All of the good people in Bachelor Nation know that the franchise's record for kicking off long-term love matches isn't that great. But, among the couples who've managed to meet and marry because of one of the shows that make up the long-running franchise, they've all stayed together. Until now, unfortunately. Krystal Nielson and Chris Randone, who met on Bachelor in Paradise Season 5 and married with a ceremony that aired on the same show in Season 6, have now officially decided to divorce.
While it's very true that seeing a couple from The Bachelor, The Bachelorette or even Bachelor in Paradise breakup is nothing new, it's because of that fact that we've seen so few actual divorces in the franchise, mostly because the couples realize they're not meant to be before making the life-changing step. Chris and Krystal, however, were only able to keep the love alive for a short time after marrying in the summer of 2019, and split in February of this year.
It sounds like the couple continued to try and work out their differences while separated, but they have now decided that divorce is the best course of action. Here's what Krystal had to say to fans on Instagram about their emotional move:
The past 8 months have not been easy...I’ve been torn between mourning a life that could’ve been…and determined to fight for the future that I know I deserve. With respect and support for one another, Chris and I have decided to move forward with filing for divorce. We are grateful for the events that brought us to find one another, as we have been great teachers on our journey of personal discovery and growth. I believe that there can be beauty inside of pain when we have the courage to look within with compassion and a willingness to grow. We all deserve to live a beautiful life we love...and sometimes we realize it’s time to let go and LET GOD. Thank you for the well wishes and continued support. It means the world.
Even though it is sad to hear, it does sound like Krystal and Chris are parting ways on relatively good terms. Her recent statement actually echoes the joint one made in February when the couple announced that they were going to split because "we both need to work on ourselves." At the time, they said that they had become best friends, and still had a lot of love and care for each other, despite their romance not working out as they'd hoped it would.
Luckily, it sounds like those sentiments are still true for Krystal and Chris, so I'm hopeful that they can handle the divorce with maturity and even remain friends as they move on in their lives and romantically.
As I mentioned above, while this is, indeed, a sad time for Bachelor Nation, we do know that it's possible for couples to have the franchise facilitate their romance and end up happily married. Chris and Krystal weren't the only BIP couple to make it down the aisle, and there are a few Bachelor and Bachelorette couples who've married and are still hitched up, as well. Famously, Trista Rehn and Ryan Sutter met on the first season of The Bachelorette, married in December 2003, and are still together.
Other couples who actually found each other on one of their seasons of The Bachelor or The Bachelorette are Jason Mesnick and Molly Malaney (wed in February 2010), Ashley Hebert and J.P. Rosenbaum (December 2012), Sean Lowe and Catherine Giudici (January 2014), Desiree Hartsock and Chris Siegfried (January 2015), Arie Luyendyk Jr. and Lauren Burnham (January 2019), and Rachel Lindsay and Bryan Abasolo (August 2019). Meanwhile, there are also several couples who met just because of them both being on separate shows, who've also been married for a while now, so it's not like the franchise is completely hopeless when it comes to helping people find lasting love.
I'm sure we all hope that Krystal and Chris can move on without too much more difficulty. Next month, though, we'll be watching Clare Crawley (and most likely Tayshia Adams, also) look for true love on Season 16 of The Bachelorette, so stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more about that season as it becomes available.
