‘Bachelor’ Looks Back On Jesse Palmer’s Progression From Lead To Host
ABC looks back on Bachelor star Jesse Palmer’s progression from lead to host of the popular dating competition franchise. Read on for all the details.
Bachelor franchise turns 20
March 25, 2002, is a day Bachelor Nation will never forget. Season 1 of The Bachelor premiered on ABC with lead Alex Michel dating 24 women at once. Though a proposal during the season finale is common now, Michel didn’t propose to his final rose pick, Amanda Marsh (now Caldwell.)
His runner-up, Trisha Rehn, went on to headline the first season of The Bachelorette, and is still happily married to her winner, Ryan Sutter.
Bachelor creator Mike Fleiss recently took to Twitter to share an expletive-filled celebration to mark 20 years since the show’s debut. “20 f*cking years,” he wrote.
20 fucking years! Holy shit… #TheBachelor
— Mike Fleiss (@fleissmeister) March 26, 2022
Not much has changed in the franchise in all these years, but the show went through a MAJOR change when a scandal caused long-time host Chris Harrison to leave the show.
ABC looks back on Jesse Palmer’s progression from lead to host
In 2021, Chris Harrison found himself in the middle of a scandal after defending Bachelor Season 25 contestant Rachael Kirkconnell’s racially insensitive behavior. While he initially took a step back from his hosting duties, he ultimately chose not to return to the franchise.
So, Season 17 and 18 of The Bachelorette were without a host until the network tapped franchise alums Kaitlyn Bristowe and Tayshia Adams to temporarily co-host.
Ahead of Season 26 of The Bachelor, the network made a permanent host change, bringing in former Bachelor lead Jesse Palmer. In addition to hosting Clayton Echard’s season, he will host Season 19 of The Bachelorette, which will have Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia as joint leads.
ABC’s official Bachelor Nation website paid tribute to Jesse Palmer’s progression from lead to host on the 18th anniversary of his Bachelor season. The former pro football player was the lead on Season 5 of the show, back in 2004.
Why his season was groundbreaking
Bachelor Nation viewers may be surprised to remember that Jesse Palmer’s season was groundbreaking for the franchise. As mentioned, he was a pro football player for the New York Giants and the San Franciso 49ers before appearing on the ABC dating show.
While former football players are quite common as Bachelor leads now, Jesse Palmer was the show’s first professional athlete. Even the Season 26 lead, Clayton Echard, is a former college football player.
The similarities between Echard and Palmer don’t end there. Many viewers think there’s an uncanny resemblance between the two. In fact, Clayton took to his Instagram to mildly roast Jesse using his old Bachelor promo shoot.
“Like father like son. So cool to see throwback pics of Dad as The Bachelor,” he joked.
However, Jesse Palmer’s history-making season had more franchise firsts. He was the first Canadian to serve as lead, as all previous leads were American.
Did he find love in Bachelor Nation?
Perhaps Clayton Echard took a page from Jesse Palmer’s season by NOT proposing to his final rose pick either. Palmer didn’t propose to Jessica Bowlin at the end of his season and they broke up shortly after filming.
Clayton Echard similarly didn’t propose to his final pick, Susie Evans, but they are still going strong weeks after the explosive Season 26 finale.
Shortly after the ABC announced Jesse Palmer as new host, the former Bachelor shared a major update about his love life. He had secretly wed Emely Fardo in 2020.
Do you remember Jesse Palmer’s season of The Bachelor? Share your thoughts on his progression from lead to host in the comments below.
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