I've said it before, and I'll say it again, the Bachelor franchise might finally be delivering on that whole "most dramatic season ever" promise. And this new Bachelorette 2021 rumor might be the most shocking twist yet. But before we get there... If you do not want to know what could possibly happen on The Bachelor finale and After the Final Rose special, turn around and go read one of my other articles (for example: here, here, and here). I am about to drop a massive potential spoiler — brace yourselves.
According to a new report from Reality Steve, After the Final Rose host Emmanuel Acho will conclude the special by announcing the next Bachelorette...and the Bachelorette after that, too. Turns out there will be not one, but two Bachelorette seasons back to back following Matt James' controversial Bachelor run. Katie Thurston will be the first 2021 Bachelorette, per the report — which is in line with pretty much every other rumor going around about Bachelorette's next season. And — again, I can't stress this enough... major spoiler alert for Matt's Bachelor finale — Michelle Young will take over for a bonus Bachelorette season right after. It's a hell of a twist — or, as Acho calls it in the new After The Final Rose teaser, a hell of a "curveball."
First things first: nothing has been confirmed, but Reality Steve has been known to be very reliable when it comes to Bachelor Nation gossip and spoilers. (Tayshia's finale excluded.) Second: this does not mean that Bachelor in Paradise or Bachelor have been canceled. According to the blogger, Katie's season of Bachelorette will begin filming in a few weeks, with a Bachelor In Paradise season kicking off in June, and Michelle's Bachelorette season filming later in the summer.
Why not just one Bachelorette season? Well, apparently, pre-production for Katie's season is already underway. Former Bachelorette Rachel Lindsay, who recently announced her plan to cut all professional ties with the franchise, told fans on March 9 that Bachelorette contestants were already in quarantine. This suggests that Michelle's season was a more recent decision, one potentially made after ABC offered Katie the lead. To be fair, Reality Steve reported that Michelle didn't want to leave her students again to film, so Bachelorette producers decided to give her a bonus summer season instead. (Knowing Michelle, this wouldn't surprise me, but sometimes things are just a little too convenient.)
Regardless of when or how the decision was made, assuming it's true that both Katie and Michelle will be announced as upcoming Bachelorettes on After the Final Rose, it's impossible not to see the surprise move as a direct reaction to the current reckoning going on behind the scenes. After defending Rachael Kirkconnell for attending an Antebellum party in 2018, Chris Harrison decided to "step aside" from hosting duties, and it's clear the franchise is trying to figure out how to move forward. Harrison has said that he plans to return to the franchise, but with former contestants on the record saying they would not be comfortable with him as host, his Bachelor future remains murky.
Read more...
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Image: ABC/Craig Sjodin