With Matt James‘ season of The Bachelor coming to an end, fans of the ABC franchise are dying to know who the next Bachelorette will be! Thankfully, they won’t have to wait very long to find out. According to Reality Steve, the season 17 and the season 18 leading ladies have already been selected, and both will air in 2021. Apparently, Katie Thurston and Michelle Young will be announced as Bachelorettes during the After the Final Rose special on Monday, March 15. To learn more, keeping reading.
Katie Thurston will be the season 17 Bachelorette:
Don’t worry, this isn’t going to be another Clare Crawley/Tayshia Adams situation. “Katie will get her own full season of The Bachelorette that begins taping at the Hyatt Regency Tamaya in New Mexico in a few weeks,” Reality Steve reported on Wednesday, March 10.
The popular reality TV blogger also noted that a new season of Bachelor in Paradise “will film per usual in June at a location that hasn’t been announced yet and will begin airing after Katie’s season is done airing.”
Katie, who was eliminated from season 25 of The Bachelor during episode 6, was a fan favorite from the beginning. After all, who could forget her ~spicy~ limo entrance?
Michelle Young will be the season 18 Bachelorette:
As for Michelle, her journey is a bit more complicated due to her job as an elementary school teacher. “Michelle did not want to leave her class again to start filming in a few weeks — meaning she’d miss most of the remainder of her school year — hence the reason she is getting her own season this summer when she’s out of school,” Reality Steve said.
“Michelle’s Bachelorette season will film sometime after [Bachelor in Paradise] films,” he added. “Most likely all of July — and air later on in the fall.” As it stands, a filming location hasn’t been announced.
While fans enjoyed watching Matt and Michelle together, the leading man ended up choosing Rachael Kirkconnell as his winner. However, the couple is “no longer together,” a source previously told Life & Style. Matt and Rachael called it quits shortly after her highly publicized racism scandal.
“Matt broke up with Rachael mainly due to the backlash. At the end of the day, he cared more about protecting himself, supporting his friend [former Bachelorette] Rachel Lindsay and speaking out against the franchise,” the insider added. “Rachael can’t wait until she can finally share her side of the story once the finale airs.”