‘Bachelorette’ Star Walks Away With Heft Sum in Divorce

Deanna Pappas, a contestant on season 11 of ABC’s The Bachelor, is six figures thanks to a legal win against ex-husband Stephen Stagliano.

Per TMZ, Stagliano was ordered by a judge to pay Pappas $109,000 she claimed was owed to her in the couple’s 2023 divorce. In addition to that sum, Stagliano was also ordered to fork over $27,240 to his ex-wife for her legal fees. TMZ further stated that the $109k was money Stephen moved from a retirement account of his that Pappas had interest in.

Pappas had previously stated that she was living off her savings to survive. She currently works as a flight attendant; a career move that followed several years of appearing on reality television. First, she made her way onto The Bachelor in 2007 where she made it to the final rose ceremony but was not selected by Bachelor Brad Womack. 

A stint as The Bachelorette followed during the show’s 2008 season. Her roles on both The Bachelor and The Bachelorette led to her working as a co-host on Lifetime’s reality series, Get Married. In 2011 her dating/wedding/reality show run continued with an appearance on Oxygen’s Bachelorette Party.

Stagliano reportedly worked for a video game company that folded because of a lack of funding and has recently worked as a driver for Uber, according to court documents. The couple married in 2011 and have two children.

In February 2025 Pappas was arrested for an altercation she had with Stagliano where she was accused of being intoxicated and having a domestic incident with her ex-husband. She’s denied the allegations.

With Pappas and Stagliano’s relationship back in the news, viewers are again continuing to speculate about a possible airing of the 22^nd season of The Bachelorette. The season was supposed to premiere in spring 2026 but was shelved because the season’s Bachelorette, Taylor Frankie Paul, was linked to numerous domestic disputes. 

Despite that, rumors continue to swirl that the season will air eventually, prompting Polymarket bettors to wager on the winner. Though “Other (season cancelled)” is the clear favorite among those trading (50%), Doug Mason is a close second (40.8%). 

As for whether we’ll publicly see if Mason received the final rose … stay tuned.

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