It’s the top of an period for Bachelor Nation. With The Bachelorette not returning in 2025, Bachelor Nation followers have one query on their minds: Why was The Bachelorette canceled?! Nicely, there may very well be one individual responsible.
The Bachelorette, a derivative of The Bachelor, premiered on ABC in 2003 with Season 1 lead Trista Rehn, the runner-up of The Bachelor Season 1. Since then, The Bachelorette has had 21 seasons and 23 leads (Seasons 16 and 19 had two Bachelorettes) till February 2025 when information broke that ABC had put the collection on pause.
Deadline reported on the time that The Bachelorette was canceled for its traditional time slot in 2025. In response to the journal, The Bachelorette usually begins manufacturing in March, with the previous three seasons premiering in July. This yr, nevertheless, might be completely different with the present on hiatus. So what occurred? And why was The Bachelorette canceled? Learn on for what we all know forward.
Why was The Bachelorette canceled?
Bachelor Nation alums Ashley Iaconetti and Ben Higgins claimed on their podcast,” Virtually Well-known,” in March 2025 that manufacturing sources instructed them that 75 p.c of the filming dates for The Bachelorette Season 22 — together with in European places like Greece and Portugal — have been set earlier than ABC determined to cancel the present for 2025. The hosts additionally alleged that an iHeartRadio podcast-themed date was within the works with Ben and Ashley I., in addition to different iHeartRadio podcast hosts corresponding to Jana Kramer, Jennie Garth, Kevin McHale, and Jenna Ushkowitz set to participate. The date was allegedly a competition-themed date with the winner receiving an invitation to the iHeartRadio Music Awards.
As a result of The Bachelorette reportedly deliberate to movie in Europe as an alternative of staying in Los Angeles to avoid wasting prices — as ABC did with The Golden Bachelor and The Golden Bachelorette — Ben defined that he didn’t consider The Bachelorette was canceled in 2025 on account of cash. As a substitute, Ben and Ashley I. alleged that the primary cause they heard The Bachelorette was canceled for 2025 was as a result of ABC couldn’t discover as sturdy of a lead as Maria Georgas, the fourth-place finalist from The Bachelor Season 28 with Joey Graziadei, who allegedly was set to turn into the Season 22 Bachelorette till negotiations fell by.
“It appears like from our supply that Maria was the frontrunner,” Ben mentioned. “The powers that be actually needed to be the lead of this season. It actually sounds to me like they couldn’t make it work with Maria for no matter cause that was, and due to that, they needed to pull the plug on the present as a result of anyone who had loads of affect on the present was pretty caught on that storyline saying, ‘If we don’t do Maria, it’s not value doing.’”
Ashley I added, “We’re fairly sure Maria was a frontrunner to be the Bachelorette as she was a frontrunner to be the Bachelorette throughout Jenn’s season. The supply says that they don’t know precisely what occurred, however they couldn’t make Maria occur and that’s why the present didn’t get picked up as a result of I’m assuming they didn’t have a powerful sufficient result in get sufficient scores.”
Ben additionally defined that the scores and unfavorable response to the solid for The Bachelorette Season 21 with Jenn Tran additionally probably performed a component in ABC’s determination to not renew The Bachelorette for 2025. “This looks as if the explanation this season isn’t taking place. The scores haven’t been ok. Although I believe there have been nice seasons, however I am going again to I believe the present took an enormous hit with the boys that have been solid for Jenn’s season,” he mentioned. “Jenn did an important job. I believe we’ve seen Jenn thrive after her position because the Bachelorette, however I believe the boys on her season actually harm the present. And since the present did the ‘don’t ask, don’t inform’ technique, I believe the present is in a extremely robust place.”
Ben and Ashley I. additionally claimed that a part of the explanation ABC canceled The Bachelorette was as a result of the community believed that it may fill The Bachelorette’s traditional time slot with Hulu’s The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, which has the same demographic and has already completed filming.
When is The Bachelorette coming again?
Whereas The Bachelorette received’t air a brand new season throughout its traditional time slot, Ben maintained that he believed the present would come again sooner or later. “I don’t assume the present goes away eternally,” he mentioned. Ashley I. added, “And neither do the individuals at ABC. They skipped [Bachelor in] Paradise final yr and now it’s again. And possibly they’re going to do the identical factor for The Bachelorette. It’s just a little reboot time.”
Deadline reported in February 2025 that, simply because The Bachelorette received’t air throughout its typical time in the summertime, ABC hasn’t dominated out a return for later in 2025. The Bachelorette additionally isn’t the primary Bachelor Nation present ABC has placed on pause, as Ben and Ashley I. famous Bachelor in Paradise was additionally paused in 2024, with its traditional time slot taken by The Golden Bachelorette, earlier than ABC’s announcement that BIP would return in the summertime of 2025.
Who was nearly the following Bachelorette?
Together with Maria, Ben and Ashley I. additionally reported that two contestants from The Bachelor Season 29 with Grant Ellis have been thought-about to be the following Bachelorette, nevertheless, they didn’t identify which of them. One other Bachelorette ABC reportedly thought-about was Rachel Recchia, the lead of The Bachelorette Season 19 with Gabby Windey who was cheated on by her winner, Tino Franco. (Rachel was later a contestant on Bachelor in Paradise Season 9.) “Our sources are saying that they have been additionally pondering of giving Rachel Recchia a redo. They mentioned her identify was floated round, however they mentioned there’s a cause she couldn’t do it and we are able to’t reveal that cause in actual time, however manufacturing and followers love Rachel and I personally would’ve liked to see Rachel’s personal season. She’s so likable. I actually, actually love that woman, however there’s one thing else thrilling for her,” Ashley I. mentioned.
Regardless of the 4 choices — Maria, Rachel and two contestants from Grant’s Bachelor season — Ben maintained that Maria was, by far, the frontrunner to be the following Bachelorette. As Bachelor Nation followers know, Maria claimed she obtained the provide to be the Season 21 Bachelorette and even did gown fittings for the present, nevertheless, she turned it down near the final minute. “I used to be supplied the position. It was mine till I mentioned it wasn’t,” Maria mentioned on the “Name Her Daddy” podcast in Could 2024. “It turned very overwhelming to the purpose the place I needed to decline.” She continued, “I simply was not prepared.”
Jenn, for her half, denied that Maria was ever formally chosen to be the Bachelorette earlier than her in her personal interview on “Name Her Daddy” in July 2024. “Clearly I didn’t have my cellphone on the time all of this was taking place as a result of we had went proper into filming proper after it was all introduced,” Jenn mentioned of Maria’s interview. “Coming again to all of that, yeah, clearly I used to be actually disillusioned to see all of that as a result of, I imply, the reality of the matter is, there’s loads of narratives on the market they usually’re not essentially the reality.”
She continued, “A number of persons are being interviewed, or doing conferences about all of it, doing fittings or filming intro packages, and it’s by no means actually you till it’s you.” Jenn additionally claimed that she was not approached to be the Bachelorette on the final minute and had conferences with producers for months earlier than she obtained a cellphone name with the official provide. “They requested me and I had the selection and I selected to do it. I mentioned sure,” she mentioned. “The factor with the narrative units out proper now’s it was disappointing to come back again from this unimaginable journey for myself after which to see all of the hypothesis round it and to nearly have this stuff type of take away from what my journey was.”
The Bachelorette streams on Hulu.