Entertainment

14 Businesses Started By 'Bachelor' Alums That You Probably Didn't Even Know Existed

by Parry Ernsberger
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Is there life after The Bachelor? Well, of course, there is. But for some of the contests from both The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, there's a whole lot of cash to be made, too. Most of the post-show businesses started by Bachelor Nation alums are pretty closely tied to each of their personal "brands" — see: beauty, fitness, lifestyle, etc. — but there are also some, um, interesting outliers.

For example, one alum created an app for "high-achieving men in relationships" with what sounds like major time management issues. Two male alums created an athleisure line for women together. Another alum created a luxury skin care line ... for pets. Which, to be honest, sounds ridiculous — but there are probably plenty of people out there willing to pay top dollar to pamper there furry friends. So, maybe it's actually brilliant?

Not all of these businesses have gone on to find success, but their entrepreneurial spirit is impressive, nonetheless. Besides, why wouldn't you try to capitalize on your 15 minutes of fame after going through such a hyper-scrutinized process? Walking away with the ability to start your own post-show business (or continue one you started beforehand) is basically a consolation prize, and for some, a very lucrative one at that. Can't hate on the hustle.

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Andrew Firestone (Season 3): StonePark Capital

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Before he became the Season 3 Bachelor, Andrew Firestone was a sales manager at his family's Santa Barbara vineyard, Firestone Family Estates. Since then, he's held several asset management jobs within the hospitality industry, according to his bio, which ultimately let him to open StonePark Capital — which focuses "on both development and acquisition opportunities in hospitality," as per their website — in 2014.

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Chris Bukowski (Season 8): Bracket Sports Lounge

Chris Bukowski already owned several Bracket Room Sports Lounge locations in Virginia and Washington, D.C., but recently opened another in his hometown of Chicago. In September 2017, Bukowski told The Chicago Tribune that he planned on holding Bachelor viewing parties for Arie's upcoming season, which — considering what went down — probably resulted in some pretty interesting nights.

3

Prince Lorenzo Borghese (Season 9): Royal Treatment & República de RumGolf

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By the time he became the Bachelor on Season 9 in 2006, Lorenzo Borghese had already launched his luxury line of bath, body, and skincare products for pets, the Royal Treatment. In 2009, Borghese launched its corresponding website, the Royal Pet Club, and has since expanded the line to include supplements, treats, and fancy bedding.

In addition to his pet-pampering business, Borghese also launched República de RumGolf, a lifestyle brand for men, in 2014. According to their website, this includes "excursion basics," like collared shirts, picante hot sauce, and fishing lures, as well as "extreme-leisuring items," like swim-trunks, blazers, and mouthwash. Blazers for your free time, huh? K.

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Mikey Tenerelli (Season 9): CrossFit Alpha Dog

Mikey Tenerelli is buff. No doubt about that. He was buff when he appeared on Season 9 of The Bachelorette, but now that he's opened up his own CrossFit franchise, CrossFit AlphaDog in Lombard, Illinois, he's super buff.

Tenerelli clearly picked the right post-Bachelorette career trajectory — he was a plumbing contractor before the show, according to People — because his gym's racked up a ton of good reviews. "[CrossFit AlphaDog has] top notch trainers, top notch gear that is always being upgraded and added to, and a super clean and well kept gym," one happy patron wrote on Yelp.

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Brad Womack (Season 11): Dogwood Bar

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Brad Womack — who had not one, but two seasons of The Bachelor dedicated to his hunt for love —  is another alum that has a string of bars to tend to, including three Texas-area hotspots called Dogwood. The Austin Dogwood location, which was only recently opened in 2016, is already renowned for racking up some of the highest combined bar tabs in the state, according to The Statesman.

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Tenley Molzahn (Season 14): Tenley's Sweet & Free Life, Food Freedom

Former Disney dancer Tenley Molzahn was the runner-up on Jake Pavelka's season of The Bachelor, but she ended up finding love off-screen — she married Taylor Leopold in April 2018 —  and has been leading a pretty *sweet life* ever since.

According to her website, Molzahn once suffered from a string of stomach issues, and ultimately learned she was allergic to gluten. After being forced to make changes to her lifestyle, she developed a passion for wellness, and ended up launching her own health-focused lifestyle brand, Tenley's Sweet & Free Life.

Her website includes gluten-free recipes, workout plans, and fashion and beauty recommendations, but in case you need an extra push, Molzahn also provides personal holistic health coaching services.

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Ben Flajnik (Season 16): Live Wine Cam, Fernet Francisco, & The Gentleman App

After appearing on Ashley Hebert's season of The Bachelorette, Ben Flajnik took over the Bachelor reigns in 2011. During the taping of the show, Flajnik was working for Envolve Winery, a company that he co-founded.

Over the next few years, he got a job as a Fit Model for Levi's, according to his LinkedIn profile, and continued to co-found a string of other businesses.

In March 2015, Flajnik launched The Gentleman, an app "for men who struggle with date planning and relationship management," according to Fortune. Seems like The Gentleman had a few struggles of its own, as it had folded by Dec. 2015.

He's also helped start a media company (Arcade), a live-cam for vineyards (Live Wine Cam), a consulting firm (Flajnik & Co.), and has developed several adult beverages (including a rosé wine, a vodka, and small batch Fernet), but left the new-business lifestyle in 2016 to work as a Community Manager for Yelp.

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Ben Zorn (Season 19): Zorn Fitness

Ben Zorn wasn't lucky in love in either Kaitlyn Bristowe’s season of the Bachelorette or during his stint on Bachelor in Paradise. He was, however, lucky enough to find love at Zorn Fitness, the company he co-founded with his brother, Sebastian, in 2015, according to their website.

A little Insta-snooping revealed that Zorn met his current girlfriend, Stacy, while working as her personal trainer at his very own gym. Around February 2017, Stacy started tagging her gym selfies with things like @zornfitness and #bodybyben. Flash-forward to September 2017, and both Stacy and Zorn's Instagram posts from there on out make it clear that they're totally a couple. Cuties.

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Chase McNary & Robby Hayes (Season 12): LeisureLetics

Chase McNary and Robby Hayes bonded while competing on JoJo Fletcher's season of The Bachelorette, and then the two friends decided to turn their bond into a business. Along with two other business partners, McNary and Hayes launched LeisureLetics, a women's athleisure brand and subscription service, in 2017.

According to the company's website, LeisureLetics "focuses on combining high quality athletic wear with comfortable, breathable material you can lounge around in."

10

Catherine Lowe (Season 17): LoweCo.

Catherine and Sean Lowe found love on Sean's season of The Bachelor, and now the married-with-two-kids couple are quite possibly the biggest Bachelor Nation hustlers in the Instagram game Seriously, though — both of their Instagram feeds are almost primarily comprised of sponsored partnership posts.

With the help of her husband, Catherine branched out from Insta-ads in 2015 and launched her very own business: LoweCo. Catherine's passion for puns and background in graphic design paired perfectly for the stationary brand, which "is all about fun messages with a crisp and elegant delivery," according to their website.

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Vanessa Grimaldi (Season 21): No Better You

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It wasn't so long ago that Nick Viall proposed to Vanessa Grimaldi on his season of The Bachelor, but alas, it just wasn't meant to be. Before they broke up, though, Grimaldi announced during the "After the Final Rose" show that she'd be starting a non-profit for special education.

Grimaldi launched that non-profit, No Better You, in 2017, which "aims to advance education by providing specialized tools and programs for exceptional learners across Canada," according to the website. "We also strive to raise awareness and compassion for people living with a physical or neurological impairment, and ultimately, give a voice to students in the special needs community."

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Nick Viall (Season 21): The Polished Gent

Nick Viall, Grimaldi's former fiancé, also launched a business after leaving The Bachelor: a men's grooming start-up called The Polished Gent. Mysteriously, though, less than six months after the company launched, an eagle-eyed Reddit user noticed that Viall had removed the brand's website link from his Instagram bio, and the domain name of the site has since gone up for sale.

Viall, for his part, hasn't commented on the current state of the business.

13

Raven Gates (Season 21): Baby Graye & Grey Suede

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Yet another star from Nick Viall's season, Raven Gates, had already opened her own women's clothing boutique, Grey Suede, before she even set foot on the show. In November 2017, Gates announced via Instagram that she'd be opening yet another clothing boutique, but her new store — Baby Graye — would be all about kids' clothing.

The online shop for Baby Graye is currently up and running, and includes a ton of cute and tiny clothes for toddlers (many of which are totally sold out), like these adorable velour bell bottoms, and this precious plaid tutu dress.

14

Marquel Martin (Season 10): Social Cookie

ABC

After vying for love on both Andi Dorfman's season of The Bachelorette, as well as on the first season of Bachelor in Paradise, Marquel Martin kind of went MIA — from fans' TVs, at least. However, in a 2015 interview with Bustle, Martin said he'd been keeping busy trying to get his post-show business, Social Cookie, off the ground.

“My partner and I decided to take it in a different direction and focus on cookie and wine pairings,” Martin said. “So, for example, a cabernet may pair nicely with a chocolate chip cookie, or red velvet might pair nicely with a merlot. So, we want to create a box set. A boyfriend can buy his girlfriend a bottle of wine and a dozen cookies, and it's all in one set.”

It looks like Social Cookie has definitely started to make some moves, according to the company's website, as Martin and his team have been serving up baked goods at events and private parties over the last several years.

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These Bachelor Nation alums have definitely been keeping busy in their post-show lives. And while not all of them were able to find love on TV, they've definitely put a lot of heart into their businesses.

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