We've still got a few more weeks of Paradise and an entire Bachelorette season to go before we get to the new Bachelor, but there's a new Bachelor rumor that is so juicy, we need to talk about it right now.
After ABC released the list of potential contestants for Clayton Echard's Bachelor season on Saturday, Sept. 25, rumors started spreading about one contestant in particular: Salley Carson. Announced as "Salley C" from Greensville, SC, it wasn't long before fans tracked down her real last name and discovered... that, up until a few weeks ago, she was engaged to be married to a man named Avery Buchholz. Oh, and her wedding day was supposed to be Sunday, Sept. 26. Like I said, juicy.
According to Reality Steve, Salley celebrated her Bachelorette party in August, but called off the wedding a few weeks ago. Assuming contestants are still being asked to quarantine for about a week before filming on The Bachelor set, that means Salley went straight from canceling her wedding into quarantine, and straight from quarantine into Bachelor mansion. (Per producer Mike Fleiss, Bachelor officially began filming last week, and they have finally returned to the iconic mansion.)
Now, this is all just rumors so far. Salley's Instagram has been set to private, as has those belonging to two women I assume are her sisters, Charlotte Carson and Clair Carson. The @gallery_of_malory account shared in Reality Steve's post is also on private. However, Salley's Facebook is still active. Her profile is sparse, but you can see she's clearly been in a serious relationship recently from her cover photo and profile photo.
Once word was out on Salley's engagement, other tips started flowing in to various Bachelor fandom sites. And it just keeps getting more and more wild. Not only was Salley, a potential Bachelor contestant, supposed to get married on the first day of filming, but according to reports, her ex fiancé was actually already married. "Looked like he was married to a doctor in 2016," one tipster told BachelorNation.Scoop on Instagram. "I couldn't tell/find when they got divorced." Another tipster took things one step further, claiming that the two broke up because "the groom was still legally married." Cue my jaw on the floor.
But before you start calling Salley's next season's Bachelor villain.you should know that this same tipster claimed that Salley didn't actually apply for The Bachelor — which she would have had to do while actively engaged to another man. "She was nominated for the Bachelor and was called 2 days after the wedding was called off, which was about two weeks ago," claimed the anonymous source.
The fact that Salley was nominated and left for L.A. right after calling off her wedding does make me feel for her. But not enough to think she's not there for the wrong reasons. Yes, being nominated does mean that she didn't have to actively apply while still engaged, but women who have been nominated have been in contact with the casting department for at least a month.
A report from ScreenRant claimed that casting officially closed in early September, which would mean Salley knew she was going on The Bachelor before she broke off her engagement. (There have also been rumors that the identity of The Bachelor changed after early backlash to rumored pick Greg Grippo, which could have extended casting beyond this date, giving Salley time to consider going on the show after ending her engagement.)
In short: The Bachelor is already a full on mess, and I am here for it. There's no telling yet whether or not Salley actually made it to the mansion, let alone whether or not she survived Night 1, but I really hope she did. I need to see this play out. Is Salley actually there for the right reasons? Will Clayton be able to get over the fact that she was supposed to be on her honeymoon instead of on national television? And what will the other women in the house have to say about it?
I never thought I'd say this, but bring on The Bachelor.
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Image: The Bachelor/Facebook