Yahoo Lifestyle 'Bachelorette' Star Claims New Lead Was Picked Before Show Was Put on Pause
Former The Bachelorette lead Rachel Recchia has disclosed that she heard a new star had been cast for the show before ABC abruptly pumped the brakes on the franchise for 2025.
After Deadline and other sites revealed The Bachelorette would be pausing production, Recchia spilled her tea to Ashley Iaconetti on the latter’s “Almost Famous” podcast.
“I was shocked because I heard they picked the lead” for this year, Recchia, who co-starred with Gabby Windey on the dual season 19 of The Bachelorette, claimed. “I heard the lead was decided, and it made sense to me who they picked.”
But Recchia hastened to add, “Again, rumors.”
“Normally, I feel like we hear stuff on the inside. I didn’t hear anything [about the pause],” she noted.
As Parade.com previously reported, after Jenn Tran starred on season 21 of The Bachelorette last year, fans will now have to wait for another female addition of the franchise. ABC previously announced that Bachelor in Paradise will return for its tenth season, so it’s believed that will be the network’s summer reality splash. In fact, BIP star Wells Adams just told Parade in an exclusive interview that he hopes franchise alums Matt James and Rachael Kirkconnell appear in Paradise after their surprising split!
Related: ABC Makes Shocking Announcement About The Bachelorette This Year
Wells also said, “It’s a show that people need in the summer because it’s silly and fun.”
Iaconetti, who has appeared on both The Bachelor and Paradise, claimed that former Bachelor Ben Higgins knew The Bachelorette news before it was announced. And he allegedly contended that the new The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives reality show being on ABC played a role in the drama.
“Sorry Ben, if you didn’t want me to tell this part. But he said because that Housewives show, the Mormon Housewives, that’s doing so well, they’re going to use The Bachelorette time slot because it’s the same demographic,” Iaconetti alleged on the podcast.
Iaconetti also told Recchia, “I just feel like it was really juicy when you said that they had already picked the Bachelorette. This seems like a ratings thing.”
Recchia reiterated it was a rumor she’d heard.
“We all hear so much, but I heard this, it was like two months ago,” Recchia alleged. “They knew who it was going to be. I heard a name. I heard from someone who usually knows. Normally, it’s a good source. But I don’t know.”
Iaconetti wondered when ABC decided to pause The Bachelorette.
“I’m talking [to] producers right now, but do we have any insight on this season’s ratings? Did they make this decision final because of the premiere?” she asked about Grant Ellis’ current season 29 of The Bachelor.
“Ben seemed to know before the season premiered that this was something that they were considering,” she added. Iaconetti also heard that The Bachelorette team allegedly learned the show pause news on Friday, Feb. 7.
“There’s lots of uncertainty, a lot of crew out of work because an entirely new team is doing Paradise, and the future of the Golden show is to be determined,” Iaconetti claimed. “They are still running those ads for casting, but nothing is set in stone. Does anybody think that this is the beginning of the end?”
The Bachelorette began in 2003 as a spin-off of the original male version. A typical season of The Bachelorette films in the spring and airs over the course of the summer. Although the show is now unlikely to air in 2025, Deadline noted that the possibility of it filming and airing late in the year hasn’t been completely ruled out. The Bachelorette did not air in both 2006 and 2007. But since then, a version of The Bachelorette has come out every year, including two seasons in 2021.
The show marked a milestone last year with Tran being the first Asian-American lead in franchise history. Her engagement to show pick Devin Strader, however, ended with a nasty split detailed on the “After the Final Rose” 2024 special.
Although The Bachelorette being scuttled is shocking, fans are continuing to tune in to the current version of The Bachelor, featuring Ellis–Tran’s former Bachelorette suitor.
Related: Who Will Win Grant Ellis’ ‘The Bachelor’ 2025? Here Are All The Spoilers
