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The Bachelorette producers were allegedly deciding on the next lead before the show’s break, according to former Bachelor star Nick Viall.
“I know one of the people they were seriously looking at [and] it would have been awesome,” Viall, 44, claimed on the Thursday, March 13, episode of his “The Viall Files” podcast. “We’re not going to tell you … but it would have been awesome. It would have been amazing.”
According to Viall, the potential lead was “from an older season” of The Bachelor.
“When I found out, I was really disappointed they decided not to move forward with it,” he said.
As Grant Ellis’ season of The Bachelor winds down, news broke in February that a new season of The Bachelorette will not air this year. A reason for the hiatus, as well as a return date, has not been confirmed.
Even if The Bachelorette would continue later in 2025, a leading lady has not been formally revealed. That hasn’t stopped the rumor mill from speculating about a potential decision.
“I was shocked because I heard they picked the lead,” former Bachelorette Rachel Recchia alleged on the “Almost Famous” podcast in February. “I heard the lead was decided and it made sense to me who they picked. Again, rumors. I saw this on Instagram. Normally, I feel like we hear stuff on the inside. I didn’t hear anything [about the pause].”
According to the 29-year-old Bachelor Nation alum, the show picked a lead “two months ago.”
“They knew who it was going to be. … I heard a name,” Recchia added. “I heard from someone who usually knows, normally it’s a good source, but I don’t know.”
Speculation has also swirled that Maria Georgas, a fan-favorite from Joey Graziadei’s season 28, had been tapped to take over the mantle. Viall, meanwhile, denied on Thursday that the woman in consideration was Georgas, 30.
Georgas previously claimed that she turned down the role of Bachelorette before Jenn Tran headlined the latest season.
“I was offered the role. It was mine until I said it wasn’t,” Georgas claimed on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast in May 2024. “It became very overwhelming to the point where I had to decline. It was set in stone. I was in it. When everyone around me was so supportive of me being in this position and everyone wanted this for me, I took a second. I’m like, ‘Why am I not happy? Why am I not excited about this?’”
She has not publicly addressed the speculation about joining the franchise again.
