During The Bachelor Season 28’s “Women Tell All” episode, franchise host Jesse Palmer aired a silly little segment of edited clips that showed lead Joey Graziadei dishing out compliments like, “Jesse is a better tennis player than me” and “Jesse was a better Bachelor than me.” The prank gave Bachelor Nation a good chuckle, sure. But it also left some viewers wondering, “Was Jesse Palmer ever a Bachelor star?”

The answer — and this may shock some of you — is yes!

In 2021, longtime host and executive producer Chris Harrison stepped away from the Bachelor franchise after coming under fire for excusing and defending historical racism to the first Black Bachelorette lead, Rachel Lindsay. As noted in a previous piece, in wake of his controversial exit, author and former pro-football player Emmanuel Acho stepped in to host The Bachelor‘s Season 25 “After The Final Rose” special; franchise alum Tayshia Adams and Kaitlyn Bristowe joined forces to co-host Seasons 17 and 18 of The Bachelorette; and a rotating lineup of guest hosts, including David Spade, Lil Jon, Tituss Burgess, Lance Bass, and beloved Paradise bartender Wells Adams led Season 7 of Bachelor in Paradise.

Then, in September 2021, the franchise hired Bachelor alum and former NFL quarterback-turned-TV-host Jesse Palmer to lead Clayton Echard’s season of The Bachelor. Since then, Palmer has hosted seasons of The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, Bachelor in Paradise, and The Golden Bachelor, but some people still don’t know his history with the franchise.

So when was Jesse Palmer on The Bachelor? Who was the winner of Jesse Palmer’s season? And who is Jesse Palmer’s wife today? Here’s everything you need to know about the franchise host’s love story.

As noted earlier, yes! Part of the reason Palmer was selected to host the franchise after Harrison’s departure is because of his ties to The Bachelor. Who better to host the show than someone who’s experienced the journey firsthand, right? Prior to his franchise hosting job, Palmer also maintained a relationship with ABC over the years, hosting shows like The Proposal and The Ultimate Surfer.

So when was Jesse Palmer’s season of The Bachelor? Palmer was cast as The Bachelor‘s Season 5 lead. The season aired in 2004 when Palmer, now 45, was 25 years old.

Select seasons of The Bachelor are currently available to stream on Hulu, but unfortunately the platform only has Season 14, Season 15, Season 20, Season 22, Season 23, and several episodes from the current Season 28 at this time. So how did Jesse Palmer’s Bachelor season end? Here’s what you need to know.

Palmer gave his final Bachelor rose to contestant Jessica Bowlin, but the two broke up a month after their finale aired, meaning they had one of the shortest relationships in Bachelor history. After his time on the show, however, Palmer still found his happily ever after and is currently married — plus, he’s a new dad!

Jesse Palmer’s wife is Emely Fardo, a Brazilian model and photographer. The two started dating in 2017, got engaged in 2019, and got married in 2020 (then again in 2022). Those who watched Palmer host The Golden Wedding earlier this year will recall him announcing his wife was due to give birth any day, and the couple welcomed their first child — daughter, Ella Reine — in January 2024.

You can obviously catch Palmer hosting The Bachelor shows, but if you want to stay up-to-date with him and Fardo outside of the franchise, you can follow them on Instagram at @jessepalmer and @emelyfardopalmer.