'The Bachelorette' 2013 Season 9 Spoilers and News: Desiree Hartsock Must Stay With Suitor for Two Years to Keep Engagement Ring
Although Desiree Hartsock's winning man reportedly got down on one knee and proposed with a cushion-cut 3.5-carat Neil Lane diamond and platinum engagement ring worth $75,000, odds are that she'll be returning the bling to ABC, sources revealed.
A source close to the hit ABC dating show told Enstars that as part of each contestant's contract, if the romance fizzles before two years, the couple "is required" to return the bling.
"Any couple that doesn't stay together for two years has to return the ring to the show, so at this point only two couples actually still have the ring they were given on the show," the source revealed.
Those two couples are Trista and Ryan Sutter, who met on the first season of The Bachelorette, and newlyweds Ashley Hebert and J.P. Rosenbaum. The Sutters will celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary later this year.
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Although The Bachelor and Bachelorette appear to be one the most romantic shows on TV, all ending in one epic rose ceremony, the on-screen romance doesn't always last off-screen. The franchise's relationship success rate is pretty low. Former couples including season 16 Bachelor Ben Flajnik and fiancée Courtney Robertson ended their engagement in early October 2012. Season 8Bachelorette Emily Maynard and fiancé Jef Holm followed suit just one week later.
Season 17 Bachelor Sean Lowe starred in the franchise's 25th season and is still with Catherine Guidici, whom he proposed to on a season's finale. Guidici accepted the proposal and the 3.15 carat sparkling Neil Lane diamond engagement ring that Lowe presented her at the final rose ceremony in Thailand. Although the two have been speaking publicly about their wedding, only time will tell if the Dancing With the Stars alum will actually make it down the aisle. The two, who have said they will tie the knot on TV, have not even started any wedding planning yet.
The Bachelorette 2013 finale airs on Monday, Aug. 5. Desiree still has two guys in the running -- Chris Siegfried and Drew Kenney -- but she's already admitted that her feelings for them aren't as strong as her feelings for Brooks Forester, who decided to eliminate himself from the competition on the previous episode.
"It throws everything off, having Brooks gone," she cried on Monday's episode. "It breaks my heart. It breaks my heart knowing that I have two amazing, unreal guys who do love me. I just can't love them as much...And that's not what they deserve. Honestly, for me, it's over."
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Despite the drama, Desiree will get engaged on the finale. According to Life and Style, the proposal took place on top of Dow's Hill at the Verandah Resort & Spa.
"She's over the moon!" a friend told the magazine. "Desiree believes she made the right choice."
The Bachelorette finale airs Monday at 8p.m. EST on ABC.
