'Bachelor' Alums Who You Didn't Realize Hang Out

Bachelor contestants are such a fascinating group of people. The fact that these people form friendships while competing to date the same person has always been such a wild concept to me. But I guess it makes sense to befriend your romantic rivals if you're spending so much time just chilling in a mansion without TV or internet. While I've come to understand this situation, I am still a little confused when people from different Bachelor and Bachelorette seasons end up being friends. How do they even know each other? Did they just meet via Twitter DMs or are there some sort of secret Bachelor alum conventions?

It seems like these people are always tagging each other in posts on social media and putting up pics of themselves hanging out, but I just have zero clue how they got together. Thank god for social media — or at least that's how I assume a lot of them started talking to each other. No matter how they met, as a fan it's just so strange seeing these people who we know in such a specific context chilling with people who seem so random.

Did you realize that the Bachelor and Bachelorette alums below are hanging out on the reg?

JoJo Fletcher & Jake Pavelka

This one isn't super shocking if you've been keeping up with the current season of The Bachelorette — former Bachelor Jake Pavelka appeared in the first episode of the season to give JoJo some advice. But while the show mentioned that JoJo and Jake are friends, it didn't go in depth about JoJo and Jake's years-long relationship. According to Wet Paint, JoJo's brother Ben Patton went to school with Jake and he has been close with the fam ever since.

Ben Higgins & Chris Soules

Aside from both having their own Bachelor seasons, Ben and Chris both "dated" Kaitlyn Bristowe on reality TV, so maybe she introduced them? Or these two just met at some sort of Bachelor reunion? No matter how these two connected, it is very clear that the bromance between them is strong.

Kaitlyn Bristowe & Andi Dorfman

Maybe these two met in some sort of support group for Nick Viall exes since he made it to the final two on both of their seasons. If you follow Kaitlyn and Andi on Instagram and Twitter, it's evident that they get along very well and that they have more in common than a mutual ex and reality TV fame.

Ali Fedotowsky & Catherine Giudici Lowe

So many ladies in Bachelor Nation are pregnant these days, so I'm sure that these two expectant moms have a lot to talk about.

Amanda Stanton & Ashley Iaconetti

Ashley and Amanda know each other well enough to go to a concert together.

Trista Sutter & Tenley Molzahn

Trista was the original Bachelorette and Tenley made it to the final two on Jake's season. That's a pretty long gap in time, but it seems like everyone in the Bachelor family ends up connecting somehow.

Nick Viall & Ashley Iaconetti

It seems like Nick hasn't met a Bachelor alum he doesn't like, so it's really not too crazy to see him with any woman from the show.

Ben Higgins & Trista & Ryan Sutter

I have a feeling that Ben and Lauren Bushnell will end up with a love story just as revered as Trista and Ryan's, so I see why this group would connect. But aside from that, it actually does make sense for them to see each other every now and then since both couples live in Colorado.

Shawn Booth With Chris Strandburg, Ben Zorn, & Tanner Tolbert

I know that so many of the contestants end up getting along and keeping in touch, but I'll never get over how weird it is that these people all dated the same person. But apparently Shawn Booth is more than cool with Kaitlyn's former suitors.

Becca Tilley, Nick Viall, & Jubilee Sharp

Nick and Becca have both looked for love on TV multiple times, so I'm not at all surprised that these two struck up a friendship. And I never noticed Becca and Jubilee hanging on The Bachelor, but if you follow them on social media, you know that they get along.

Carly Waddell & Brady Toops

Wait, what? Judging by the caption, I guess these two met because they both live in Nashville. Brady wasn't even really on The Bachelorette since he peaced when Kaitlyn was chosen over Britt Nilsson to be the star of the season. He ended up dating Britt for a while, but he wasn't a conventional part of the Bachelor fam since they dated outside of the show.

As strange as it seems, the members of the Bachelor family have gone through unique experiences that only they understand, so it does make sense for their paths to cross. Still, it just is so random to see some of them hanging out on their own outside of Bachelor-related events.