Former Bachelor Ben Flajnik Secretly Married His ‘Best Friend’

Former Bachelor Ben Flajnik revealed that he secretly got married in October.

“Last month, in an intimate ceremony surrounded by family I married my best friend and it was the most incredible day of my life,” Flajnik, 41, shared via Instagram on Saturday, November 25. “Tears and laughs were had and I’ve never felt so present with another person in my life. I’m so grateful to do life with you and thank you for your unwavering love and support.”

He shared the news alongside a wedding photo from Mission San Francisco Solano, which is located in Sonoma State Historic Park in Sonoma, California. The groom wore black suit with a white shirt and silver tie. The bride, whose name was not revealed, wore a classic off-the-shoulder gown with an embroidered veil.

Several members of Bachelor Nation shared well wishes. “Congrats!!!” J.P. Rosenbaum commented while Ashley Iaconetti wrote, “Congratulations!!! 🍾.”

Flajnik started his search for love in 2011 on season 7 of The Bachelorette. Ashley Hebert ultimately chose Rosenbaum while Flajnik was the runner-up. He was then chosen to lead season 16 of The Bachelor, which aired in 2012. Though he ended the season by proposing to Courtney Robertson, they ultimately announced their breakup in October 2012. (For her part, Robertson married Humberto Preciado in 2020 and is currently pregnant with their third child.)

The founder of Ion Wines later dated Stephanie Winn from 2014 to 2017 after matching on Tinder. In 2021, Flajnik exclusively told Us Weekly that he was back on the apps.

“I sporadically go on Hinge every once in a while, so yeah, I suppose I’m on the apps,” Ben told Us at the time. “I live in Sonoma now, which is a fairly small town and that makes dating fairly difficult. … If I go on a bunch of first dates in the town of Sonoma then everyone probably just assumes I’m back being the Bachelor, which is not the case.”

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Though Flajnik was exploring the dating apps, he knew that he wouldn’t find love on TV. He turned down Bachelor in Paradise repeatedly.

“They’ve asked me to do it, like, five times,” he told Us, noting it would take “a lot” for him to return to the Bachelor franchise. “My handler at the time, Adam Mansfield, is now working on that show, so he always reaches out and I’m just too busy. I have too many projects and companies and I’m too old.”

Clearly, he didn’t need to go to paradise to meet his soul mate.