The Truth About Bachelorette Star Robby Hayes' Dating History
Although he did not receive the final rose from JoJo Fletcher on Season 12 of "The Bachelorette," Robby Hayes' time in the spotlight hardly stopped there. Aside from stints on various "Bachelor" spinoffs and other reality shows, the Florida State alum owns a marketing agency called Rebella, which focuses on brand development and influencer marketing, according to the agency's Instagram page. He's also stayed in the headlines thanks to a legal fight with his former roommate and fellow Bachelor Nation alum Jef Holm, which resulted in "a temporary restraining order against [Hayes]" for entering his former abode uninvited, according to Us Weekly.
But Hayes isn't just chasing notoriety; he's also still looking for love. From fellow members of Bachelor Nation to stars of other reality TV franchises, the former competitive swimmer has had quite a few high-profile relationships during his time in and out of the spotlight. As is the case with so many reality stars, Hayes is no stranger to drama, and his past romantic relationships are no exception. Below, we've gathered the truth about Robby Hayes' dating history.
Nobody really knows what went on with Robby Hayes and Hope Higginbotham
On Season 12 of "The Bachelor," Robby Hayes was accused of having broken up with a girlfriend, Hope Higginbotham, in order to be a contestant on the show, according to Bustle. When asked about the situation by Bachelorette JoJo Fletcher, Hayes denied this accusation, which had purportedly been spread by Higginbotham's roommate. But the rumor didn't die there. In June 2016, Hayes' fellow contestant, Chad Johnson, who was known on the season for having a bad temper and has since been arrested on charges of domestic violence, posted some since-deleted, PDA-packet Instagram photos with Higginbotham, per ET. The caption on the post, presumably aimed at Hayes, read, "A great girl like her deserves so much better than someone who lies, cheats, and ends a four year long relationship in order to pursue fame on a tv show."
According to Bustle, gossip writer Reality Steve reached out to Higginbotham for an interview, but Higginbotham declined and implied that her ex-boyfriend had threatened her into silence. Hayes denied this rumor, tweeting, "That moment your ex and the 'villain' work together to spread lies about you. Ever hear of slander?"
Johnson brought up the rumors yet again on the "Men Tell All" episode of "The Bachelorette" in July 2016, prompting Hayes to release a statement to Bustle categorically denying the claims. While we likely will never know the full story, the Florida native definitely had a rocky start to his journey to find love.
Robby Hayes nearly proposed to JoJo Fletcher
"Bachelor" franchise fans will remember Robby Hayes as the runner-up from JoJo Fletcher's season of "The Bachelorette." In 2016, he vied for the real estate developer's heart and nearly received her final rose. While Fletcher ended up getting engaged to former pro football player Jordan Rodgers, Hayes made quite the impression on her — and her family. When the former competitive swimmer met the Fletcher family during the finale, he was instantly their favorite. The Florida native couldn't contain his eagerness to ask the Fletchers for JoJo's hand, saying, "I'm excited to ask her father for his blessing. It's something I've been waiting to do since I told her I loved her." Fletcher's mom, Soraya, described Hayes as "gentle" and "soft," and her approval was almost enough to sway Fletcher towards #TeamRobby.
Unfortunately for Hayes, though, it wasn't quite enough. Sounding much like a Hallmark greeting card, Hayes began to profess his love for Fletcher, saying, "My future longs for you, my heart yearns for you, and I undoubtedly and wholeheartedly am in love with you. I am crazy about you, it's a love so deep it makes me weak in the knees." However, she cut him off, bidding Hayes a tearful goodbye before accepting Rodgers' proposal. For all of the swimmer's sappy language, however, People notes that Hayes "basically didn't shed a single tear" after the rejection. Was he really there for the right reasons?
The Bachelorette star dated Raven Gates on Bachelor in Paradise
In the summer of 2017, Robby Hayes traveled to the Playa Escondida resort in Sayulita, Mexico to compete on Season 4 of the franchise spin-off "Bachelor in Paradise." Upon arriving at the beach, Hayes received a date card and decided to invite Arkansas native Raven Gates, the runner-up from Nick Viall's season of "The Bachelor," on a date, but things didn't go so well.
According to Us Weekly, Gates wasn't feeling it, telling Hayes, "I can't go on another date with someone who has prettier hair than me, prettier skin than me, prettier abs than me." There were even rumors that Hayes was wearing eyeliner on the show, although he denied those claims. Make-up scandal or no, Gates chose not to continue seeing Hayes.
Oddly enough, Hayes thought that things were going well with Gates, but as Us Weekly also reported, Gates had "made fun of him to her friends," so it was time for Hayes to seek a rose from someone else. Luckily for the Florida native, there were several other eligible women on the beach for Hayes to woo.
Robby Hayes moved on to Amanda Stanton
After getting dumped by Raven Gates on "Bachelor in Paradise," Robby Hayes dated Amanda Stanton, who appeared on Season 20 of "The Bachelor" and Season 3 of "Bachelor in Paradise." The two split soon after filming ended and appeared on the reunion special to discuss the breakup. While People described their conversation as "relatively civil," tensions between the exes soon escalated as rumors of Hayes' infidelity surfaced. In response to these accusations, Hayes tweeted, "While I won't be one to resort to vicious social media attacks, at the finale, I felt like I was sitting next to a stranger. I'll never understand why there's such a desperate need to present an 'innocent persona' and resort to allowing allegations that are blatantly untrue be said about me." Stanton responded by tweeting a photo of what appears to be Hayes kissing another woman.
As if this relationship couldn't get messier, the exes got into another social media spat months later. According to E!, in April 2018, Stanton tweeted, "I got a new debit card last month and got an email from an ex this morning forwarding me an email that his Disneyland Annual Pass payment was declined & to update my card info... I sure know how to pick em." Though she didn't name Hayes, he soon posted screenshots of emails between Stanton and himself regarding the issue — including a crass remark about her "nice new t*ts." A shocked Stanton told E!, "It's a shame he still harbors such harsh emotions towards me."
Robby Hayes vied for love on Bachelor in Paradise multiple times
Robby Hayes just can't stay away from the "Bachelor" franchise. In 2018, the reality star made another appearance on the "Bachelor in Paradise" beach for the show's fifth season. After receiving a date card, Hayes initially wanted to ask out Jenna Cooper, but fellow Florida native Jordan Kimball, who had been seeing Cooper, discouraged him from doing so, telling him that "It'd be a waste of a date card," according to People.
Instead, Hayes opted to invite Shushanna Mkrtychyan from Ben Higgins' season of "The Bachelor" on the date. Since rumors about Hayes' alleged infidelity during his relationship with Amanda Stanton had been swirling around the beach, Mkrtychyan asked him if he had cheated on her. People reported that he responded with an "adamant 'no,'" which Mkrtychyan appeared to believe, choosing to give him her final rose. However, instead of heading to the Fantasy Suites, where couples have the option of consummating their relationship, the pair decided to go their separate ways at the end of the show.
Vanderpump in Paradise?
Robby Hayes sure knows his way around the reality TV circuit. In March 2018, "Vanderpump Rules" star Scheana Marie Shay told Us Weekly that she did not have a romantic relationship with Robby Hayes, despite posting an Instagram picture with him captioned with a single yellow heart emoji days prior. However, just months later in May, TMZ spotted the two on vacation together in Hawaii, sparking more dating rumors.
The "are they or aren't they?" speculation was officially put to rest when, in an episode of "Vanderpump Rules" that aired in January 2019, Hayes and Shay went on a date. Couple name #Shayes, perhaps? People reported that the server said in a confessional, "He always makes me feel special. If things keep going well, I could definitely see myself falling for him." Meanwhile, Hayes made sure to note that the two tended to hang out together "in a big group of friends." The pair were also seen making out on the episode, seemingly indicating intensifying feelings, although no official couple announcement was ever released.
Then, in August 2019, Hayes and Shay were photographed kissing yet again, this time at a club in Las Vegas, per People. The reality stars may like to kiss, but they certainly don't seem to like to tell people about it.
Robby Hayes dated yet another reality star
In 2019, the business owner began dating Juliette Porter of "Siesta Key," an MTV reality show set in Robby Hayes' home state of Florida. In classic Bachelor Nation fashion, the two met at Stagecoach — fans will recall "Bachelorette" favorite Blake Horstmann's infamous back-to-back hookups with Caelynn Miller-Keyes and Kristina Schulman at the music festival — and connected right away. In May 2019, the pair confirmed the relationship with a now-deleted Instagram post of themselves kissing on a beach, per E!. The happy couple gushed on social media, with both Hayes and Porter posting romantic pictures.
In July 2019, sources confirmed to E! that the two had gone their separate ways. Then, in a joint December 2019 interview with Us Weekly, the former couple shared details about the romance and breakup. Hayes revealed that their relationship "just kind of fizzled," and Porter admitted that the relationship had been a "rebound" following her breakup with "Siesta Key" co-star Alex Kompothecras. She also emphasized the difficulties of dating on camera, saying, "Honestly, we were in our own bubble and we went back to Siesta Key and things just got real again and reality set in. And we're on a TV show that has a lot of stress." Porter elaborated on this in a May 2021 interview with Us Weekly, revealing, "I regret breaking up with Robby on camera and, like, not telling him at all it was coming." To translate this into Bachelor Nation language, Porter majorly blindsided Hayes.
Dating drama seems to follow Robby Hayes
In a report filed on July 16, 2019 that was obtained by TMZ in August 2019, Lindsie Chrisley alleged that her father, "Chrisley Knows Best" star Todd Chrisley and brother, Chase Chrisley, were extorting her using a sex tape of her and Robby Hayes. According to E!, Lindsie's estranged father responded to this allegation, denying the claims while confirming that she'd had "extramarital relationships with Robby Hayes and [professional baseball player and Bachelor Nation alum] Josh Murray" years prior. In his statement, Todd said, "Sadly, for reasons we can only guess at, [Lindsie] ran to the sheriff's office to accuse her brother of buying a sex tape of her and Robby, which was a complete lie, and now she's telling more lies about me."
Robby disputed Todd's claim. The Florida native addressed the allegations on the "Bleav in Behind Bravo" podcast, saying that he and Lindsie had been "caught on the security camera" and had not intended to make a sex tape at all. He further explained that there was "no consent from either end, which kind of debunks the whole thing," and said that he and Lindsie were "in the middle of dealing with" how the footage got out in the first place.
In an interesting twist, Todd's allegation that his daughter also hooked up with Josh, makes yet another connection back to Amanda Stanton, who also dated the baseball star. Sounds like Amanda and Lindsie have similar types.