Before we get started, there is a very important distinction to be made. ‘Hottest’ does not in any way mean or imply ‘moral.’ Just because someone looks good does not mean they behave well (ahem, Jake Pavelka).
Since The Bachelor began way back in 2002, there have been 25 seasons of attractive men presented to thirsty viewers on a platter, giving fantasy fodder of romance, charm, and the dream of love fulfilled (so long as everyone is there for the right reasons).
There are so many Bachelors to choose from that it’s hard to whittle down the list to the very hottest. And now, leading men from a new age bracket have been added to the list. That’s right — now we can ogle silver foxes, too, as The Golden Bachelor is soon making its debut.
So, who are the hottest Bachelor contestants of all time. Continue reading for WGTC’s carefully curated list.
10. Aaron Buerge
This season 2 stud was presented as a serious professional, a banker, who also had the distinction of showing viewers the first-ever proposal on the series.
That put pressure on all future leads to get down on one knee at the end of the process, whether they were ready or not. Another precedent that Buerge set was that he and his fiance Helene Eksterowicz broke up only a few weeks after their lovely proposal was broadcast. Eksrerowicz later said that Buerge dumped her.
9. Jesse Palmer
Jesse Palmer is a handsome Bachelor lead who lives in infamy for forgetting his love interest and accidentally giving a rose to the wrong contestant in his 2004 season.
He was an NFL quarterback, which made the women swoon. While Palmer did not find a forever love on The Bachelor, he did score a sweet television platform. Now, Palmer works as a sports commentator for ESPN, and it is little surprise that he’s married to a model.
Palmer is now the host of both The Bachelor and The Bachelorette.
So, who else ranks as a hottie in this series?
8. Jake Pavelka
Season 14 Bachelor lead Jake Pavelka disappointed fans when he proposed to his season’s female villain, Vienna Girardi. But the disappointments kept on coming.
After the two broke up, they trashed each other in the tabloids and whipped up a fan and media frenzy, prompting ABC to add a special episode interviewing them about their breakup.
During that interview, Pavelka treated his ex with cold, cruel indifference, which may explain why he’s reportedly still single.
7. Arie Luyendyk Jr.
This attractive Bachelor with the even more attractive vocation of race car driver was a big hit with the single women vying for his love.
He came in second on Emily Maynard’s Bachelorette season, but he came first in many viewers’ hearts after Arie became the Bachelor in 2018. By that time, he was sporting salt-and-pepper hair that made our hearts go pitter-pat. But her brought a camera crew with him to blindside his fiance Becca Kufrin with a breakup because he changed his mind and wanted runner-up Lauren Burnham, instead.
He currently lives with Burnham, their daughter and her younger twin siblings.
6. Jason Mesnick
Another handsome heartbreaker and notorious flip-flopper is season 13 Bachelor Jason Mesnick.
Like Luyendyk, Jr., Mesnick’s legacy on The Bachelor is changing his mind about the woman he gave the final rose to and was on the road to marrying and dumping her for his runner-up girlfriend.
Although he did Melissa Rycroft wrong, Mesnick and his chosen Bachelor contestant Molly Mesnick are still together, and raising Jason’s son from a previous relationship as well as their daughter. So, maybe Mesnick made the right choice in the end.
5. Gerry Turner
Gerry Turner is the very first senior-aged lead of the Bachelor spin-off show, The Golden Bachelor.
He’s from Indiana, in his 70s, and a hopeless romantic looking for another chance at love. A retired restaurateur whose hobbies include playing pickle ball and golf, Turner says that marriage is on the table for him.
Since his first wife passed, he spends time with his two daughters and granddaughters, and the Bachelor Nation loves him for his handsome features and closeness with his family.
He’s still got all his hair, ladies
4. Travis Lane Stork
This leading man on season 8 of The Bachelor was very popular for his good looks, as well as for being a doctor. A handsome doctor! What could be sexier?
Unfortunately, his stint on The Bachelor led to heartbreak and he and his final rose winner Sarah Stone lasted just a few weeks) together after the show before parting ways.
However, Stork found success on television when, post-Bachelor, he starred for years on the daytime talk show The Doctors. He’s also found lasting love and gotten married since appearing on the show.
3. Ben Higgins
Beloved by fans for his stunning good looks and his kind demeanor, Ben Higgins was first a contestant on Kaitlyn Bristowe’s season of The Bachelorette. When he was rejected by Bristowe and later chosen as a Bachelor lead, fans rejoiced, but his engagement to Lauren Bushnell didn’t last.
Higgins did find love again and he’s now with his new fiancée Jessica Clarke.
He raved about her in this statement about proposing: “I was super nervous. She’s my best friend, my partner and I love her. I was nervous to kind of do this whole thing in front of her. I wasn’t anxious, it’s just a big moment!”
2. Matt James
Matt James was the 2021 Bachelor lead and continues to be considered by viewers to be incredibly handsome.
The women on his season were falling over with nerves because of their strong attraction to the Bachelor (some literally, as one woman tripped because she was so overcome by James’ good looks). James’ legacy is for introducing the difficult topic of racism and interracial dating following his chosen white finalist’s major gaffe of having attended a party on a plantation in her youth.
James and his final rose recipient Rachael Kirkconnell had difficult, public talks about her transgression and they seemingly worked through the awkwardness.
1. Lorenzo Borghese
Lorenzo Borghese is a literal Italian prince. Knowing that, the terrific bone structure and nice hair are just a bonus. Borghese’s season of The Bachelor was shot in Italy, and all of the contestants that were vying for his love on season 9 were bent on being chosen as his princess.
Alas, good looks don’t guarantee anyone lasting love, and Borghese did not end up proposing to any of his finalists at the end of the season. While love still eludes the prince, who is reportedly still single, he does have a fulfilling life dedicating his time to animal advocacy.