There have been many Bachelorettes over the years who have gained thousands of fans and gone on to have some of the most successful seasons in Bachelor franchise history.
There have been others who were either completely unlikeable or left us bored to tears, resting bitch face firmly planted on our faces.
The Bachelorette carries the season, and she must have certain traits that allow her to not only make the guys fall in love with her but Bachelor Nation as well.
The Bachelorette should speak her mind and not let the men manipulate her. She needs to be warm and kind, while also being strong willed and decisive.
It’s not an easy job, but some of our favorite Bachelorettes stepped up to the challenge, and went down in franchise history as a beloved lead.
This isn’t the same as a parent supposedly not having a favorite child. We definitely play favorites around here, and a southern accent wins double points.
1. Hannah Brown
Hannah Brown first appeared on Colton Underwood’s season of The Bachelor where she quickly became a fan favorite due to her outspoken yet warm nature and her relatable moments of insecurity.
In one memorable scene, Colton asked her to give a toast and she completely froze, unable to come up with anything. Viewers felt for her, with many able to recall their own moments when they were less than confident.
Her pageant girl past came up often, especially when drama was brewing with Caelynn Miller-Keyes who didn’t have great things to say about Hannah.
Hannah Brown’s season was full of everything; drama and tears, of course, villains, windmill sex, and just plain hilarious moments. It was also one of the more empowering seasons to date.
The biggest criticism came when Hannah continuously gave out roses to one of the franchise’s most hated villains, Luke Parker. She finally sent him home after an infamous conversation about virginity and religion.
During the Men Tell All, Hannah bravely faced the camera, and spoke to Bachelor Nation, saying, “I’m sorry for Luke being on our television screens for so long. It’s my fault. A lot his, but I did it. I am sorry.”
By doing things like this, she proved to the audience why she deserved to be the lead.
Despite making a huge mistake by letting Tyler Cameron go (sorry, we can’t ever forgive her for that one) and choosing Jed Wyatt, who turned out to be a fraud, it was obvious that Hannah was really the person who won her season.
2. Taysia Adams
Taysia Adams faced one of the hardest tasks any Bachelorette has ever had. She was expected to take over from Clare Crawley who quit the show to be with Dale Moss, after just a couple of weeks.
There were no big entrances or introductions and she was expected to quietly slip in to fill the role, like a ninja under the cover of night. The majority of the men were already there for Clare and hadn’t even been out of the hotel due to the pandemic.
Basically, Taysia was one piece of steak in a den full of lions. She could easily be forgiven for not making it the best season of The Bachelorette. However, Taysia stepped up and made it her own.
In the end, it was one of the most authentic to date. Even the season finale, when she chose Zac Clark, felt so real compared to all the drama and tears from the past.
Watching Taysia and Zac get engaged was like watching your two best friends, who you were so happy for, though maybe a little jealous.
On April 8, Zac discussed the ups and downs of his relationship with Taysia, telling UsWeekly that he “put the cell phone down” with conversations on the show being very “pointed and structured.”
Zac talked about meshing their lives together, and the difficulties that come with that. He explained, “So yeah, a couple months after, there was some ups and downs, of course, and, like, well-documented, but at the end of the day, it’s all good right now.”
3. Jojo Fletcher
After Ben Higgins broke her heart (even telling her he loved her before breaking things off) JoJo Fletcher could be forgiven for needing more time to lick her wounds.
However, when she showed up as The Bachelorette, it looked as if she had been preparing for the role her whole life.
JoJo was a fan favorite from early on during Ben Higgins’ season, and viewers were heartbroken for her when he sent her home.
Ben not only told his eventual winner Lauren Bushnell he loved her, but he also expressed his love to Jojo. She was blindsided during the season finale and looked to be in a state of shock.
Bachelor Nation rallied around her, and viewers could not have been happier when JoJo was announced as The Bachelorette.
It was obvious from very early on in the season that JoJo had the strongest feelings for Jordan Rogers, whom she got engaged to during the finale.
Fortunately, unlike Clare Crawley, who caught feelings and decided that meant Dale Moss was her soulmate, Jojo played the field for a while and explored other relationships.
In the end, though, she and Jordan got engaged in what was a pretty genuine moment, even for Bachelor franchise standards.
Despite their seemingly rock solid relationship, JoJo and Jordan proved they are just like the rest of us.
In a 2020 interview during The Bachelor: The Greatest Seasons Ever! the pair described the growing pains they went through in the first year.
Jordan described seeing only the good things while filming The Bachelorette, but “sometimes that’s not real life.”
JoJo went on to say they almost broke up, claiming, “there was a point in that first year where we were like, ‘Whoa, can we even do this?’”
Fortunately, the loved up duo are still going strong, despite having to postpone their wedding numerous times due to the pandemic.
4. Kaitlyn Bristowe
Kaitlyn Bristowe had a fairly controversial Bachelorette season, but, despite that, she is still one of Bachelor Nation’s favorite leads.
With her contagious laugh and hilarious jokes, she made her season of The Bachelorette entertaining to say the least.
In the beginning, Kaitlyn wasn’t even officially cast as The Bachelorette. She and Britt Nilsson, who were both on Chris Soules’s season of The Bachelor, had to compete against each other to see who would become The Bachelorette.
The Men who appeared on the show voted for which girl they wanted as the lead, a move which drew major controversy at the time.
Speaking to ABC News, both Britt and Kaitlyn claimed they didn’t think it was sexist, despite the criticism from viewers.
Kaitlyn claimed, “I wouldn’t have done it if I thought it was degrading and sexist.”
The majority of Kaitlyn’s season was one big threesome between her, Nick Viall and Shawn Booth.
Nick and Kaitlyn had been talking before the show, but things fizzled out when she was offered the role of The Bachelorette. Not wanting to let her go, Nick showed up to a group date, and Kaitlyn allowed him on the show (much to the dismay of the other guys.)
Kaitlyn and Nick had some time together off camera at one point resulting in the pair having sex. A huge amount of controversy stemmed from this, with many coming to Kaitlyn’s defense and claiming double standards.
Kaitlyn eventually narrowed things down to Shawn and Nick, after finally getting rid of the rest of the guys who were, let’s be honest, filler in order to get enough episodes for the season.
Things didn’t work out for Kaitlyn and Shawn, however, she’s now with another Bachelor Nation alum, Jason Tartick.
The pair just got engaged a few weeks ago. Kaitlyn told Entertainment tonight about the proposal, claiming, “It was everything I could have asked for.” Perhaps she gave him a rose in exchange for a Neil Lane diamond?
5. Andi Dorfman
Andi Dorfman will forever be famous for telling off Juan Pablo in the most iconic way, and then naming a book after said incident.
During Juan Pablo Galavis’ season of The Bachelor, Andi made it all the way to fantasy suites. However, she broke up with Juan Pabs the next day due to his obvious narcissism.
She tried to explain why she was leaving, and Juan Pablo frequently interrupted her, exclaiming, “It’s okay, it’s okay.” Hence, the name of her tell-all book.
Andi shot back, “It’s not okay!” Viewers must have been throwing up their hands, screaming, “yessss girl!” Juan Pablo’s popularity plummeted with every single episode until he became the least popular Bachelor ever.
Andi is one of the most popular Bachelorette leads for her direct attitude and ability to make tough decisions.
Andi eventually chose Josh Murray and the pair got engaged after she sent home Nick Viall (his first Bachelor Nation rejection.)
However, Andi and Josh split just months later. Despite her choice, Andi told the Hollywood Raw podcast she would choose Chris Soules if she could go back and do it again. Andi claimed she felt really comfortable with him.
She said, “Chris was kind of like my safety blanket. He was the guy that I could go on a date with and like, I knew that we could like, have a good time. There wasn’t a ton of pressure. Like, he was a relief.”
Apparently Andi should have chosen the boring security blanket over the hot athlete. Now if that isn’t good advice for everyone in the dating world, what is?
The Bachelorette returns beginning Monday, June 7 at 8/7c on ABC.