With the fourth season of The Bachelor, ABC finally took some baby steps outside the usual pattern they had followed for the first three.

Sure, mortgage broker and aspiring rock singer Bob Guiney was still tall and still had those great teeth.

But he came to the show without the “Mr. Perfect” veneer of the other Bachelors, for three big reasons.

First, we'd already met Bob. When he was being rejected.

He was one of the suitors on the very first season of The Bachelorette vying for the heart of Trista Rehn. She turned him down, and although he became a fan favorite – and Trista still liked him enough to invite him to the wedding – it's a little difficult to spin the “Most Desirable Guy EVER!!!” hype if the entire nation has already seen him shot down once.

Second, he was already divorced. He was, according to his hastily-assembled inspirational personal memoir What a Difference a Year Makes, the injured party in the divorce. His wife reportedly dumped him – a la Sex and the City – via Post-It note (yikes!). Once again, with the divorce rate in this country, a 30-something guy who's divorced might be a more realistic Bachelor, but let's just say The Bachelor doesn't exactly usually aim for gritty realism.

And third, although he'd trimmed down by the time he was the star of the show, when he was wooing Trista, he was about 40 pounds heavier. Again, probably a lot closer to the reality of many real-life Bachelors, but not the flawless picture of perfection we had gotten used to seeing.

So what did Bob have going for him? He was no heir to a fortune, not your typical hunk, not an Ivy Leaguer like Alex Michel. What's left? The “Nice and Funny Guy” Factor. And with that – and the weight loss – he could be transformed from lovable schlub to diamond-in-the-rough that just needs the love of a good woman.

And there were plenty of very eager candidates in the running to be that good woman. Viewers of the season noted this seemed to be one of the most competitive bunch of women yet. Since the women had the chance to get to know Bob during The Bachelorette, many of them started out already very invested in him.

It's hard to know whether the Mr. Nice Guy persona was an act, or being in the enviable position of being the hunted instead of the hunter just got to him. But the temptation to make out as much as possible soon seemed to trump his concerns for the feelings of the women. At one point, he asked the women about his kissing. ''Does that make you guys feel weird?'' It did, but he brushed off their discomfort with the glib response: ''I'm very kissy.''

Estella Gardinier was one of those women who came on The Bachelor with a lot invested in Bob. Prior to the show, when producers asked her why she would want to look for love on a reality series, she replied "I wouldn't! However, have you seen Bob?" So she was still willing to accept the underwhelming promise ring Bob offered at the end of the series, along with the attendant promise he made “to see where we can go."

Where they went was to Trista Rehn and Ryan Sutter's televised wedding about a month after the final rose ceremony, in December 2003. Some speculated they only appeared together due to contractual obligations, and Bob's behavior – reportedly flirting with any woman who was not Estella – didn't help quell the rumors

Bob made an effort to deny the rumblings for a while, but only a few weeks after making a public declaration that they were “nowhere near splitsville,” the two were splitsville.

The separation was not a friendly one, it would appear. Bob reportedly broke up with Estella over the phone shortly after the wedding appearance, and she was public with some bitterness over the situation, saying, "He's not the person I thought he was…I don't see any reason to ever have a conversation with him." Bob had begun pursuing his rock career in earnest, which Estella though contributed to the relationship's demise. "The path that I'm taking is different from Bob's," she said. "He's a big-time star now! He's big-time, so my life doesn't compare to that."

Bob was willing to take the blame for the break-up, and conceded that he was being pulled in too many directions to work on the relationship.

However, it would appear it wasn't just professional obligations that were taking his time. Not too long after the announcement of their break-up, he was already dating soap actress Rebecca Budig from All My Children, whom he met in 2003 during a taping of a Bachelor special. Their courtship was just as speedy as one on The Bachelor. By May of 2004, the two were engaged, and they were married just a few months later.

Meanwhile, although his own band has never received a huge amount of public attention, Bob still keeps active in the entertainment world. He plays with the Band from TV, which features Hugh Laurie from House and other television stars, and is currently completing an album. He also occasionally hosts and makes appearances on various programs.

Bob might not have been on his best behavior with the women of The Bachelor, but so far he and Rebecca appear to be going strong three years later. It's not exactly what viewers probably expected when they tuned in to watch Bob find love on TV. However, since the two would probably never have met without the program, they can be considered at least one kind of success story for The Bachelor.

'The Bachelor' Rewind: Season 3
'The Bachelor' Rewind: Season 5


- Leslie Seaton, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Sources: iVillage, Entertainment Weekly, Reality TV World
(Images courtesy of ABC and iVillage)