There are three inevitable parts of life – death, taxes, and couples from reality TV breaking up.
While viewers usually can see many breakups implosions coming a mile off, others shocked us to our core – leaving us wondering if it is really possible to find love on a dating show.
Some celebrity relationships have ended after just a few short months together, while other couples seemed on track to get married before announcing their split.
Keep scrolling to see the couples whose breakups we didn’t see coming.
Alex Nation and Richie Strahan – The Bachelor
Viewers were left devastated when Richie Strahan picked Alex Nation over Nikki Gogan on The Bachelor in 2015.
But we were still shocked when Alex and Richie announced their split – after all, they infamously bathed in chocolate together.
It seemed they had what it took to go the distance, with the Bachelor lead even forming his own special bond with Alex’s then-five-year-old son Elijah.
But in 2017, Alex and Richie broke up after roughly a year together, with the young mum later revealing their relationship ended over text.
Richie himself admitted their breakup didn’t go down too nicely, later saying on Bachelor In Paradise: “The circumstances surrounding our relationship and how it all came to an end, it’s pretty grubby, it did a lot of damage.”
Brooke Blurton and Darvid Garayeli – The Bachelorette
While we’d argue most Bachelorette couples will inevitably implode, the speed at which Brooke and Darvid’s relationship ended sent shockwaves through the fandom.
After just three months together, Brooke and Darvid announced their breakup on New Year’s Day 2022.
Their breakup was particularly shocking given that Darvid had just sold his house in Queensland and moved down to Melbourne to live with Brooke.
“Starting the new year off with an end to a chapter and hopefully the beginning of another,” Darvid shared on Instagram.
“Unfortunately Brooke and I have parted ways. Whilst we both genuinely thought we were each other’s person, things change and that’s okay.”
The split got messy pretty quickly, with Brooke claiming Darvid tried to “humiliate” her by going public with their split.
Blake Garvey and Sam Frost – The Bachelor
We’d be remiss if we didn’t include the chaotic mess that was Blake Garvey and Sam Frost‘s relationship on this list.
On the second season of The Bachelor in 2014, Blake proposed to down-to-earth Sam – and viewers couldn’t have been happier with his decision.
But as soon as it began, it was over. Blake sparked national outrage after getting down on one knee, only to break up with her shortly after.
To make their sudden breakup all the more shocking, the real estate agent then ended up with the woman who took out third place on the season, Louise Pillidge.
Blake and Louise lasted 18 months before going their separate ways and eventually fading into obscurity.
Josh Moss and Amelia Plummer – Love Island
While Love Island isn’t known for producing long-lasting couples, Josh and Amelia broke the mold by staying together for a whopping four years after their season wrapped.
The couple took fans by surprise in May 2022 by announcing they’d gone their separate ways.
Amelia even admitted to her followers that their breakup would come as a shock, saying: “I think we portrayed a happy healthy relationship”.
“And it was that for most of the part, but there was also a lot of challenging moments we didn’t share,” she said.
Josh and Amelia seemed like the picture-perfect couple, having moved in with each other just one year before their split.
Matt Agnew and Chelsie McLeod – The Bachelor
Like Brooke and Darvid, Chelsie and Matt’s breakup came very suddenly.
Just two months after The Bachelor 2019 finale aired, the beloved couple announced they had gone their separate ways.
“Our relationship hasn’t translated from filming to the real, everyday world,” Matt wrote to his fans.
Chelsie penned on her own Instagram: “Matt showed me what it was like to be respected in a relationship and I am so thankful for that. However, it saddens me to say that we are no longer together.”
Lizzie Sobinoff and Seb Guilhaus – Married at First Sight
Season seven stars Lizzie and Seb gave us hope that some MAFS relationships could go the distance.
Lizzie and Seb’s attraction was instant when they met at the altar and were the only couple to leave the experiment together.
But in January 2021, after 14 months of dating, the pair announced in a joint Instagram statement that they had split.
“We have mutually decided to end our relationship as boyfriend and girlfriend… we both have cherished each other and have grown together,” they penned.
Their breakup was especially shocking considering they had fuelled engagement rumours when they exchanged rings with each other’s initials inscribed on them.
“He said to me ‘Is it S & L ?’ I said ‘Yeah, baby’ @seb.guilhaus Corny but I love it,” Lizzie captioned a photo of their matching jewellery on Instagram just four months before they broke up.