‘The Bachelor’, by the numbers, and for the right reasons

ABC/Pamela Littky

With the 26th season of The Bachelor kicking off on ABC tonight with Clayton Echard looking for love, any fan can tell you their favorite TV guilty pleasure has its share of clichés, from contestants to catchphrases. 

With that in mind — and of course, “for the right reasons” — Express VPN dove deep into the series to pluck out some key data points. 

The analysis shows “my person” was the most-used phrase over the past 12 seasons, repeated by various contestants and would-be Bachelors 68 times. Close behind is that classic Bachelor utterance “for the right reasons,” which clocked in at 65 times.

“Head over heels” was repeated 43 times, followed by “falling for you” at 40. And although it sure seems like far more, “can I steal you?” was uttered 27 times. 

While The Bachelor has seen hopefuls who have ranged from a mortician, to a Radio City Rockette, to a self-described “free spirit” — is that even a job? — ‘teacher’ ranked as the most common occupation of the show’s contestants. ‘Realtor’ came in second, followed by ‘nurse,’ ‘model’ and ‘student’.

According to Google search data relative to population size, Minnesota has the greatest number of Bachelor fans in the country, followed by Utah and Iowa.

Also according to the analysis, there’s an average 4.8-year age difference between each season’s Bachelors and their hopefuls. Of the married heterosexual couples in the U.S. who didn’t find their spouse on a reality show, the age gap is on average 2.3 years between men and women.

The average length of a relationship from The Bachelor‘s finale was 3 months, 6 days, Express VPN’s analysis shows. The exception is Sean and Catherine from season 17; they tied the knot and remain married to this day.

Both Arie and Becca from Season 22, and Peter and Hannah from season 24 broke up after just one day. 

Here’s a list of each The Bachelor couple for the past 12 seasons, and how long their relationships lasted:

Season 14 — Jake & Vienna — Broken up after 3 months, 21 days
Season 15 — Brad & Emily — Broken up after 3 months, 15 days
Season 16 — Ben & Courtney — Broken up after 6 months 23 days
Season 17 — Sean & Catherine — Married since March 11, 2013
Season 18 — Juan & Nikki — Broken up after 7 months 18 days
Season 19 — Chris & Whitney — Broken up after 2 months, 19 days
Season 20 — Ben & Lauren — Broken up after 2 months, 1 day
Season 21 — Nick & Vanessa — Broken up after 5 months, 12 days
Season 22 — Arie & Becca — Broken up after 1 day
Season 23 — Colton & Cassie — Broken up after 2 months, 17 days
Season 24 — Peter & Hannah — Broken up after 1 day
Season 25 — Matt & Rachael — Dating since March 15, 2021

Methodology and results have not been verified or endorsed by ABC News or The Walt Disney Company.

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