Sunday, February 16, 2025

What Happened to Trista Rehn – News & Updates

Trista Sutter (neé Rehn) was the first runner-up on Season One of The Bachelor, and later became the first Bachelorette. That was over a decade ago, and while she’s appeared on TV a few, many are wondering what she’s doing now.

The Bachelor

Trista Rehn was born on October 28, 1972, and grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana. Before she auditioned for The Bachelor, she worked briefly as a cheerleader for the Miami Heat.

The Bachelor was ground-breaking reality TV when it premiered back in 2002. Now producing its 21st season, the format is relatively unchanged from those first seasons. An eligible bachelor narrows down a pool of potential romantic partners over the course of the season. The bachelor and prospects go on dates, romantic getaways, and visit the Bachelor’s hometown and meet his parents. Along the way, he chooses which girls will go on to the next episode, narrowing down his choices over a six to ten week period.

Of course, when Alex Michel was The Bachelor, for the show’s first season, the show had a much smaller budget. Combined with a faster pace, the whole feel of the show was much more hectic than it is these days. Plus, there wasn’t The Bachelorette spin-off established, so Trista Rehn had no consolation prize guaranteed, the way modern runner-ups do.

However, Trista’s demeanor on the show captivated audiences. The producers, who had contemplated doing a gender-reversed spin-off early into The Bachelor‘s production, were convinced to go ahead with the project after Michel picked Amanda Marsh to be his girlfriend. So in 2003, she became the star of the first season of The Bachelorette.

The Bachelorette

The Bachelorette follows all the same rules as The Bachelor, except the male contestants still do the proposal at the end of the season. Behind the scenes, there’s been some allegations of scripting and other manipulation by producers, some of which was acknowledged by the show’s creator. For the first season, none of that was really a risk, though, and Trista’s season does feel more genuine than later seasons.

Trista & Ryan with their two kids, Max and Blakesley

Trista Rehn chose Ryan Sutter as her partner, and the season ended with him proposing to her. On December 6, 2003, they married, as part of a three-episode special. ABC paid them $1 million for the rights to broadcast their wedding. Trista & Ryan’s Wedding was watched by over 26 million viewers, which makes it one of the most-viewed episodes of reality TV, ever.

After the end of her season, Trista Sutter went on to star in a few commercials, most notably a commercial for KFC with Jason Alexander (George from Seinfeld.) She also was in the music video for Brad Paisley’s “Celebrity.” In 2005 her husband Ryan Sutter was a contestant on Fear Factor, and she made a guest appearance, showing up to support him. She was a contestant herself for the first season of Dancing with the Stars, where she was the first person eliminated.

In 2007 Trista Sutter announced she was pregnant, and gave birth to a son, Maxwell Alston. In 2010, she had a daughter, Blakesley Grace. Both children have been kept out of the spotlight almost entirely, though.

What’s Trista Rehn Doing Now in 2018 – Recent Updates

Trista and Ryan Sutter participated in the American Heart Association’s 2011 ad campaign to re-educate people on a new hands-only method of performing CPR. A few years later, with over a decade of marriage under their belt, they worked with WEtv’s Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars, based on the non-profit seminar series. In 2015, they were contestants on Who Wants to be a Millionaire, during the Bachelor Fan Favorites Week.

These days, Trista lives in relative privacy with her husband and two kids in Vail, Colorado. She’s a representative for Wish Denver, a small boutique in Colorado. While she might not be making headlines herself, Trista does get a fair amount of mentions in the news. As the first Bachelorette, and one with a successful marriage, she’ll likely be the hallmark for comparison for as long as the series runs.

Morgan Sennhauser
Morgan Sennhauser
Morgan Sennhauser is a thoroughbred millennial, who has focused on working against censorship and surveillance in Africa and the Middle East. Now living in North Carolina, Morgan spends his time advocating for minority groups in impoverished regions, and writing about related topics.
RELATED ARTICLES

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here