The Bachelor (season 2)
| The Bachelor (season 2) | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster | |
| Starring | Aaron Buerge |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 8 (including 1 special) |
| Release | |
| Original network | ABC |
| Original release | September 25 – November 20, 2002 |
| Season chronology | |
The Bachelor (season 2) is the second season of ABC reality television series The Bachelor. The show featured Missouri banker Aaron Buerge, courting 25 women. The season premiered on September 25, 2002 and concluded on November 20, 2002 with 27-year-old school psychologist Helene Eksterowicz was named the winner and becoming Buerge's fiancée, they soon ended their relationship weeks after the finale.
Contestants
The following is the list of bachelorettes for this season:
| Name | Age | Hometown | Job | Eliminated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Helene Eksterowicz | 27 | Gloucester, New Jersey | School Psychologist | Winner |
| Brooke Smith | 22 | Albertville, Alabama | College Student | Runner-Up |
| Gwen Gioia | 31 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Executive Recruiter | Week 6 |
| Angela | 27 | Kansas City, Missouri | Registered Nurse | Week 5 |
| Hayley Crittenden | 28 | Lake Oswego, Oregon | Retail Manager | Week 4 |
| Heather Cranford | 30 | Dallas, Texas | Flight Attendant | Week 4 |
| Christi Weible | 23 | Boise, Idaho | Assistant Financial Advisor | Week 3 |
| Heather | 24 | Walnut Creek, California | Marriage Therapy Trainee | Week 3 |
| Kyla Dickerson | 22 | Midvale, Utah | Airline Supervisor | Week 3 |
| Shannon | 26 | Long Island, New York | Graphic Artist | Week 3 |
| Dana Norris | 24 | Beverly Hills, California | Radio Sales | Week 2 |
| Erin | 25 | West Chester, Pennsylvania | Publications Quality Control | Week 2 |
| Suzanne Freeman | 33 | Redondo Beach, California | Flight Attendant | Week 2 |
| Frances Dinglasan | 30 | San Francisco, California | Strategic Planning Analyst | Week 2 (Quit) |
| Anindita Dutta | 27 | New York, New York | Attorney | Week 2 (Quit) |
| Amber West | 26 | Chapel Hill, North Carolina | Psychologist | Week 1 |
| Camille Langfield | 29 | Los Angeles, California | Actress | Week 1 |
| Cari | 29 | Granite City, Illinois | 3rd Grade Teacher | Week 1 |
| Christy | 24 | Avondale, Arizona | Radiological Technologist | Week 1 |
| Erin | 24 | Houston, Texas | Interior Designer | Week 1 |
| Fatima Rivas | 22 | Long Beach, California | College Student | Week 1 |
| Liangy Fernandez | 30 | Coral Gables, Florida | Paralegal | Week 1 |
| Lori | 26 | Dallas, Texas | Former NBA Cheerleader | Week 1 |
| Merrilee Donahue | 28 | Forked River, New Jersey | 1st Grade Teacher | Week 1 |
| Suzi Reid | 28 | Richmond, Virginia | Communications Specialist | Week 1 |
Future appearances
Heather Cranford returned for the sixth season of The Bachelor along with season four contestant, Mary Delgado, where she placed 9th/12th after having been eliminated the week she arrived. Gwen Gioia competed in the first season of Bachelor Pad, placing 9th/11th.
Elimination Chart
| # | Contestants | Week | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | ||
| 1 | Gwen | Angela | Helene | Angela | Helene | Gwen | Helene | Helene |
| 2 | Erin (TX) | Helene | Kyla | Gwen | Gwen | Helene | Brooke | Brooke |
| 3 | Frances | Erin (PA) | Angela | Brooke | Angela | Brooke | Gwen | |
| 4 | Helene | Brooke | Shannon | Helene | Brooke | Angela | ||
| 5 | Brooke | Anindita | Gwen | Heather (TX) | Hayley Heather (TX) |
|||
| 6 | Angela | Heather (CA) | Brooke | Hayley | ||||
| 7 | Lori | Dana | Heather (TX) | Christi (ID) Heather (CA) Kyla Shannon |
||||
| 8 | Kyla | Hayley | Hayley | |||||
| 9 | Christi (ID) | Christi (ID) | Heather (CA) | |||||
| 10 | Hayley | Shannon | Christi (ID) | |||||
| 11 | Dana | Frances | Dana Erin (PA) Suzanne |
|||||
| 12 | Heather (CA) | Suzanne | ||||||
| 13 | Anindita | Gwen | ||||||
| 14 | Suzanne | Kyla | Anindita Frances | |||||
| 15 | Amber | Heather (TX) | ||||||
| 16 | Merrilee | Amber Camille Cari Christy (AZ) Erin (TX) Fatima Liangy Lori Merrilee Suzi |
||||||
| 17 | Christy (AZ) | |||||||
| 18 | Heather (TX) | |||||||
| 19 | Suzi | |||||||
| 20 | Liangy | |||||||
| 21 | Camille | |||||||
| 22 | Erin (PA) | |||||||
| 23 | Cari | |||||||
| 24 | Fatima | |||||||
| 25 | Shannon | |||||||
- The contestant won the competition.
- The contestant quit the competition.
- The contestant was eliminated at the rose ceremony.
Episodes (dates)
Week 1
There were no dates during the first week.
Amber, Camille, Cari, Christi from Arizona, Erin from Texas, Fatima, Liangy, Lori, Merrilee, and Suzi were all sent home in the first rose ceremony.
Week 2
There were three group dates. Five women were sent on each.
Just before the start of the rose ceremony, Anindita and Frances both quit the competition in doubt that things between Aaron and them would work out. Dana, Erin from Pennsylvania, and Suzanne were then eliminated at the rose ceremony.
Week 3
One-on-one: Helene.
There were two group dates that consisted of Angela, Christi from Idaho, Gwen, Hayley, Heather from California, Heather from Texas, Kyla, and Shannon.
One-on-one: Brooke
Christi from Idaho, Heather from California, Kyla, and Shannon were eliminated at the rose ceremony.
Week 4
One-on-one: Helene
One-on-one: Gwen
Group: Angela, Brooke, and Hayley
One-on-one: Heather from Texas
Hayley and Heather from Texas were eliminated at the rose ceremony.
Week 5
| # | Bachelorette | Hometown |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Angela | Kansas City, Missouri |
| 2 | Helene | Gloucester, New Jersey |
| 3 | Gwen | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| 4 | Brooke | Albertville, Alabama |
Angela was eliminated at the rose ceremony.
Week 6
Overnight Dates: Brooke, Gwen, and Helene.
Gwen was eliminated at the rose ceremony.
Week 7 (Finale)
Meeting Aaron's Parents and Final Dates: Brooke and Helene
Brookes's limo pulled up to the altar first, where Aaron sent her home in a limo, crying. Helene then came to the altar, where Aaron professed his love for her and proposed. She accepted and was given the final rose.