The Bachelorette first premiered on ABC in 2003, and the show’s 20th season is set to premiere in 2023. Overall, The Bachelorette has a higher success rate with final couples ending up together than The Bachelor series. Here’s a look at where the first three stars of The Bachelorette, Trista Sutter (née Rehn), Meredith Phillips, and Jen Schefft Waterman, are now.
Trista Sutter was the first star of ‘The Bachelorette’
During the first season of The Bachelor, Trista Sutter finished as the runner-up. She went on to star in season 1 of The Bachelorette.
During the first season of The Bachelorette, Rehn picked Ryan Sutter. The two were married in December 2003 and their wedding was broadcast in a special called Trista & Ryan’s Wedding. Trista and Ryan Sutter have two children together, Maxwell Alston and Blakesley Grace.
In February 2023, Trista Sutter gave an update to Us Weekly about her life and Ryan Sutter’s health, as her husband was diagnosed with Lyme Disease
“I just turned 50, and I’m really trying to take better care of myself,” Trista Sutter shared.
When asked about her husband’s health, the former Bachelorette replied, “He’s great. You know, he has his ups and downs.”
Trista Sutter shared that Ryan Sutter has seen improvement in his health and Lyme Disease symptoms through using bee venom therapy.
Meredith Phillips was the second Bachelorette
Season 2 of The Bachelorette premiered in January 2004. During the season, Phillips picked contestant Ian McKee and the two were engaged until 2005. In 2011, Phillips married her high school sweetheart, Michael Broady.
After years away from the spotlight, Phillips appeared on the Reality Steve Podcast in 2018 and alleged that a female masseuse sexually assaulted her during filming for The Bachelorette.
“I just assumed it was an aspirin or something to loosen up my back, or Tylenol, or something. And it definitely wasn’t that, that’s for sure,” Phillips said on the podcast according to People Magazine.
After Phillips spoke up about the allegations, “reps for ABC and Warner Bros. told PEOPLE they had ‘no comment’ to share.”
Jen Schefft Waterman starred in ‘The Bachelorette’ in 2005
When Waterman starred in season 3 of The Bachelorette, she ended up making history. As the Bachelorette, Waterman rejected both of her final two suitors, Jerry Ferris and John Paul Merritt.
While Waterman did pick Ferris over Merritt which made Merritt the official runner-up, she did not accept Ferris’ proposal and their relationship did not last.
Even though Waterman did not find love on The Bachelorette, she is currently married to a man named Joe Waterman and they have two daughters together.
In an interview with News 5 Cleveland, Schefft revealed that her family does not keep up with The Bachelorette.
“But my mom keeps me up to date,” Waterman said. “She watches it, my friends all watch it, so I feel like I know what’s going on pretty much at all time… there was just no way that I thought that in 20 years, I might still be talking about it and people around me talking about it.”
How to get help: In the U.S., call the RAINN National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 to connect with a trained staff member from a sexual assault service provider in your area.
