While we wait for ABC to drop much-anticipated intel on who will be the next Bachelor, we will watch Bachelor in Paradise assess the many plausible theories on who might be our upcoming leading dude. Season 26 of the Bachelor will likely air in early 2022, so production will have to get going sooner rather than later!
Taking the extra time is annoying but understandable, and honestly, absolutely necessary. After the dumpster fire that was Matt James’s season, which resulted in longtime host Chris Harrison taking a hiatus and leaving the franchise due to racially insensitive comments, casting and production have to get this right.
Rob Mills (aka a big shot exec within ABC Entertainment) called the show’s audience “the silent producer” when asked about Bachelor in Paradise casting in a chat with Variety, and honestly, the role def applies to the flagship show too. “We’ll see on Twitter who people say they want to see,” he said. “And then also, we’ll look at people who went home too early and were great and didn’t have enough time to shine. Sometimes the pond is really dry—this season will be the opposite case. The pond is overstocked.”
It really is. There is nearly *four* batches of men to choose from between Clare Crawley’s and Tayshia Adams’s combined season, Katie Thurston’s season, Bachelor in Paradise, and Michelle Young’s season airing this October.
Let’s dig in to see some of the front-runners who might hand out roses in early 2022. Bring on the men!
A post shared by Michael Allio (@michael_alliol4)
Fans are in love with Michael Allio, who quit Katie Thurston’s season for a good reason. And I mean, it’s honestly v easy to fall for a man who says things like “I can assure you that no one can love you like I can” and is also the sweetest zaddy single father.
No one can love you like Michael A. can 🥺 #TheBachelorette pic.twitter.com/rOvzFyqgGl
me waiting for this finale to end so they can announce national treasure Michael A as bachelor #TheBachelorette #atfr pic.twitter.com/xy3sIBLj7T
Michael A for bachelor. the only option! i said what i said #bachelorette
Michael’s watchability is obvi sky high, and fans truly want to see him find love. But the Ohio native told Us Weekly that the show “would have to change a lot” for him to consider the top spot if he was presented with the opportunity. “I see a lot of risk and issues that are not of interest to me,” he said. “So the main thing is if I did this—do I think it would be possible to pursue love to find that again? I don’t know.”
A post shared by Andrew Spencer (@andrewzspencer)
Andrew Spencer was just shy of making Katie Thurston’s final four, and his exit was crushing. His rom-com-like return to say one last goodbye to Katie, though, was good TV. And the people want more!
Andrew S for Bachelor. That’s it. That’s the tweet. #TheBachelorette
(^^that’s Andrew’s cousin, but still!)
justice for Andrew S ‼️‼️‼️ LOOK AT THAT SMILE❤️ #bachelorette #TheBachelorette pic.twitter.com/zgvd4mdsbn
petition for andrew s to be the next bachelor bc he deserves to find love and happiness #TheBachelorette #TheBachelor
Andrew isn’t opposed to becoming the next Bachelor, but he’d want to be fully ready to put himself in that position first. “It’s a really tough job to be the Bachelor,” he said to Us Weekly. “I definitely have to be able to be in the right mindset to be available mentally. But as far as love, I am 100 percent looking for love still.”
FWIW, Katie Thurston herself vouched for both Andrew and Michael, which is a pretty strong endorsement to say the least.
“My two votes are going to be Andrew and Michael for the next Bachelor,” she said to Us Weekly. “I think they just both have a lot to offer and I think they are in a place where they are ready to really settle down and they’ve really grown a lot as men.”
Cohosts Tayshia Adams and Kaitlyn Bristowe cosigned with Katie: “I think we both can agree with Michael A. and Andrew,” said Tayshia to Us. “They’re just such lovable men. They have so much to offer, and it would be amazing to see them find love.” Kaitlyn’s fiancé Jason Tartick even feels the same way!
Think my vote is locked in, Andrew S or Michael A for bachelor. #thebachlorette
A post shared by Greg Grippo (@greggrippo)
In the beginning there was Greg Grippo, a lovable, nervous guy with a 1999 Hugh Grant haircut who So. Many. People. were rooting for (even Katie herself!). I mean, she did admit on the show that he was *for sure* making it to the final two…until that massive fight.
Not me already rooting for Greg to be the next bachelor #TheBachelorette #bachelorette pic.twitter.com/GIX4qv2JLO
YEAAAAA GREG NATION LEMME HEAR YALL MAKE SOME NOISE #bachelorette pic.twitter.com/NEWZbJqL9s
GREG GOT THR FIRST IMPRESSION ROSE!!! #bachelorette #TheBachelorette pic.twitter.com/UvOYTAnkAU
Greg’s bona fides for being the next Bachelor is the perfect storm: People love him (we see you, #GrippoGirls), an equal amount of people hate him thanks to his wild onscreen breakup with Katie, and he has a huge following already. Casting Greg would def feel controversial bc of all those ~acting rumors~ but as we know, controversy can bring in just as many ratings *shrugs*.
A post shared by Justin Glaze (@justinglaze)
As Katie Thurston’s runner-up, it’s totally in line that Justin Glaze would be considered to be the next Bachelor. And while fans absolutely want Justin to find love for himself, they also want a leading man who can bring more EPIC facial expressions to the franchise. I mean, just look at the material:
Justin for Bachelor so we can get another season full of his facial expressions please. 😂🙌🏼🙌🏼 #TheBachelorette pic.twitter.com/qUu7n3NVSO
Justin for The Bachelor. Just for the facial expressions alone. Everything else is a bonus #thebachelorette pic.twitter.com/H5hII3eqqE
#thebachelorettefinale #TheBachelorette Wait why do I kinda want Justin for Bachelor???? pic.twitter.com/dHHAXUFRJ8
A post shared by Connor Brennan (@connorfalcon)
Okay, I have thoughts. Remember when Connor kissed that random girl in the audience during the “Men Tell All,” and then after the smooch he gave her a rose? IDK, it honestly gave *big* foreshadowing energy.
Buuut the catsuit man told Us Weekly he’d be hard-pressed to take on the lead role. “I don’t know if I would be prepared for that,” he said, adding that that scripted, producer-ignited totally spontaneous kiss “flustered” him. “I don’t think I could handle dating more than one person.”
The guys reactions to Connor B going home are KILLING me#TheBachelorette pic.twitter.com/IhJf7EPpio
Connor is part of the cast for the upcoming season of Bachelor in Paradise, so we’ll definitely get to watch his quest for love continue.
A post shared by ✖️BEN SMITH✖️ (@benveesmith)
As the runner-up on Tayshia’s season, Ben Smith is in a natural spot to be considered for the leading role, especially because his story was compelling and is still fresh. Rob Mills even told Variety that he would “absolutely” think about Ben for the spot. “Ben would be in consideration to be the next Bachelor,” he said. “But there are a lot of guys that would be in consideration to be the Bachelor.”
Reality Steve recently gave a major spoiler on who he was hearing the next Bachelor to be. (Stop reading here if you don’t want to know!)
“What I’ve been hearing the past 5 days or so regarding the next Bachelor are this…been told it’s going to be Greg. Obviously it’s never ‘official’ until ABC announces it (whenever that may be), but at this point I would be very surprised if it’s not him,” he wrote on Twitter.
(SPOILER): What I’ve been hearing the past 5 days or so regarding the next Bachelor are this…been told it’s going to be Greg. Obviously it’s never “official” until ABC announces it (whenever that may be), but at this point I would be very surprised if it’s not him.
Ofc, it’s only all said and done once ABC makes the final announcement, but as time has proven, our boy Reality Steve rarely misses. Do with that what you will!
ABC will likely make the ~official announcement~ of who is leading the show in the fall, so be sure to check this story for updates.