In Bachelor Nation, a first impression can go a long way.
The Bachelor, which premiered in 2002, introduced the first impression rose during season 5 in 2004. After skipping the first impression rose during season 6, it became a premiere staple from season 7 on. The first-night rose has played a bigger role, however, on The Bachelorette.
DeAnna Pappas was the first lead to pick a first impression rose winner — Jesse Csincsak — during the season 4 finale of The Bachelorette in 2008. Two years later, Ali Fedotowsky got engaged to Roberto Martinez, who got the coveted rose on her season.
“If it were up to me when I was the Bachelorette, there would have been no season … [or] there would have a season and it would have been Frank [Neuschaefer] and Roberto the entire time,” Ali recalled on Us Weekly’s “Here for the Right Reasons” podcast in August 2020. “I knew night one, it was Frank and Roberto for me, I knew it, one or the other.”
While the twosome got engaged during the August 2010 finale, they split in November 2011. Rachel Lindsay, however, is an example of a lead who went on to marry her first impression rose winner.
“The men get caught up in the fantasy of the woman that they probably could never get in real life … it’s very easy to do,” the season 13 Bachelorette told Us in September 2020 about why The Bachelorette has more success stories than The Bachelor. “Women, I feel like we pull our heads out of the cloud a bit and we say, ‘Who can make sense in real life?’ And I think that’s why you’ve seen more success with the women because we take that into consideration.”
Other first impression rose winners’ journeys — including Hannah Brown’s Luke Parker and Ben Higgins’ Olivia Caridi— took a turn for the worse after opening night. Tyler Cameron, for his part, told Us in October 2020 that he wishes he had been bolder on night one when he was pursuing Hannah on season 15 of The Bachelorette.
“The only regret I had was not speaking to her night one, you know, that’s my biggest regret,” Tyler, who was the runner-up, dished on the “Here for the Right Reasons” podcast. “My relationship started slower than everyone else’s. And so, I think that could have definitely helped speed things up and get things rolling.”
Scroll through for a complete list of first impression rose winners:
The season 4 Bachelorette got engaged to one of her three first impression rose receipts (Jeremy Anderson and Richard Mathy didn’t stand a chance.) While DeAnna and Jesse had a wedding set for May 2009, they split in November 2008.
ABC/Adam Larkey
The season 6 Bachelorette had her eyes on future fiancé Roberto from night one. Their romance didn’t last, however, with the pair announcing their split less than two years after their season aired.
ABC/Matt Klitscher
While the season 17 Bachelor handed out 12 roses on night one to mix things up, his future wife was one of the lucky ladies. The twosome, who got engaged on the March 2013 finale, wed in January 2014 and went on to welcome three kids: Samuel, Isaiah and Mia.
ABC/Rick Powell
The season 11 Bachelorette handed out her first impression rose to future fiancé Shawn in 2015. Following a three-year engagement, Kaitlyn and Shawn went their separate ways in November 2018.
ABC/Rick Rowell
Season 12 of The Bachelorette was over shortly after it began when JoJo spotted Jordan in 2016. While they were set to wed in June 2020, the couple were forced to move their nuptials to 2021 amid the coronavirus pandemic.
ABC/Matt Klitscher
Rachel accepted a proposal from her first impression rose winner during the season 13 Bachelorette finale. The twosome exchanged vows in August 2019, two years after the season aired.
Evan Agostini/Invision/AP/Shutterstock
The season 14 Bachelorette continued the streak in 2018 when she got engaged to her first impression rose recipient. However, the pair ended their two-year engagement during the summer of 2020.
Evan Agostini/Invision/AP/Shutterstock
Hannah Ann scored the first impression rose during season 24 of The Bachelor, which aired in 2020. While she also won Peter’s heart, their engagement didn’t last. Peter and Hannah Ann quietly split while the show was still airing because he still had feelings for runner-up Madison Prewett.
ABC/John Fleenor
