Bachelor Nation’s Best Friendships of 2022
Some beautiful relationships come out of The Bachelor franchise. We have seen couples fall in love, their beautiful proposals, engagements, weddings, marriage, and even children. What you might not expect are friendships.
30 men and women are living together for weeks, all while dating the same person. There is bound to be drama. Through the years, we have seen many feuds between the men and women while competing to win the heart of the person they all want to marry.
Hannah Ann Sluss and Kelsey Weier had issues over a bottle of champagne during Peter Weber’s season. Hannah Brown and Caelynn Miller-Keyes brought their past pageant feud onto Colton Underwood’s season. Plus, who can forget Shanae Ankney fighting with almost all of the other women from Clayton Echard’s season?
At the other end of the spectrum, many long-lasting friendships come from The Bachelor and The Bachelorette. Even some that were very unexpected.
Shanae Ankney and Genevieve Parisi
Many of the women from Clayton Echard’s season had issues with Ankney. She was not well-liked in the house at all. One of her biggest feuds was with Parisi. The two ended up on the dreaded two-on-one date, where they aired their issues.
Echard ultimately sent Ankney home, but Parisi didn’t last long after that. Neither won the heart of The Bachelor. A few short months later, the two found themselves on the beach of Bachelor in Paradise. They did not welcome each other with open arms but remained cordial.
When Aaron Clancy and James Bonsall arrived on the beach with a double date card, both women agreed to go. Suddenly, the two began chatting and laughing together. After that date, an unlikely friendship was formed. They even got drunk together and discussed how much they liked each other. No one saw that one coming.
Aaron Clancy and James Bonsall
Clancy and Bonsall formed their bond during Bachelor in Paradise 2021. While both men did not find love on the beach, they did find each other. An epic bromance was formed, and they rode off into the sunset together. This bond continued in 2022. The two remained great friends and even became roommates.
The duo returned to paradise in 2022, but Clancy remained on the beach much longer than Bonsall because he was dating Parisi. The latest news is that Bonsall has a new lady in his life. He took to Instagram to introduce his new girlfriend, Rebecca.
Fans wanted to hear Clancy’s thoughts, so he posted a TikTok video and wrote, “James is taken. Taken away from me :(.” This bromance is always a lot of fun.
Rachel Recchia, Teddi Wright, and Jill Chin
Rachel Recchia did not win in the love department, but she is overflowing with new friendships. Not only is she tight with her co-Bachelorette, but she is also besties with castmate Teddi Wright. After Echard’s season, Recchia and Wright decided they would become roommates. But the plans needed to be trashed when Recchia was chosen as a Bachelorette.
Wright was supportive of her friend’s endeavor and posted on her Instagram, “When we were JUST about to become roomies, but instead, she’s gonna go find the love of her life!!” Later, Teddi showed up on the beaches of Paradise but decided to leave early on.
Jill Chin is also a good friend of both women. She commented on Teddi’s exit on Us Weekly’s Here for the Right Reasons podcast, “She just knew what was best for her in that situation, and that was to leave. And I support her in everything she does. I support her decision. She’s a very dear friend of mine.”
Chin also commented on Recchia’s breakup with Tino Franco, “I think any time you’re watching your friends go through something really hard, and especially on the world stage, it’s really difficult. I was just really feeling for her.”
Rachel Recchia and Gabby Windey
Rachel Recchia and Gabby Windey are also from Echard’s season. They were two-thirds of his final three, and Echard broke up with them together.
The Bachelor told all three women that he loved them. In the end, he went to chase Susie Evans after she self-eliminated. The problem was he didn’t think to tell the other women individually. It was a strange group breakup.
The silver lining was that Recchia and Windey bonded and formed a friendship. They became even closer when they were named the first co-Bachelorettes. The two supported each other during their journeys to find love. In the end, things didn’t work out in the relationship department for either woman, but their friendship remains intact.
