ABC recently announced that The Bachelorette won’t be returning this summer. The news took Bachelor Nation by surprise and fans are now playing detective trying to figure out the reasoning. The Bachelorette skipped two years of filming in 2006 and 2007 but hasn’t done so since then. This is a huge shock, as it’s always assumed that The Bachelorette will follow The Bachelor. There are a few reasons why ABC may have done this, with these three theories being the most likely.
Bachelor Nation’s current line-up is too busy
The most likely reason that The Bachelorette is being skipped this summer is time. Last summer, Bachelor in Paradise didn’t air for the same reason. After The Golden Bachelor and The Golden Bachelorette were added to the franchise, there aren’t as many open slots for seasons. While The Bachelorette typically airs a few months after The Bachelor ends, it seems like BIP will be taking that spot over this summer. This does make sense, as BIP is a summer-themed show.
It’s been over a year since The Golden Bachelor, so a second season of that may be on the way as well. Bachelor Nation fans love the Golden series, with some even preferring them to the original. Since The Golden Bachelorette aired after The Bachelorette Season 21, it’s safe to assume that we won’t see another season of that until The Bachelorette resumes. While The Golden Bachelor and BIP did air simultaneously, it was a lot to keep up with for some fans. As a result, it’s unlikely that production will do anything like this again.
While ABC indicated that The Bachelorette won’t air this summer, they didn’t say it won’t air in the fall. While the show does typically air in the summer, this hasn’t always been the case. For instance, Michelle Young’s season aired in the fall of 2021. Producers may want to air BIP first since the beach may not have enough room for men from two new Bachelorette seasons.
Jenn Tran’s season didn’t have the best ending
Another possible reason for The Bachelorette’s delay could be the way Jenn Tran’s season ended. Jenn was the lead of Season 21, which was the most recent season to air. Jenn got engaged to Devin Strader, who later broke things off. During After the Final Rose, Jenn suggested that Devin had put on an act all season and was completely different off-camera. This caused an uproar in Bachelor Nation, as viewers were furious with the way Devin had treated Jenn.
Jenn’s season also made producers look bad when they had her watch a clip of her proposal to Devin. The whole time, the camera in the lower corner showed Jenn in tears as no one comforted her. Jenn didn’t get the most fair treatment as The Bachelorette and viewers definitely noticed. ABC might not want to air another season right away to give viewers a little more time to process everything from Jenn’s season.
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives Season 2 allegedly has something to do with this
Two Bachelor Nation stars recently hinted that there could be a more surprising reason for The Bachelorette’s current pause. Former Bachelorette Rachel Recchia joined BIP star Ashley Iaconetti for an episode of her Almost Famous podcast. Ashley shares the podcast with former Bachelor Ben Higgins, who revealed that he heard The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives was currently delaying The Bachelorette. Allegedly, ABC wants to use The Bachelorette time slot to air the Hulu show’s second season.
The real surprise from the conversation, however, was Rachel suggesting that a lead had already been chosen. Rachel said that she heard a woman had already been to lead Season 22, which is a huge shock after the recent announcement. To make things even crazier, Rachel seemed to know who it was. It will be interesting to see if this mystery woman will end up leading a season a few months down the line. I’m also extremely curious to see if the rumors about The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives are true. While it would be strange, you never know what to expect from ABC.
The Bachelorette is currently available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.
TELL US – WHY DO YOU THINK ABC DECIDED TO PUT THE BACHELORETTE ON PAUSE?
