The Stunning Transformation Of Andi Dorfman
If you're a consumer of pop culture, there's a good chance you've heard the name Andi Dorfman. Maybe it's from your time watching "The Bachelor" franchise, perhaps it's because you've enjoyed reading her best-selling books, or maybe it's because you downloaded her running app. Dorfman has come a long way since she dumped controversial Bachelor Juan Pablo Galavis on national television, to say the least.
Her journey in the public eye all began at an open audition for "The Bachelor," but she wasn't exactly looking for love when she went. "Everyone always asks me, 'What made you go to the casting call in the first place?' And I say two words: free drinks," she quipped in a 2016 BUILD interview. "I ended up doing the first casting call, not knowing what to expect." And the rest is history.
So what has happened to Dorfman since we last saw her on our screens? And what did she get up to before she became a public figure? Let's trace Dorfman's steps back to when she was a kid in the Peach State, all the way to her dreamy 2023 wedding, plus every milestone she's achieved along the way.
Andi Dorfman grew up in Georgia
Before Andi Dorfman was a famous TV personality, she was a kid growing up in Atlanta, Georgia. She was born Andi Janette Dorfman on April 3, 1987, to parents Hy Lewis Dorfman and Patti Smith Dorfman. She has an older sister called Rachel Dorfman, and the two have a strong bond. As Andi wrote in a People.com blog post, Rachel is "the person I trust most in this world." Andi is also the niece of Scott Dorfman, a successful entrepreneur and founder of the multimillion dollar company Innotrac Corporation, and the cousin of "13 Reasons Why" star Tommy Dorfman. After Tommy came out as a trans woman in 2021, Andi told People that she was beyond proud of her cousin. "Tommy has always bravely and boldly lived life by her own terms and it's something I have always admired and been in absolute awe of," the reality star said.
Andi was passionate about sports from an early age, and she even joined a local Little League team. She then made her way to middle school, but her experience wasn't entirely positive. As she said in People in 2020, "I feel like just like most 13-year-old girls, I went through phases of feeling insecure and bullied." She later attended Chattahoochee High School, where she played on the varsity tennis team and was voted "Most Spirited" by her senior class of 2005.
She became a lawyer
After graduating high school in 2005, Andi Dorfman attended Louisiana State University where she achieved her Bachelor of Science in Communication and earned a spot on the dean's list. After graduating in 2009, she enrolled in law school, achieving her J.D. at Wake Forest University School of Law. She passed the bar exam in 2012 and went on to score a job at the Fulton County DA's office. She was an assistant district attorney and she focused on gang prosecution. "I put the bad guys away," she said of her career in the premiere episode of her season of "The Bachelorette" (via Us Weekly). "I love fighting crime. It's empowering." And evidently, she pulled no punches in the courtroom: After she made her Bachelor Nation debut, ALM reported she once successfully got a murder conviction in just eight minutes.
In order to appear on Juan Pablo Galavis' season of "The Bachelor," Dorfman was granted a temporary leave of absence by her boss, District Attorney Paul Howard. Her skills definitely came in handy on "The Bachelor." As Galavis stated in one particularly dramatic episode (via Entertainment Weekly), "She's a lawyer. I'm not going to argue with a lawyer."
Her time on The Bachelor ended on a sour note
On Juan Pablo Galavis' season of "The Bachelor," Andi Dorfman made it all the way to the final three, but ultimately decided to leave the morning after her fantasy suite date. "Waking up this morning I could not wait to get out of the fantasy suite," Dorfman said in a talking head (via ABC News). "I saw a side to him that I didn't really like. The whole night was a disaster."
Following their evening in the fantasy suite, Dorfman sat down with Galavis and told him that she would be leaving, noting that he never made an actual effort to get to know her. As she expressed her various grievances, Galavis insisted, "It's okay." This did not sit well with Dorfman. "Everything is always 'it's okay,' and I want to die if I have to hear 'it's okay' again. I can't handle it," she said.
The heated conversation would go on to inspire the title of her first book, "It's Not Okay." And yes, in the book, she got into what really happened. "He was honest to the point of offensive, entitled to the point of elitism and pompous to the point of disgust," she wrote. "He blasted Ray J and R. Kelly all night long and showed me dozens of videos of his old soccer highlights on YouTube." She also claimed he bragged about his relationship with Clare Crawley, another contestant. "[It] blew my mind that he thought that was OK to talk about it."
Andi Dorfman was cast as the Bachelorette
After her dramatic exit from Juan Pablo Galavis' season of "The Bachelor," ABC announced fan-favorite Andi Dorfman would lead "The Bachelorette" Season 10 in 2014. Week by week she narrowed down the men until there were only two left — sales executive Nick Viall and former pro baseball player Josh Murray. Ultimately it was Murray who got the final rose, leaving Viall heartbroken. "Man, I really thought this was it," Viall said on the finale (via ABC News). "I really thought she loved me."
Murray got down on one knee in the Dominican Republic. "Andi you are the answer to all of my prayers you are the answer to my dreams you are the woman I thought never existed in this world. All my worries, they just seem to vanish when I'm with you," he said. Per The Hollywood Reporter's recap of the proposal, she then declared, "I have loved you since the first moment I laid eyes on you." Though Viall received the first impression rose, Murray was an obvious front-runner, as Dorfman described him as being her "type."
We've seen our fair share of awkward "Bachelorette" moments, but nothing like when Viall's called her out on TV about their fantasy suite night. "If you weren't in love with me, I'm just not sure why you made love with me," he stated at the "After the Final Rose" reunion (via Us Weekly). Dorfman went on to call his remarks "below the belt."
She resigned as assistant district attorney
In June 2014, Andi Dorfman officially resigned from her post at the DA's office. In her letter of resignation, which was obtained by TMZ, she acknowledged that her career as a public figure made it just about impossible to get back into the legal game at that time. However, she wasn't totally closed off to the idea of one day returning to the DA's office, even stating that she believed her schedule would be free by the end of the year. "At that time, I sincerely hope you will strongly consider me for rehire," she added.
Dorfman never did return to law and hit back at the backlash she received for her resignation. "I'm still a career woman. Just because I'm not in a courtroom doesn't make me less of a career woman. I'm still driven," she wrote in "It's Not Okay." Dorfman also noted that there's no denying that reality TV stardom was more lucrative. "Although I loved my job, I didn't love making $57,000 a year working 60-hour weeks. And, as luck would have it, I didn't have to do that," she wrote. "I had an opportunity to travel, do fun things, and spend time loving up on my (then) fiancé. Let's be honest, if anyone had the opportunity to make money having fun versus fighting rush-hour traffic just to grind it out at work day after day, they'd choose the former. I don't care how much you love your job."
Andi Dorfman broke up with Josh Murray
Andi Dorfman and Josh Murray's happy ending was short-lived, and they split just nine months after getting engaged on "The Bachelorette." The demise of the relationship took a tremendous toll on Dorfman. "I don't generally think of myself as a weak person, but it rocked me," she said on ABC News' "Nightline." "I literally slept until noon every day at which point I would watch TV. I'd loaf around in yoga pants and a smelly t-shirt. I'd drink wine. I was just a loser, in a sense."
In "It's Not Okay," Dorfman called their time together "the most volatile and f**ked up relationship of my life." According to her account, Murray was combative, jealous, and controlling throughout their time together after "The Bachelorette." And according to Dorfman, her night in the fantasy suite with Nick Viall played a big part in the relationship falling apart. "That one sexual escapade would become a power play used by my fiancé to justify his mistrust in me. It would be an excuse to call me a wh**e," she wrote.
In a statement to ABC News, Murray addressed Dorfman's claims about their relationship. "It saddens me and is very unfortunate that Andi has chosen to characterize me in such a negative way. I pray she finds peace," he stated.
She wrote her first book, It's Not Okay
In 2016, Andi Dormfan released her first book, "It's Not Okay: Turning Heartbreak Into Happily Never After," an explosive tell-all about her relationships and experience with Bachelor Nation. It's easy to see why the book became a New York Times best seller; let's just say Dorfman doesn't mince her words.
For starters, she wrote about her night with Nick Viall in the fantasy suite, calling it a "cringe-worthy" evening. "As he opened his mouth to speak, I was certain he was going to tell me he loved me," she recounted. "But instead, he asked, 'Would you rather?'...'Ummm...would I rather what?' 'Would you rather make love...or f**k?' he asked, without hesitation or the slightest sense of how bizarre this conversation was."
As previously noted, she also wrote about how toxic things got with Josh Murray once "The Bachelorette" cameras were no longer rolling. "If I talked to another man, I was a 'wh**e.' If I disagreed, I was 'argumentative.' If I defied him, I was a 'b**ch,'" she shared. Dorfman also said the pair often got into fights over her social media presence: "If I didn't post a 'Man Crush Monday' of him, he'd get upset. If I posted a 'Throwback Thursday' of my friends instead of us, he'd find it suspect."
She wrote her second book, Single State of Mind
In 2018, Andi Dorfman's dropped her second book, "Single State of Mind," in which she documents her dating adventures and mishaps as a single woman living in New York City. Dorfman digs into her experience with dating apps, recounts the time she flew to Canada for an especially memorable hookup, and looks back on what it was like watching her ex get engaged on "Bachelor In Paradise."
Dorfman said the unexpected success of her first book gave her the confidence to release her second. "I did not expect for it to even sell out in any bookstore, let alone be a New York Times best seller," she said in an interview with BUILD. "[T]he fact that people were responding, actually buying the book, gave me a lot of motivation to continue writing."
Dorfman explained that a lot of the book was informed by old journal entries, describing writing as her personal form of therapy. "I started the first one, 'It's Not Okay,' when I was going through a breakup ... I didn't really know how to handle it, who to talk to, who to trust, and I just literally picked up a notebook and a pen and started writing," she told Carrie's Chronicles. "From that, came all these stories and it kind of became my outlet and my way to purge. I did the exact same thing with [my new book] 'Single State of Mind.'"
Andi Dorfman decided to freeze her eggs
In 2018, Andi Dorfman opened up about her decision to freeze her eggs and taking her family's future into her own hands. "I can't guarantee a husband, but by freezing my eggs, I can guarantee kids," Dorfman told Motherly. "It felt like a great way to take off the pressure."
Dorfman underwent the freezing process with the help of her friend Whitney Bischoff, a fertility nurse whom she met on "The Bachelor." In a 2023 interview with E! News, Dorfman said the process empowered her to not rush into having kids with the wrong person. "I'm actually super happy I did it because I think in hindsight—even though I didn't feel it at the time—I look back and I know that it kept me from settling," she said.
In her book "Single State of Mind," Dorfman said she always envisioned herself married with kids by the age of 30. Freezing her eggs stopped her from focusing on her ticking biological clock. "I do want kids, and I'm not in denial about age," she told E! News. "And I'll be 36 hopefully by the time my first kid is even born, probably 37 honestly. And just to have that in the back of my mind, I think kept my standards high."
She launched a running app called Andorfins
In 2020, Andi Dorfman launched a running app, cleverly named "Androfins." Take one look at her Instagram page and it's clear she's a runner, as she often posts pictures of herself jogging on the beach or completing marathons. But Dorfman wasn't always this passionate about it. "I started out as someone who could not run a mile straight. I called myself a 'run/walker,'" she admitted to People.
It all started in 2019 when she began training for the New York City marathon. "When I started running, I found both my physical and mental well-being improve tremendously," she said. Dorfman documented her training progress with the hashtag #Andorfins, and soon people started DMing her and tagging her in their running pictures. Dorfman decided to turn the online community of runners into a mobile app. The subscription-based app features training guides, nutrition plans, fitness challenges, workout routines, and more, all designed to inspire beginners and push established athletes.
"Running the marathon was intimidating as heck. So I want to take the intimidation out of it and for people to know whether you can run five miles or a quarter of a mile, this app is still for you," she told People."Andorfins essentially will take you from before you lace up your sneakers through your run and after with recovery videos including stretching and nutrition." Andorfins has transformed from a hashtag to an app into a full-blown brand, complete with its own merch.
She got engaged to Blaine Heart
It's always exciting when contestants from Bachelor Nation get engaged, but this is one fans have been waiting for. On March 30, 2022, Andi Dorfman took to Instagram to announce her engagement to her boyfriend Blaine Heart. "WORTH THE WAIT!!!! " she captioned the post, which featured a picture of the couple kissing on a beach at sunset, with Dorfman's engagement ring on full display.
According to Dorfman, the proposal was a total surprise. Hart told her they'd be heading to the beach to enjoy the sunset. She didn't think anything of it. "We get down to our spot, pour some wine, walked toward the water and when I turned around, he was on one knee," she gushed to People. "I don't even remember what he said, I just remember hugging him and crying. I didn't even remember seeing the ring at first."
But Hart had one more surprise in store. "And then after, the best part was, he told me instead of dinner we were going to stay the night at Hotel Bel-Air," she told People. "So we drove home to pack a bag and when I opened the door to our home, both of our families and my closest friends were there to surprise me. That's when I really started bawling."
Andi Dorfman got married in Italy
Andi Dorfman's wedding to Blaine Hart was so lavish and over-the-top that it made our list of the most extravagant Bachelor Nation weddings. We're talking seafood pasta, a gelato truck, four dresses for the bride, and a sunset cruise down the Amalfi Coast for the guests. The three-day wedding event took place on the dreamy coast of Sorrento on March 31, 2023, and the couple chose the location for a very special reason. They first met at a college party and were reunited 15 years later while they were both on vacation in Italy. "Getting to spend my life with Blaine and being in love with him as much as I am is something that's like a dream come true to me," Dorfman said in People.
Friends and family watched the couple exchange handwritten vows at the Conca del Sogno Beach Club, before sailing to the Excelsior Vittoria Hotel for dinner and drinks. The decor was simple but elegant — think white flowers, lots of greenery, and fairy lights. "It was all so beautiful," Dorfman told People. "We had a weather scare earlier in the week, and we didn't know if the ceremony we always wanted was gonna happen, and then it turned out to be the most beautiful day." Dorfman shared snaps from the wedding on Instagram with the caption, "And they lived happily ever after ... @blaineh86 and this entire day has been beyond my wildest dreams."