Revisiting Clare Crawley’s Iconic Exit From the Worst Season of The Bachelor

A little less than seven years ago, Juan Pablo Galavis made his debut as the Bachelor. 

He seemed like the ideal choice back when he was announced in 2013. The Venezuelan former football player was 32, had an adorable 4-year-old daughter, possessed abs for days and was a fan favorite from Desiree Hartsock‘s season of The Bachelorette. Most people seemed to think he was super cute and the perfect successor to Desiree and Sean Lowe, both of whom ended their seasons extremely successfully. 

Unfortunately, it didn’t take long for Juan Pablo to start making people question his Bachelor worthiness. A couple of weeks into the airing of his season, he told a TV news site that while he respected gay people, he did not think that a gay Bachelor would be “a good example for kids to watch that on TV.” 

He said gay people were “more pervert in a sense” and said it was a “thin line to cross” to show same-sex relationships on TV. ABC and the show’s producers responded with a statement featuring no trace of defense of their star: “Juan Pablo’s comments were careless, thoughtless and insensitive, and in no way reflect the views of the network, the show’s producers or studio.”

And that was just the tip of the Juan Pablo iceberg. 

While those comments were offscreen, the tide turned onscreen fairly quickly as well. As Juan Pablo got closer and closer to a hairstylist and future Bachelorette named Clare Crawley, the other women got more and more annoyed. Since Clare had few friends among the women, she ended up spending all her group date time with the man himself, and by the top 11 she was clearly a frontrunner. 

One night in Vietnam, she decided she wanted to swim in the ocean for the first time ever, so she went to Juan Pablo’s room and invited him out. Not only did Clare get to swim in the ocean, but she and Juan Pablo did a lot of making out (and possibly more) in that ocean. Things got steamy! 

Then, Juan Pablo sort of turned on Clare. He told her what they did was a mistake because he had a daughter, making her feel as if she did something horribly wrong. 

He invited her on a one-on-one a couple of episodes later and they reconciled, but that ocean moment became infamous in the franchise and Juan Pablo’s reaction turned out to be a preview of all the “it’s okay” and “trust me” nonsense to come. 

Clare confronted JP and he only vaguely defended himself, but she was still holding on for some strange reason. Right up until that final rose ceremony, Clare was hanging on for dear life, clinging to any reassurance he could give her and thinking for sure that he could have never put her through all that if he wasn’t going to choose her.

Then, when he said goodbye to her with an “I appreciate you being here,” and “I gotta follow what I think is best for me” and then went in for a hug, she pushed him away. 

“This entire time I’ve stuck around because I believed in you,” she told him. She reminded him of how she just gave him the opportunity to tell her how he really felt and yet he didn’t take it, even after multiple women took their own opportunities to tell him how they felt. 

“I thought I knew what kind of man you were,” she said, for some reason refusing to hear Juan Pablo tell her about the moment he decided he didn’t want her.

“I lost respect for you. I thought I knew what kind of man you were. What you just made me go through—I would never want my children having a father like you.” 

With that she left, and Juan Pablo offered a kicker. 

“Hoo!” he said. “I’m glad I didn’t pick her.” 

Hoo, we’re glad he didn’t pick her, too. Instead, Clare has apparently found love so successfully that she quit The Bachelorette and Juan Pablo’s just on Twitter trying to stay relevant. 

Scroll down to see how this and every other season of the franchise has ended so far!

Not even the first season of the entire franchise featured a proposal. Bachelor Alex Michel did not propose to Amanda Marsh, but he did pick her over Trista Rehn at the end of the six-episode season. They dated for a year before sadly breaking up.

Anybody remember Aaron Buerge? He did propose to his chosen lady, Helene Eksterowicz (who we also don’t remember), but they broke up after a few months, before the finale even aired. 

Trista Rehn returned after “losing” season one of The Bachelor for her own shot at love, and boy did she find it! Runner-up Charlie Maher didn’t stand a chance against Ryan Sutter, who Rehn then married in December of the same year. They are miraculously still together with two kids!

Andrew Firestone is the first Bachelor whose name we actually remember! Unfortunately, his relationship with Jen Schefft did not pan out after his proposal, because they broke up after just a few months.

One of Trista’s rejects from The Bachelorette, Bob Guiney, got his own time in the love-finding spotlight, but he didn’t end up proposing to his winner, Estella Gardinier. He did, however, give her a promise ring, which is only one of the most high school things that has ever happened on this show. Their promise did not last long, and they broke up shortly after the show aired.

Meredith Phillips got a second chance after being sent home by Bob Guiney, and did get engaged to Ian McKee. Their relationship sadly only lasted a little over a year.

Football player Jesse Palmer was known for being the first non-American Bachelor (because he was Canadian) and also for forgetting a woman’s name during the first rose ceremony. He eventually chose Jessica Bowlin over runner-up Tara Huckeby, but he didn’t propose and they broke up after just a few weeks.

A tale of two Bachelors—As it turns out, Kaitlyn and Britt were not the first! Fisherman Byron Velvick (what a name!) won out over Jay Overbye when the women got the chance to vote. Byron proposed to Mary Delgado, who also competed in season four, in Spanish so that her Cuban parents could understand. She accepted, but they never actually married before breaking up in 2009.

Jen Schefft returned after her breakup with Andrew Firestone to sift through her own batch of suitors. In the end, she didn’t pick any of them. Jerry Ferris did propose to her after she finally decided he was better than runner-up John Paul Merritt during the live final episode, but she rejected his proposal.

Actor (and Jerry O’Connell‘s little brother) Charlie O’Connell did not propose to Sarah Brice at the end of his season. They did, however, start dating. They broke up in 2007, got back together in 2008, then broke up again in 2010.

Dr. Travis Stork did not propose to Sarah Stone during his season set in the oh-so-romantic city of Paris, and they broke up shortly after the show aired. Stork went on to appear on The Doctors and is married to another doctor, so he’s probably doing just fine.

Prince Lorenzo Borgheze courted his bachelorettes in Rome, during a string of themed seasons. He did not propose to Jennifer Wilson, and they broke up after just a few months of dating. 

Naval officer Andrew Baldwin proposed to Tessa Horst during the finale, but they called off the engagement a month later. The relationship lasted another few months before they were done for good. 

Brad Womack‘s (first) season is one of the show’s most infamous seasons due to the fact that Brad didn’t choose anyone. He rejected both DeAnna Pappas and Jenni Croft, and everybody went home alone after the most dramatic finale so far. 

British hunk Matt Grant proposed to Shayne Lamas in a relatively uneventful finale, drama-wise, aside from runner-up Chelsea Wanstrath calling Shayne “the fakest girl on the show.” Even their break-up was perfectly amicable, and they claimed they would remain friends.  

After being rejected by Brad Womack, DeAnna Pappas managed to find love for one hot second with Jesse Csincsak, while Jason Mesnick was left as the runner-up. In a completely-the-opposite-of-shocking turn of events, DeAnna and Jesse broke up after just a few months of dating. 

In another infamous season finale, DeAnna Pappas’ reject, Jason Mesnick, first proposed to Melissa Rycroft. He then changed his mind and asked original runner-up, Molly Malaney, for a second chance. They later got engaged, and are—you’re never going to believe this—still together! They even have kids! 

Jillian Harris, Jason Mesnick‘s reject and the first foreign/Canadian bachelorette, said yes to Ed Swiderski after he proposed to her in the finale. Ed might also be remembered for having to leave in week 5 in order to keep his new job with Microsoft, but he managed to return in week 7. That should have been a sign of true love or something, but Jillian and Ed were broken up a year later. Ed did recently get married though, so good for him! 

Ah yes, The Bachelor: On the Wings of Love, aka the best themed season yet. Hot pilot and Jillian Harris reject Jake Pavelka endured many plane jokes in his search for love, eventually proposing to Vienna Girardi. They split a few months later. 

After quitting on Jake Pavelka in order to keep her job, Ali Fedotowsky returned to the show and ended up engaged to Roberto Martinez. Their engagement lasted about a year and a half before they called it quits.  

Womack is back! After leaving season 11 alone, Brad Womack returned to try again. Things went a little better for him after proposing to Emily Maynard over Chantal O’Brien, though they broke up before the season was even done airing. They got back together later, and then broke up again just a couple months later. Poor Brad Womack. 

After losing out on Brad “Forever Alone” Womack, Ashley Hebert actually managed to successfully find love with J.P. Rosenbaum after rejecting Ben Flajnik. J.P. proposed in the finale, she said yes, and they were married on TV in 2012. They are magnificently still together with one kid! 

Winemaker and Ashley Hebert‘s runner-up Ben Flajnik did propose to Courtney Robertson in the season 16 finale, but they couldn’t even wait for the show to finish airing before they broke up. They tried again, and even got engaged again, but they were over by October. Sad. 

After breaking up with Brad Womack twice, Emily Maynard got a second (third?) chance when the show moved production to her hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina so she could be near her daughter. She ended up engaged to Jef Holm after he proposed, but they only lasted til October. 

Maynard’s third place finisher, Sean Lowe, is actually another success story! He may have had a breakdown when saying goodbye to runner-up Lindsay Yenter, but it was clear that he and Catherine Giudici were meant to be. They got married in 2014 and they’re still together, helping to keep love alive.  

Two in a row! Bridal stylist and Sean Lowe reject Desiree Hartsock may have still been heartbroken over Brooks Forester having left because he didn’t love her, but she said yes when Chris Siegfried proposed in the season finale. They were married in January 2015 and are still together! 

Oh Juan Pablo Galavis. He was not exactly the most popular bachelor, even though he seemed like he could be after Desiree Hartsock sent him packing. He just ended up making a lot of women angry, and for the first time since season 11, he did not propose at the end of his season. He did ask Nikki Ferrell to continue to date him, rejecting Clare Crawley. Juan Pablo and Nikki ended up on Couples Therapy, but nothing could save them. They broke up in October. 

Andi Dorfman made quite the impression when she told off Juan Pablo and left before he had the chance to send her home. Her season was equally memorable, partly in thanks to runner-up Nick Viall calling her out during the finale for sleeping with him when she wasn’t going to pick him. She ended up engaged to Josh Murray, but they only lasted a few months before calling it off.

Chris “Prince Farming” Soules was a fan favorite during Andi’s season, and honestly we thought that he and Whitney Bischoff could last forever when he proposed to her in the finale. Unfortunately, they barely made it further than one Dancing with the Stars season, which was a bummer. 

Kaitlyn Bristowe started off as one of two bachelorettes with Britt Nilsson, but won the vote to stay on the show. She became possibly the show’s most controversial contestant ever by bringing on former contestant Nick Viall a few weeks into the season, sleeping with him, and then having to tell the other guys. In the end, she chose exactly who we thought she’d choose from day one: Shawn Booth. Nick was left heartbroken again. Kaitlyn and Shawn lasted more than three years before splitting up. She later found love with season 14 contestant Jason Tartick. 

The Bachelorette premieres Tuesday, Oct. 13 at 8 p.m. on ABC.