‘Bachelorette’ 2025 Pause Explained, What It Means For Franchise
Bachelor Nation fans were stunned by the news that ABC won’t air a new Bachelorette season this summer. The show typically films right after The Bachelor ends and starts airing in July. Why is the show on pause and what does it mean for the future of the franchise?
Bachelorette Season 22 Had Filming Locations, Dates Planned Out
It seems that ABC’s decision to put The Bachelorette on pause was made at the last minute. Bachelor Nation alums Ashley Iaconetti and Ben Higgins spilled everything they heard through the rumor mill about what led to the pause. They revealed new details during an episode of their Almost Famous podcast.
According to the pair, ABC had already secured filming locations overseas in Greece and Portugal. The reality series often films the majority of the seasons in Europe or Mexico because production is cheaper than in the United States. The show usually films the first few episodes at the famed Bachelor mansion in California before jetting off to Europe, ending the season with a final rose ceremony in Mexico.
Ashley Iaconetti and Ben Higgins also revealed that they were supposed to be involved in one of the dates on Season 22. They said that production planned a podcast-themed date that included several other IHeartRadio podcast hosts. Stylecaster reported that the prize of the date was an invitation to the IHeartRadio Music Awards.
Why It Was Paused
With so much planning for the season already done, why did ABC scrap it? The network didn’t give a reason. But from what Ashley I and Ben Higgins heard, it had to do with the lead. They heard that Maria Georgas was in talks to be the Season 22 Bachelorette. But plans fell through – again.
The contestant from Joey Graziadei’s season was allegedly in talks to be the Season 21 lead but turned it down and the network went with Jenn Tran instead.
Ben and Ashley heard that the network considered other leads, including unnamed contestants from Grant Ellis’ season. There was also talk of Season 19 co-Bachelorette Rachel Recchia returning for a solo season. She got engaged to Tino Franco during her joint season with Gabby Windey but ended it after he allegedly cheated on her.
The podcast hosts speculated that someone high up at ABC was set on Maria Georgas as the lead and couldn’t find anyone to replace her.
Fans Doubt The Future Of Bachelor Franchise
This wasn’t the first time ABC skipped a season of The Bachelorette. The spinoff didn’t air in 2006 or 2007. It returned in 2008 with DeAnna Pappas as the lead.
Bachelor In Paradise was put on pause last year but will return this year for Season 10. ABC hasn’t ruled out airing The Bachelorette later in the year, but it’s more likely that a Golden Bachelor or Golden Bachelorette season will air.
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Ben Higgins and Ashley Iaconetti don’t think that pausing The Bachelorette indicates that the franchise is ending. Ashley called the pause a “little reboot” so the show comes back stronger than ever. But some fans can’t help but worry about the future of The Bachelor franchise after a sharp decline in ratings.
Do you think The Bachelorette will return at some point? Share your predictions in the comments.
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