Bachelor Nation
‘Bachelor’ Grant Ellis Reacts to ‘Bachelorette’ Pause — Plus, Who He Thinks Would Make a Great Lead
Season 29 of The Bachelor aired as planned this year, but the same can’t be said for The Bachelorette. Following Grant Ellis‘ Bachelor season, there will be a new Bachelor in Paradise, but no new season of The Bachelorette.
The pause has shaken Bachelor Nation, including Ellis himself. The former basketball star called the situation “disheartening,” while also weighing in on which ladies from his season could lead the helm if The Bachelorette does eventually return.
“If it’s happening, there’s a reason for it,” Ellis pointed out in an interview with Us Weekly. “And I’m sure that whoever’s making these decisions definitely has a greater good in mind.”
He also listed Alexe Godin, Chloie Costello, Bailey Brown, and Allyshia Gupta as his picks for the (hopefully) eventual Season 22 lead, adding, “They were all wonderful. They all had outgoing personalities.” Ashley Iaconetti recently revealed that she heard Maria Georgas from Season 29 of The Bachelor was a “frontrunner” to be the Season 22 lead after dropping out for Season 21.
Disney / Matt Sayles
“The source says that they don’t know exactly what happened, but they couldn’t make Maria happen, and that’s why the show didn’t get picked up,” Iaconetti explained. “Because they just didn’t think that they had… I’m assuming that they didn’t think they had a strong enough lead that was going to get enough ratings
While ABC has yet to comment on news about The Bachelorette’s pause, Deadline reported that a new season would not be airing in summer 2025 like it usually does. “[It] will likely come back to the Disney-owned network in the future,” the outlet reported. “Insiders have not completely ruled out its return later this year.” However, with The Golden Bachelor expected to air in the fall, there isn’t much programming space left for The Bachelorette.
The network has made scheduling changes within The Bachelor franchise before. In 2024, Bachelor in Paradise did not air. However, the show is slated to return in 2025, and Ellis threw out some possible couples based on the women from his Bachelor season and men who he competed against on Season 21 of The Bachelorette.
“I think that Alexe and Hakeen [Moulton] have the same personality,” he dished. “I don’t know what attraction level they have to each other, but I think personality wise, they’re similar. I also think Allyshia and Spencer [Conley] would be good.”
The Bachelor, Season 29, Mondays, 8/7c, ABC
