“Bachelor in Paradise” contestants Joe Amabile and Serena Pitt tied the knot in a private courthouse ceremony in October. While the two have a big wedding planned for next fall, they wanted to have an intimate moment to themselves after spending most of their relationship in the public eye. “Bachelor in Paradise” is a spinoff of the popular television show “The Bachelor.” Due to the show's popularity, multiple spinoffs have been created (including shows in 37 countries) since it first aired in 2002.

Despite the show’s popularity, relationships formed on this show have a low success rate. In fact, only one bachelor is married to his original pick: season 17 bachelor Sean Lowe, who married his wife Catherine in 2014. After 26 seasons of the bachelor, this makes the success rate just under 4%. Several factors may explain why the success rate has been so low.

Public Pressure

Contestants are put under a great deal of pressure once the show ends and they announce their engagement. Having a relationship under a microscope can make a couple feel as though they must appear as if everything is perfect. This pressure creates a lot of stress, leading to tension in the relationship.

Lack of Compatibility

Sometimes it comes down to two people not clicking like they thought they did. Couples may feel as though they’ve hit it off when they spend time together outside the confines of everyday life, but things can quickly change once the couple is back home. Not only are there daily stresses to consider, but it can also quickly become apparent that the two want different things in a relationship.

In addition, a season of “The Bachelor” is filmed in a relatively short period, typically from six to nine weeks. This time crunch can make it difficult for the couple to know if they are genuinely compatible and if they will be happy spending the rest of their lives together. In addition, there are many contestants in the first few weeks of the show, so contestants often only start getting real one-on-one time with the bachelor in the last few weeks of the show. 

Conflicting Feelings

Mixed feelings have also been a potential complication for contestants on the show. Often, bachelors will feel conflicted about who to choose, and the time restraints may lead them to make a decision they regret. As viewers of the show often notice, a bachelor may feel that he is in love with more than one contestant, which may lead to him regretting his decision.

Several bachelors have ended up with contestants who were eliminated before the proposal. For example, season 24 bachelor Peter Weber proposed to Hannah Ann Sluss, but they later broke things off. Weber later started dating Kelley Flanagan, the contestant who placed 5th. 

Clashing Personalities

Often, the contestants left standing toward the end of the season are more aggressive than some of the other contestants. After all, they want to capture the bachelor's attention and get as much time with him as possible to receive a rose, which ensures their spot in the next part of the show. Unfortunately, this may mean some of the contestants better suited to the bachelor get sent home early without having a real chance to show the bachelor who they are.

While "The Bachelor" franchise may offer excellent entertainment value, it doesn't seem to offer much hope for lasting relationships. Between time constraints, mixed emotions, public pressure, and aggressive personalities, finding the person to share a life with can be difficult. However, some bachelors can defy the odds and find the person they can happily be with for the rest of their lives.