‘The Bachelor’: Who Is the Oldest Bachelor in Show History?

Throughout the years, there have been many men to star on The Bachelor. They have ranged in many ages too. Some were in their mid-20s during their time on the show, while other men were in their mid-to-late 30s. Who is the oldest former star, though? Clare Crawley made history when she became the oldest lead of The Bachelorette, but who has been the oldest lead of The Bachelor? Here’s the breakdown of some of the oldest lead contestants in the history of the show.

Clare Crawley is the oldest lead of ‘The Bachelorette’

At 39 years old, Clare Crawley is the oldest bachelorette to ever lead the show, which is 15 years older than the bachelorette that came before her, Hannah Brown, as she was 24. Crawley is a bit of an outlier too, as the leads have typically been in their 20s, and only a couple have been in their 30s.

How does she compare to some of the other bachelorettes? According to the HuffPost, Rachel Lindsay was 32 years old when she was on the show while Kaitlyn Bristowe was 29, and the first-ever bachelorette, Trista Rehn, was 30 years old.

The decision to make Crawley The Bachelorette also came as a bit of a surprise, as she was originally on The Bachelor in 2014 during Juan Pablo Galavis’ season. Many fans assumed that a more recent contestant would have been picked.

In addition to her time on The Bachelor, she also appeared on seasons one and two of Bachelor in Paradise and then returned for Bachelor Winter Games.

Who are some of the older bachelors?

Peter Weber and Colton Underwood were the most recent leads of The Bachelor. While on the show, Weber was 28 years old, and Underwood was 26, so they are definitely out of the running for the oldest bachelor title.

According to PopSugar, Brad Womack was 38 years old on his second season of The Bachelor in season 15. Additionally, Lorenzo Borghese was 34 years old when he starred on the ninth season. More recently, though, Nick Viall was 36 during season 21, and Arie Luyendyk Jr. was also 36 during season 22.

None of these guys can take the title as the oldest bachelor, though. So, who has that title?

Byron Velvick was the oldest lead of ‘The Bachelor’

To find the oldest bachelor, you have to go all the way back to the sixth season as Byron Velvick was 40 years old.

According to PopSugar, Velvick was a pro bass fisherman and divorced father. He ended up proposing to Mary Delgado, who was a former cheerleader for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They ended up reportedly having a rocky relationship for five years before breaking up in 2009.

In 2015, Velvick got married to Belinda Velvick, and they have a daughter together. He is also reportedly still fishing and has made appearances on fishing-related television shows.

So, after making Clare the oldest bachelorette, will the show try and go for someone older than Velvick sometime soon? It’s hard to see that happening, as Matt James was 28 when he was announced as the season 25 lead. It would certainly be interesting to see, though.

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