5 Bachelor Engagement Rings That Weren't "Forever"
Every summer, Chris Harrison tells fans of The Bachelorette that they are about to witness “the most dramatic finale of all time” and this year, the celebrity host certainly made good on that promise.
On Tuesday, July 30, viewers watched as Hannah Brown accepted a proposal from contestant Jed Wyatt, only to break up with him in the next scene after it was revealed that he had a girlfriend prior to appearing on the show. It was certainly a whirlwind of an episode, but it wasn’t the first time a Bachelor finale gave viewers a case of whiplash. The past few years have offered up some pretty unconventional conclusions for a show that is structured to end in an engagement. And you've got to wonder: What happens to those incredible Neil Lane engagement rings when the final rose wilts before the credits roll? So, we asked.
Sadly, Lane wouldn’t tell us what happened to Brown’s 90-diamond (!!) engagement ring she received from Wyatt, but he did note that it was “a combination of subtle elegance and attention-grabbing sparkle, much like Hannah herself.”
The jewelry designer explained to InStyle that, regardless of what transpires after the couple’s Bachelor journey ends, he designs the rings with a “forever” in mind. “Even when a couple doesn’t end up together, the significance of the ring they choose remains untarnished,” Lane added. “It lives on in our hearts and minds, representing love, growth, or maybe even pain; it’s sort of like a ‘Heaven’ for jewels.”
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Brown and Wyatt’s breakup is not unique to Bachelor nation; out of 23 seasons of The Bachelor, only two couples are still together, and there are only six Bachelorette couples that haven’t called it quits. (FWIW, the spinoff series Bachelor in Paradise seems to already have a better track record of keeping the love alive since its initial season in 2014.)
Despite the statistics, it would seem that Lane is still a romantic at heart. “Finding true love isn’t always as simple as we’d like it to be,” he explained. “When love does come along, it’s magical. My job is to make sure that those magical moments are celebrated in the most beautiful way possible.”
Ahead, learn more about the sparkly rings from Bachelor history that ultimately didn’t make the cut. As Lane himself put it, sometimes it seems to be the right ring, but it just isn’t the right match.
Hannah Brown and Jed Wyatt (2019)
Courtesy Neil Lane
Lane added that the ring Wyatt picked for Brown ahead of the finale was a classic oval cut diamond, surrounded by 89 additional smaller round diamonds in a halo style and throughout the band. The hand-made platinum ring clocked in at 3 carats.
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Colton Underwood and Cassie Randolph (2019)
Courtesy Neil Lane
While the most recent Bachelor couple is still together, they chose not to get engaged at the end of Underwood’s season. In April, the former NFL player explained to Extra: “We both feel like… living our separate lives, but still coming together at the end of the day is what's most important for us, and what's the right step for where we're at in our relationship.”
However, there was a point when Underwood was considering a ring for Randolph. According to Lane, the former Bachelor chose a 3-carat platinum ring with a princess cut, accentuated with a whopping 162 round diamonds.
Arie Luyendyk Jr. and Becca Kufrin (2018)
Courtesy Neil Lane
Like Brown and Wyatt, Luyendyk Jr. and Kufrin got engaged during the finale, but later broke up in the same episode when the former Bachelor decided that he picked the wrong girl.
Nevertheless, there was once a ring, albeit very short lived. “It’s very feminine with a gentle look and soft edges,” Lane said of the 3-carat oval diamond. “It has my signature detail under the gallery and lots of little diamonds that make it sparkle. It has a vintage look but with soft and feminine touches.”
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Today, Luyendyk Jr. is married to former Bachelor contestant Lauren Burnham. They welcomed their first child in May.
Nick Viall and Kaitlyn Bristowe (2015)
Courtesy Neil Lane
In 2015, Nick Viall was a Bachelorette finalist for the second time; the Bachelor alum had been the runner-up on Andi Dorfman’s season the year before. As one of the final two yet again on Bristowe’s season, Viall was seemingly convinced she would ultimately pick him, and he even got most of the way through his proposal speech before learning he was not receiving her final rose.
According to Lane, Viall chose an emerald-cut diamond encased by 200 smaller round diamonds. The ill-fated ring came out to a hefty 3.5 carats.
Juan Pablo Galavis and Nikki Ferrell (2014)
Courtesy Neil Lane
Like Underwood, Juan Pablo Galavis did not propose to Bachelor winner Nikki Ferrell in the final episode. “Had he gotten down on one knee, I absolutely would have said yes,” Ferrell told People shortly after the finale aired in 2014. “But having a ring on my finger wouldn’t stop us from breaking up. What’s going to keep us together is having a real relationship. I’d rather have him propose when he feels it’s right.” (They ultimately split up later that year.)
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Even though no proposal hit the airwaves, viewers still got to see Galavis pick out a ring. The cushion-cut diamond weighed in at 3.5 carats, with an additional 240 diamonds.
While it’s a little sad to think about the rings that got away, Lane offered a different, more uplifting perspective. “No matter the outcome, that feeling of being in love is something to be cherished,” he explained. “Each ring symbolizes a unique journey to its beholder that might not have brought them to the right path, but has led them to where they are now.”
