Jillian Harris and Ed Swiderski Split! Recap of the Show's History of Failed Relationships

Jillian Harris and Ed Swiderski are the latest couple from the ABC’s hit television show, The Bachelorette to end their engagement. According to the couple, who reported their relationship status change to US Weekly, they are both saddened by the split but are looking out for themselves and their own best interests. The couple originally met and the two were engaged in May 2009 during the fifth series of ABC’s show The Bachelorette. They were engaged for 14 months before breaking it off (Contact Music).

Seriously though, who really expects the couples on The Bachelor and The Bachelorette to actually work out and get married? Now, after over 20 separate installments of the show, almost every single couple has split and the majority of contests are still single. Trista and Ryan are the only two to become engaged on the show and later married. Although Jason and Molly’s marriage was second and the only other marriage to result from the show, Jason did not originally choose Molly, thus bestowing additional heartbreak to the original woman, Melissa Rycroft, whom he proposed to on the show.

Why do contestants expect to find relationships and love on this show? First of all, they come across desperate, looking for “love” and seeking an actual marriage proposal to result from a show lasting a mere six weeks. Secondly, the couples are sent on luxurious vacations and retreats to drum up romantic feelings for each other when they have barely gotten to know each other: vacations that are not realistic to couples first embarking on a relationship. The men and women might spend a few hours together alone once or twice within that six week period of filming, yet viewers believe they are realistically falling in love. P.S. How many of the contestants are really competing for love, and how many have slipped up by suggesting that they were on the show for fame? Finally, how much alcohol have they been drinking? Do you make educated decisions when you have been drinking? And do they really have anything in common aside for the fact that they have both been… drinking.

Ali Fedotowski is the latest Bachelorette, currently airing on ABC Monday evenings at 8 PM ET. I hear she does not pursue a relationship with any of the guys once the show has ended. That may turn out to be the smartest decision yet, considering the track record this show has cemented for itself.