‘I Wasn’t Sure I’d Get Married’: Former Bachelor Ties Knot 16 Years After His Season Aired

The Bachelor season 14 star Jake Pavelka has gotten married, 16 years after his season of the reality dating series aired in 2010. Jake, a then 31-year-old pilot, got his Bachelor Nation start on The Bachelor season 5 with Jillian Harris in 2009, and was later chosen as the Bachelor. During his season finale, he became engaged to Vienna Girardi, but they quickly broke up and revealed the details of their bitter split in an infamous TV special.

After The BachelorJake competed on Dancing with the stars season 10 with his professional dance partner, Chelsie Hightower, where they placed 7th out of 11 couples. Jake was also a participant in Bachelor Pad season 2, Famous foodand Rachael vs. Guy: Celebrity Cook-Offand also appeared in the reality television series H8R. Additionally, he was a surprise guest on JoJo Fletcher’s Bachelor season in 2016. He also had roles in the TV shows Drop Dead Diva and The bold and the beautiful.

Jake is now an entrepreneur who founded a waste management company, Rhino Removal, in 2017. The company was acquired by a public company in January 2024, just before he met his now-wife.

Bachelor star Jake Pavelka marries his best friend

According to PeopleJake married his fiancée, Aimee, at the Tuscan Rose Ranch in California on Sunday, June 7, 2026. Jake and Aimee were joined by their family and closest friends as they tied the knot. Jake, now 48, admitted he didn’t know if marriage was on the cards for him until he met Aimee, 41, who works in aerospace and defense contracting.

Jake explained, “I wasn’t sure I wanted to get married – and then I found Aimee. It almost doesn’t seem real. There’s a sense of peace and security that comes with knowing I’m going to spend my life with my best friend.”

Jake shared that he and Aimee wanted their wedding to feel like one “gather in our living room,” so was their guest list “on purpose little.”

Jake met Aimee on a dating app two years ago

Bachelor Season 14 star Jake Pavelka poses for a photo.

Jake and Aimee first met in 2024 through the dating app Bumble. They knew they were right for each other when their first date lasted six hours. Aimee whizzed, “Jake has a way of making even the ordinary moments feel special, and I’m so grateful that we get to build a life, make memories and grow together through each upcoming season.”

Jake and Aimee became engaged on November 22, 2025, when he got down on one knee and popped the question at their apartment in Dallas, Texas. Instead of having an extravagant engagement, Jake decided to keep the special moment private.

It is always beautiful to see earlier Bachelor and Bachelor stars find love according to their seasons. Only three of the 29 Bachelor leads have stayed with the women they were engaged to at the end of their seasons: Sean Lowe and Catherine Giudici and Zach Shallcross and Kaity Biggar are married, while Joey Graziadei and Kelsey Anderson are still engaged. Although the success rate of The Bachelor hasn’t been great, many of the leads have found love after the show with women outside of the franchise. We wish Jake and Aimee all the best as they begin this new chapter of their lives together.

The Bachelor season 30 is scheduled to air in 2027.

Source: People