| The Bachelor | |
|---|---|
| Season 2 | |
 Promotional poster | |
| Starring | Aaron Buerge |
| Presented by | Chris Harrison |
| No. of contestants | 25 |
| Winner | Helene Eksterowicz |
| Runner-up | Brooke Smith |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 9 (including 1 special) |
| Release | |
| Original network | ABC |
| Original release | September 25 – November 20, 2002 |
| Season chronology | |
The second season of ABC reality television series The Bachelor premiered on September 25, 2002. The show featured 28-year-old Aaron Buerge, a banker from Butler, Missouri. The season concluded on November 20, 2002, with Buerge choosing to propose to 27-year-old school psychologist Helene Eksterowicz. They ended their engagement 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 Vaught | 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 Campion | 24 | Walnut Creek, California | Marriage Therapy Trainee | Week 3 |
| Kyla Dickerson | 22 | Midvale, Utah | Airline Supervisor | Week 3 |
| Shannon Fries | 26 | North Lindenhurst, New York | Graphic Artist | Week 3 |
| Dana Norris | 24 | Beverly Hills, California | Radio Sales | Week 2 |
| Erin Lulevitch | 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 | Brooklyn, New York | Attorney | Week 2 (Quit) |
| Amber West | 26 | Chapel Hill, North Carolina | Psychologist | Week 1 |
| Camille Langfield | 29 | Sherman Oaks, California | Actress | Week 1 |
| Cari | 29 | Granite City, Illinois | 3rd Grade Teacher | Week 1 |
| Christy | 24 | Avondale, Arizona | Radiological Technologist | Week 1 |
| Erin A. | 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 Todd | 26 | Dallas, Texas | Former NBA Cheerleader | Week 1 |
| Merrilee Donohue | 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 | Frances | |||||
| 15 | Amber | Heather (TX) | Anindita | |||||
| 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
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date | Prod. code | U.S. viewers (millions) | Rating/share (18–49) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 1 | "Revealed" | September 25, 2002 | 200 | 8.90[1] | N/A |
| 9 | 2 | "Week 1" | October 2, 2002 | 201 | 11.00[1] | 4.9/12[2] |
|
There were no dates during the first week. Amber, Camille, Cari, Christy from Arizona, Erin from Texas, Fatima, Liangy, Lori, Merrilee, and Suzi were all sent home in the first rose ceremony. | ||||||
| 10 | 3 | "Week 2" | October 9, 2002 | 202 | 12.80[1] | 6.4/16[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. | ||||||
| 11 | 4 | "Week 3" | October 16, 2002 | 203 | 12.60[1] | 5.9/15[2] |
|
One-on-one date: 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 date: Brooke Christi from Idaho, Heather from California, Kyla, and Shannon were eliminated at the rose ceremony. | ||||||
| 12 | 5 | "Week 4" | October 23, 2002 | 204 | 14.90[1] | 7.0/17[2] |
|
One-on-one date: Helene One-on-one date: Gwen Group date: Angela, Brooke, and Hayley One-on-one date: Heather from Texas Hayley and Heather from Texas were eliminated at the rose ceremony. | ||||||
| 13 | 6 | "Week 5" | October 30, 2002 | 205 | 15.00[1] | 7.3/18[2] |
|
Hometown Visits: Angela – Kansas City, Missouri; Helene – Gloucester, New Jersey; Gwen – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Brooke – Albertville, Alabama. Angela was eliminated at the rose ceremony. | ||||||
| 14 | 7 | "Week 6" | November 6, 2002 | 206 | 16.30[1] | 7.8/18[2] |
|
Overnight Dates: Brooke, Gwen, and Helene. Gwen was eliminated at the rose ceremony. | ||||||
| 15 | 8 | "The Women Tell All" | November 13, 2002 | N/A | 16.80[1] | 7.7/19[2] |
| 16 | 9 | "Week 7" | November 20, 2002 | 207 | 25.90[1] | 11.9/28[2] |
|
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. | ||||||