Well, that was the most dramatic year ever.
The Bachelor franchise has been around for 15 years and delivered over 50 seasons of television, so it's safe to say we've experienced many highs and lows...and even a Sean Lowe. But no year provided us with more news in Bachelor Nation than 2017.
With multiple engagements, a few breakups, one historic first, and a Bachelor in Paradise scandal so big that at one point had fans questioning the franchise's future, it's almost hard to remember everything that happened on and off air in Bachelor Nation this year. Which is why we're looking back on all of the romance, drama and The Bachelor franchise delivered in 2017. You may want to pour a glass of wine or grab a snack, this might take a while...
2017 kicked off for Bachelor Nation with the highly anticipated premiere of Nick Viall's season of The Bachelor. After making it to the final rose ceremony on two different seasons of The Bachelorette before finally becoming fan-favorite on Bachelor in Paradise's third season, the stakes and expectations were high for his turn as the lead.
While the premiere included a woman wearing a shark costume convinced it was a dolphin and , Corinne Olympios, the 24-year-old business owner with a nanny, stole the spotlight, thanks to her one-liners ("My heart is gold but my vagine is platinum"), bold tactics (She took her top off on the first group date and visited Nick wearing nothing but a trench coat), and her love of naps and cheese pasta.
In the end, Nick got down on one knee and proposed to Vanessa Grimaldi, but after five months and a stint on Dancing With the Stars for Nick, the couple announced the end of their relationship in August, telling E! News, "We gave this relationship our all and we are saddened that we did not get the fairy tale ending we hoped for. We will continue to be there for each other no matter what. This hasn't been an easy decision, however, as we part ways, we do so with lots of love and admiration for each other."
But Nick's season was basically spoiled by producers when they announced Rachel Lindsay, the fan-favorite lawyer from his season, would be the next Bachelorette...which she was still on the show. It was a historic announcement as Rachel was the franchise's first black lead in its 15-year history.
And keeping with franchise firsts, Rachel met four of her contestants during The Bachelor's live After the Final Rose special. Yep, it was awkward.
Back to Nick and Vanessa's split: It was hardly the most shocking news for the franchise this summer, as headlines were dominated by the Bachelor in Paradise scandal. Production on the popular spinoff's fourth season was temporarily halted after Corinne and DeMario Jackson, who was booted off of Rachel's season after his ex showed up and blew up his spot (leading to his infamous "Who's this?!' .gif) found themselves at the center of alleged misconduct scandal.
A producer filed the complaint after a sexual encounter that occurred between DeMario and Corinne on the first night of filming. However, after a lengthy investigation, Warner Bros. cleared production of any wrongdoing and filming resumed. Though her legal team originally stated their intention to continue with their own investigation, Corinne eventually returned to BIP to share her side of the story. Since seeing each other for the first time while sitting down with Chris Harrison at the reunion special, Corinne and DeMario have been spotted hanging out several times.
The season's main drama, outside of the Corinne-DeMario scandal, came from Dean's love triangle with Kristina Schulman and Danielle Lombardi, with the fan-favorite on Rachel's season quickly being dubbed America's top "f—kboy," losing all goodwill he earned after his hometown visit, one of the franchise's most memorable as Dean reunited with his father, now a Sikh, who he felt emotionally abandoned him after his mother's death. (They still aren't speaking.)
Bachelor in Paradise's shortened season still delivered a few happy endings though, as Derek Peth and Taylor Nolan got engaged during the reunion special after spending the whole season making out on the beach, and Raven Gates and Adam Gottshalk are still dating.
Still, the reunion did deliver some dramatic moments, as Amanda Stanton suggested Robby Hayes had cheated on her and became a different person once cameras stopped rolling. Though he denied her claims, she posted the receipts on Twitter, using Taylor Swifts "Look what you made me do," as her caption. Talk about bad blood.
Unfortunately, some of Bachelor in Paradise's scandal overshadowed some of Rachel's season, except for Lee Garrett's offensive tweets being unearthed. Rachel, of course, handled the situation like a boss.
And ultimately, Rachel found her happily ever after with Bryan Abasolo, the chiropractor from Miami, who proposed in the finale. However, their engagement was overshadowed by her extremely raw and emotional breakup (and live reunion) with Peter. (Rachel and Bryan are still engaged and seem happy, FWIW.)
One of Bachelor in Paradise's season three couples also had a big summer: Carly Waddell and Evan Bass' nuptials aired as part of the BIP season, and the couple announced they were expecting their first child during it as well, even doing an on-air sonogram.
Meanwhile, Carly's BFF and bridesmaid Jade Roper and her husband Tanner Tolbert, who got together on season two of the spinoff, later having their wedding air on ABC, welcomed their first child in August, a girl named Emerson.
Following BIP's eventful run, everyone was buzzing about who would be the next Bachelor, with Peter seemingly the frontrunner and only viable option, though Dean, former Bachelor Ben Higgins and were all being considered. But as the days wore on and franchise creator Mike Fleiss' tweets got more and more pointed at Peter not being the right man, everyone was shocked when Arie Luyendyk Jr. was named the next Bach on Good Morning America in September.
Last seen on Emily Maynard's season in 2012, Arie had been considered several times for the job, losing out to Sean Lowe and Chris Soules, and had barely been on the franchise's radar in recent years. Talk about the most dramatic Bachelor announcement ever, as many viewers turned into owls, asking "Who?" when the official announcement went down.
Following Arie's coronation, Peter posted a heartfelt message on Instagram, hinting that his fear held him back from ultimately accepting the gig.
"ABC, you saw something in me, but something held me back. You treated me with such love and kindness and showed me glimpses of a life I never once dreamed that I could have," he wrote. "I will be forever humbled and grateful and will always look back at these last 6 months with an ear to ear smile, knowing that this has truly been a very special life indeed."
In other Bach news, not being filmed for ABC's cameras, BIP bartender and fan-favorite Wells Adams started dating Modern Family star Sarah Hyland, with the two showing off their new romance on Instagram, and Bachelor and Bachelor Pad alum Erica Rose married Charles Sanders in early December, with her former beau Prince Lorenzo Borghese in the audience.
Other alums that got married this year included Sharleen Joynt, and Juan Pablo Galavis, arguably the most polarizing Bachelor in history, got hitched in August to Osmariel Villalobos. "That's right. The man who we thought might never find love has apparently found it," Chris Harrison announced during The Bachelorette's live finale. (The shade!)
Sean Lowe and Catherine Giudici, one of the franchise's most beloved couples, announced they are expecting baby No. 2.
In sad news, Vienna Girardi, Jake Pavelka's former fiancé, suffered a devastating miscarriage after announcing in June that she was expecting twins.
In April, fans were shocked when former Bachelor star Chris Soules (aka Prince Farming) was arrested after accidentally rear-ending 66-year-old tractor driver Kenneth Mosher in their native Iowa. Though Soules checked on the man after the crash and reported it to authorities, he was charged with "leaving the scene of a fatal accident resulting in death." If convicted, he could be sent to prison for five years, and he plead not guilty in May.
And to close out the year, The Bachelor: Winter Games, a spinoff to serve as counter-programming to the Olympics debuting in February, is currently filming in Vermont, while the 29 ladies set to compete on Arie's season of The Bachelor, debuting Jan. 1, 2018, were revealed. There are four Laurens.
Excuse us while we go take a nap. Can you blame us, Michael Jordan took naps.
The Bachelor's new season premieres Monday, Jan. 1, 2018 on ABC.