The twelfth season of The Bachelorette premiered on ABC on May 23, 2016. This season featured 25-year-old Joelle "JoJo" Fletcher, a real estate developer from Dallas, Texas. Fletcher was the runner-up on season 20 of The Bachelor featuring Ben Higgins.
The season concluded on August 1, 2016, with Fletcher accepting a proposal from 27-year-old former pro quarterback Jordan Rodgers. Rodgers and Fletcher married on May 14, 2022, and currently live in Dallas.
Contestant Chad Johnson, who was eliminated in Week 4, achieved some level of infamy in 2020 due to his arrest for domestic violence and the launch of a career in pornography.
Casting began during season eleven of The Bachelorette. Days before the official announcement, second runner-up Caila Quinn was originally selected to be in the lead role, but she was dropped at the last minute and Fletcher was then named during the After the Final Rose special on the twentieth season of The Bachelor on March 14, 2016 by the producers in response to her popularity on the show. Quinn eventually went on to compete in season 3 of Bachelor in Paradise.
Notable contestant includes former American football quarterback Jordan Rodgers, the younger brother of Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Filming commenced on March 16, 2016 shortly after the twentieth season of The Bachelor. Destinations including Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania, Uruguay, Thailand, and Argentina with appearances from Dan + Shay, All-4-One, Max Kellerman and Marcellus Wiley.
The season began with 25 contestants.
Christian Bishop, Chad Johnson, Daniel Maguire, Evan Bass, Grant Kemp, Vinny Ventiera, and Wells Adams returned for the third season of Bachelor in Paradise. Johnson was removed from the show by Chris Harrison in week 1 for aggressive behavior towards everyone. Bishop was eliminated in week 2 and Maguire in week 4. Ventiera quit the show in week 4. Adams split from Ashley Iaconetti in week 6. Bass and Kemp ended the season engaged to Carly Waddell and Lace Morris, respectively.
Vinny Ventiera, Daniel Maguire, Nick Benvenutti, Alex Woytkiw, Derek Peth, and Robby Hayes returned for the fourth season of Bachelor in Paradise. Wells Adams returned as the hotel bartender. Woytkiw, Benvenutti, and Ventiera were eliminated in week 1. Hayes split from Amanda Stanton in week 4. Maguire left Paradise in a relationship with Lacey Mark but it was revealed on the reunion special that they had split shortly afterwards. Peth left Paradise in a relationship with Taylor Nolan, and proposed to her during the reunion special.
Hayes returned for the fifth season of Bachelor in Paradise. Hayes split from Shushanna Mkrtychyan in week 6.
Peth returned for the sixth season of Bachelor in Paradise, along with Chase McNary. Peth quit in week 4. McNary split from Angela Amezcua in week 6.
Kemp and Maguire appeared on the inaugural season of the Bachelor in Paradise Australia. Maguire was eliminated in week 3. Kemp left in a relationship with Ali Oetjen.
Maguire returned for season 2 of Bachelor in Paradise Australia. He was eliminated in week 5.
Johnson competed on season 20 of Celebrity Big Brother UK. After 25 days in the house, he finished in fifth place.
Luke Pell returned for The Bachelor Winter Games as a part of Team USA. He was eliminated in week 4.
Fletcher served a guest host for the sixteenth season of The Bachelorette while host Chris Harrison was away to take his son in college.
Season 1
McNary appeared in the first season of the MTV reality series Ex on the Beach.
Season 2
Johnson appeared in the second season of Ex on the Beach.
Season 4
Maguire appeared in the fourth season of Ex on the Beach.
Hayes appeared on the third season of the MTV series Siesta Key.
McNary competed on the thirty-third season of the MTV series The Challenge dubbed ', in which alumni from multiple reality TV shows sought to compete for a $1 million prize. He was eliminated in episode 2.