We hope you’re seated for this one because what you’re about to read just might be our most dramatic blog post yet. If you’re anything like the team at Shane Co., you know that Monday nights are reserved for Bachelor-themed viewing parties, complete with your best friends and maybe a bottle of rosé or two.
With a historic season of The Bachelorette featuring not one but two women setting out to find their soulmate, we wanted to do a deep dive into the popularity of past Bachelor and Bachelorette leads throughout the history of the show. We all have our favorite seasons where we have felt just as invested in the journey as the lead themselves, but which seasons are the most popular in every U.S. state? Do hometown heroes dominate the popularity contest, or is the audience more interested in the overall love stories?
Methodology
We analyzed the 18 Bachelorette and 26 Bachelor leads from the series’ history. Using all-time Google Trends search volume (from 2004 to present), we were able to compare the online search interest for each lead across U.S. states. Note that Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia were not included in the data due to insufficient search volume at the time of research (April 2022).
The Most Popular Bachelor in Every U.S. State
Our first set of roses goes out to 19 of the 26 Bachelors that earned the title of the most popular Bachelor lead in at least one U.S. state. While there are some men that appear in several states across the map, it’s clear that the nation is undivided on who deserves the ultimate title of the most popular Bachelor of all time.
Matt James of season 25 represents several of the U.S. states, particularly in the Northeast (Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island, to name a few). He is also the leading man in his home state of North Carolina, where he was born, raised, attended college, and still spends much of his time, despite moving to New York around 2017.
James isn’t the only one who represents his hometown proudly. Ben Higgins, born in Warsaw, Indiana; Chris Soules, from Arlington, Iowa; Clayton Echard, native to Eureka, Missouri; and Ben Flajnik, of Sonoma, California, are four more Bachelors who won their home state.
Even some names such as Bob Guiney and Byron Velvivk, whose seasons aired in 2003 and 2004, respectively, appear on the map. It just goes to show that the legacy of these Bachelors extends long beyond their seasons’ air dates.
The Most Popular Bachelorette in Every U.S. State
Thanks to the success of the first seasons of The Bachelor, a spin-off reversing gender roles and putting the women in charge of their own romance stories was first aired in 2003, featuring Trista Rehn. Trista also happens to be the most popular Bachelorette in Colorado. While Trista is not originally from the Centennial State, she now lives there full-time with her chosen winner and husband Ryan Sutter.
Bachelor Nation is probably not surprised to see that Alabama Hannah won her home state of — you guessed it — Alabama. Similarly, Katie Thurston leads in her birthplace of Washington, Ali Fedotowsky in Massachusetts, Andi Dorfman in Georgia, and Becca Kufrin in Minnesota.
Rachel Lindsay and Jillian Harris are two of the more popular Bachelorettes, claiming a total of 21 combined U.S. states. Rachel Lindsay made history as the show’s first African-American lead and is still married to her chosen winner, Bryan Abasolo, today. Harris, on the other hand, wasn’t as lucky. Her relationship lasted just around a year before it came to light that her partner, Ed Swiderski, was cheating on her.
The Most Popular Bachelor & Bachelorettes Overall
Next, we wanted to look at the most popular Bachelors and Bachelorettes overall. Our final rose goes out to Rachel Lindsay, who secured the title of the most popular in a whopping 14 states. Lindsay was recently involved in a controversy with Chris Harrison and others, which caused her to informally part ways with the franchise — possibly explaining her high search interest.
On top of the list of Bachelors is none other than Matt James, whose season ironically fueled said controversy. Not exempt from the spotlight is perhaps one of the most notorious bachelors, Juan Pablo Galavis, who takes the second-place title of the most popular leading man overall.
In recent years, there’s representation from either a Bachelor or Bachelorette on the overall list from each year dating back to 2014. Clayton’s most recent season may not have wowed the audience enough to make the list, but we have high hopes for the Bachelorette duo of Gabby and Rachel!
Closing Thoughts
The Bachelor franchise might look a lot different in 2022 than it did when it first aired two decades ago, but that’s not stopping us from tuning in each Monday night. The hopeless romantic inside us can’t help but root for the contestants to find happily-ever-afters of their own.
Whenever the time comes for you to give or accept the final rose, Shane Co. is here to help you find the perfect engagement ring. We know you’re there for all the right reasons, and we can’t wait to be a part of your once-in-a-lifetime journey!
