‘The Bachelorette’: What Happens to the Engagement Ring When Couples Break Up?
Sometimes the engaged couples of The Bachelorette don’t work out after they fell in love and got a Neil Lane diamond to propose. It’s not exactly surprising by now, but fans probably wonder what the couples do with the ring after the show if they go separate ways. Do they get to keep it? Do they have to return it? Here is everything you need to know about what happens to the engagement ring when The Bachelorette couples break up.
The Bachelorette couples that break up under 2 years return their Neil Lane engagement ring
Chances are The Bachelorette wouldn’t have as many engagements if the reality stars had to cough up the money for a ring. So it’s no surprise that they don’t have to pay for the engagement ring, according to Bustle. Neil Lane reportedly donates the rings in exchange for promotion on the show.
But there is also a fine print to accepting the free ring for the couples. “In the contract, it says if you are not together for two years after the final day of the show airing, you have to give them the ring back,” Jesse Csincsak who was engaged to DeAnna Pappas revealed, according to Bustle. But there is a way around this rule.
Contestants can use other types of rings
Although most contestants of The Bachelorette take the show up on the free rings, they are allowed to pick something else. Aaron Buerge proposed to Helene Eksterowicz with a Harry Winston ring back in Season 2 of The Bachelor. He used his own money to get it so when they did split up Eksterowicz sold the ring on eBay for $28,300.
Other couples initially went with other rings as well like Trista and Ryan Sutter and Jason and Molly Mesnick. But then they went back to Neil Lane in the end.
The designer himself explained why to Style Caster. “Because they want to be part of a club when they go to these reunions,” he said. “All the girls stick their hands out and go, ‘Oh Neil, look at my ring!’” But there is an even more exclusive club beyond the Neil Lane engagement rings.
The Bachelorette might pay for wedding bands too if they’re lucky
There are couples from The Bachelorette that have not only been lucky to make it to the altar. But they also got more things paid for by the show including wedding bands.
ABC reportedly paid Trista and Ryan Sutter $1 million for the television rights to their wedding, according to People. But again there was a catch. They agreed that the show’s producer “shall make all final decisions” for that price. If the couple broke up before the televised wedding they would have to return the $100,000 down payment they received for signing the contract.
Sean and Catherine Lowe also were lucky enough to get their wedding paid for by The Bachelor. The network reportedly paid for the entire thing including the wedding rings. They also received six figures for having their wedding aired on television, according to E! News.
So if a couple from The Bachelorette split before they made the two-year mark after the final day of filming they don’t have the ring anymore. If they do make it then they reportedly keep it even if the relationship doesn’t work out.
Read more: ‘The Bachelorette’: When Did Kaitlyn Bristowe and Shawn Booth Actually Break Up?
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