ABC’s “The Bachelor” is supposed to be about finding true love. On TV, of course. The show’s track record for successful relationships, however, is abyssmal. For all the “opening up” these couples do and for all the “connections” they feel, it never quite seems to work out in the end. Add another one to the list.

The latest Bachelor engagement – between Matt Grant, a British businessman, and Shayne Lamas, daughter of actor Lorenzo Lamas – is over. While they were together, the tabloids questioned whether Grant was in it for the green card. As a foreign citizen, marriage to a U.S. citizen would have smoothed some legal hurdles to establishing a residence in the United States.

Lamas says now that the pair predictably remains friends and that she is keeping the 2.85 carat diamond engagement ring that Grant proposed with (and ABC presumably paid for). There is no indication that Grant asked for its return. If he did, whether or not the law allowed Lamas to keep the ring might depend on the state of jurisdiction. UPDATE (August 4, 2008): Grant suggested that the ring be auctioned and that the two split the proceeds and donate to their respective preferred charities. No word yet on Lamas’ response to this suggestion.
The Bachelor debuted in 2002 and has had 12 different bachelors since. None of the bachelors have married anyone they met on the show although one – Byron Velvick – is apparently still with his chosen bachelorette. The show spawned a spin-off, The Bachelorette, which has run four times. One bachelorette, Trista Rehn, married the man she chose on the show. Shockingly, they are still together five years later. Of the others, only the most recent contestant remains in a relationship with her reality show fiance (and that’s the one that aired just a few weeks ago).