Bachelor Nation
‘The Bachelorette’ 2026: Premiere Date for Taylor Frankie Paul’s Season Revealed
Earlier this year, Bachelor Nation was rocked by the news that The Bachelorette was not returning in 2025. Then, ABC announced that Season 30 of The Bachelor was coming in 2026, with no updates about the future of The Bachelorette.
However, fans were able to rest easy by September 2025, as the network confirmed that The Bachelorette was actually the show that would be coming back first. No new updates about The Bachelor have been given, but the Season 22 Bachelorette lead was confirmed, and it was definitely a shocking decision.
At the end of October 2025, ABC revealed its midseason schedule, and the premiere date for The Bachelorette was confirmed with another unexpected twist. Scroll down for everything we know about the future of The Bachelorette and stay tuned for updates as more news is shared.
Is The Bachelorette canceled?
No, The Bachelorette has not been canceled. While some fans feared a cancellation at first, even the initial Deadline report about the hiatus confirmed that the show would “likely come back to the Disney-owned network in the future.”
Meanwhile, host Jesse Palmer previously reiterated that the show is “not going away” while appearing on the Playing the Field podcast. “I know it’s definitely coming back,” he confirmed. “Without being able to get into too much of the creative decisions on it, I know that when it does, I just think it’s going to be absolutely tremendous.”
He added, “I can’t get too far in depth with a lot of the creative decisions that went into that [the pause]. I know it’s not unprecedented for The Bachelorette not to air in the summer.” Seasons 1-3 of the show aired in the winter, while Seasons 16 and 18 aired in the fall. However, the latter two seasons were special circumstances, as they were filmed amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Season 16 was delayed amid lockdown, while 2021 featured two seasons, with Season 17 taking the summer slot before Season 18 premiered in the fall.
When does The Bachelorette Season 22 premiere?
Season 22 of The Bachelorette premieres on Sunday, March 22, 2026, at 8/7c. It was initially expected that the 2026 season would follow the usual schedule of The Bachelor and come back at the end of January on Monday nights, but ABC confirmed the programming shift in an October 28 announcement.
The Bachelor Season 29 concluded in March, with Bachelor in Paradise coming to an end in early September. The Golden Bachelor has been airing on Wednesdays since September 24 and will conclude in November, so there will be four months without Bachelor Nation shows before The Bachelorette returns.
Who is The Bachelorette Season 22 lead?
The lead for Season 22 is Taylor Frankie Paul. It is quite an unprecedented move, as she’s the first star of The Bachelorette to not come from a previous Bachelor franchise season.
Paul is best known for starring on The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. She has two kids with her ex-husband, Tate Paul, and one with ex-boyfriend Dakota Mortensen.
ABC is still casting men who will date Paul on the show. The full cast will be revealed closer to when the season airs.
Prior to the 2025 pause, former Bachelorette Rachel Recchia hinted that ABC was looking at someone not from Grant Ellis‘ cast (Season 29). “I was shocked because I heard they picked the lead [already],” Recchia said on the Almost Famous podcast in February. “I heard the lead was decided, and it made sense to me who they picked. Again, rumors.” She added that the rumor was told to her “like two months ago,” which would’ve been before Ellis’ season even started airing.
The Bachelorette, Season 22 Premiere, Sunday, March 22, 8/7c, ABC
