Who: Aaron Buerge & Helene Eksterowicz, The Bachelor 2
The Way They Were: Missouri boy banker Aaron, self-described as "genuine" and touted by show producers as a "renaissance man" (he can tickle the ivories, is opening a restaurant and has a pilot's license) happily hopped into the Bachelor throne, announcing he had "a big heart and a lot to give." Helene, a New Jersey school psychologist, wasn't the obvious choice: Most finale watchers were betting on runner-up bust-y Brooke, the perky blonde college student from Alabama. But Helene, whose final victory was nailed by cozying up to Buerge kin (as Brooke flashed her tattoo for Gramma), nabbed the Aaron trophy. When he bent down on one knee for the finale's big proposal, Helene -- after oohing over the ring -- insisted she would marry him, "without a doubt."

Reality Bites: Aaron, apparently, had enough doubts for the both of them. As the two struggled with long-distance love, reports leaked that Aaron was playing the field as his fiance stayed faithful in the far distant Garden State. And then just five weeks after the world watched their televised engagement came the horrid headlines: "Helene Dumped in a Starbucks." Indeed, her ex-beloved dropped his bombshell amid overpriced lattes. Gone, the blissful days of roses and romantic dates. "I felt deceived," Helene said. But karma's a bitch: Aaron's faced the heat in the press, raising ABC's ire for using The Bachelor title in unauthorized ads and garnering sneers as he struggles to sustain his minimal celebrity. Helene, meanwhile, is hanging her hat on a more wholesome accomplishment: Her New Jersey high school honored the "winner" for "bringing honor to her hometown."

Next: David Smith & Linda, The Next Joe Millionaire