d hoped.
“It’s no one’s fault, it’s just life,” Matt remarked in a statement.
Judging by social media, both remain single and have stayed away from the spotlight.
Angie Kent and Carlin Sterritt | The Bachelorette 2019
Despite fears that Carlin was only on the show to boost his acting career profile, former Gogglebox star Angie seemed to be head over heels.
But after weeks of speculation, the couple confirmed they’d ended their relationship via Instagram with Angie later confessing that “chemistry doesn’t always equal compatibility” and that despite giving it their all, things didn’t work out.
“Our values didn’t align. Both Carlin and I will never give personal details. Out of respect for Carlin, I will not reveal the personal workings of our relationship,” the 30-year-old told Sydney Confidential.
“That’s all I will say. I wish him nothing but the best for the future.”
Locky Gilbert and Irena Srbinovska | The Bachelor 2020
Since confessing his love for Irena (as well as, controversially, runner-up Bella Varelis) at the 2020 Bachelor finale, Locky has remained as loved-up as ever with his adventure buddy.
And it looks like the couple might be embarking on an adventure of a different kind very soon… one involving children.
Just last month, Irena hinted that kids are on the horizon for herself and Locky. Bring on another Bachie baby!
Elly Miles and Frazer Neate | The Bachelorette 2020
After failing to win Matt Agnew’s heart on The Bachelor 2019, Elly Miles became Australia’s 2020 Bachelorette.
In the end, the blonde beauty picked Frazer Neate as the man she wanted to start her life with. But things between the couple soon crashed and burned.
Elly confirmed that she and Frazer had called it quits in December 2020 via a heartbeeaking Instagram video.
“It’s a bit of a quick turnaround to go from thinking you’ve found the person you want to be with forever to being single again,” she mused at the time.
“I wasn’t happy for a little while there and I know from my end, I gave it absolutely everything I had.”
Elly also touched on the “rumours” and “allegations” of Frazer cheating.
Hopefully the nurse can find her happily ever after.
Becky Miles and Pete Mann | The Bachelorette 2020
Along with her younger sister Elly, Becky Miles put her heart on the line in 2020’s Bachelorette.
And yet, mere hours after the finale aired, the government worker took to Instagram to break the sad news that she and winner Pete Mann had called it quits.
“We came into this experience wanting a fairy tale ending for the two of us, and while I am thrilled that Elly found her person in Frazer, unfortunately, things didn’t work out with Pete and me,” she wrote, via the official Bachelorette Australia account.
The silver lining of it all is that Becky is now as loved-up as ever with her new man, James Bevitron.
WATCH: Bachelorette star Becky Miles’ birthday tribute to boyfriend James (Story continues after video)
So far we have five Bachelor and Bachelorette success stories out of fifteen. Hopefully to be seven after Jimmy Nicholson and Brooke Blurton embark on their respective journeys to finding love.
And, of course, we can’t forget about a key off-screen romance that has blossomed as a result of the show…
WATCH: Osher Gunsberg busted in cute dad moment with Wolfgang (Story continues after video)
Osher Gunsberg and Audrey Griffen
As the host of The Bachelor, it’s Osher’s job to help people find love. And it was this very role that helped him meet his own fiancee, the show’s make-up artist Audrey Griffen. After falling in love on set, the popular host married his new leading lady in January 2018.
“It’s more wonderful! It’s a stronger foundation. It’s really nice – there’s a really strong foundation,” Osher beamed to Now To Love the month after.
Osher has also taken on the role of dad to stepdaughter Georgia and baby Wolfie who he and Audrey welcomed in August 2019.
This article has been edited from its original on our sister site, Now To Love.
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