Bachelor Nation fans were shocked when ABC paused The Bachelorette. The dating show will not return in 2025 or 2026. Since then, various theories have swirled about the network’s decision. Ashley Iaconetti and Ben Higgins explained what happened to the show.
Was The Bachelorette Cancelled?
Fans fear the show might not come back. Iaconetti and Higgins addressed the franchise’s “rough patch” on their Almost Famous podcast’s Friday, March 14 episode. The Bachelor Nation alumni spilled the tea on the behind-the-scenes drama. They learned that production had already filmed 75 percent of The Bachelorette Season 22. This season would include romantic scenes set in Greece and Portugal.
But that’s when ABC pulled the plug on the spinoff series. The network wanted to save money and film in the United States, like The Golden Bachelor and The Golden Bachelorette. But Higgins doesn’t believe The Bachelorette was paused to save money. ABC canceled it for the 2025 season because it couldn’t find a strong female lead that would attract millions of viewers.
The network originally chose Maria Georgas, who was placed fourth in The Bachelor Season 28 with Joey Graziadei. Arguably, that was a popular season, but the network pulled the plug. Also, most of the 2025 was already filmed. However, ABC started having doubts about declining viewership.
“It sounds like from our source that Maria was the frontrunner,” Higgins explained. “The powers that be that really wanted to be the lead of this season. It really sounds to me like they couldn’t make it work with Maria for whatever reason that was, and because of that, they had to pull the plug on the show because somebody who had a lot of influence on the show was fairly stuck on that storyline saying, ‘If we don’t do Maria, it’s not worth doing.'”
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Bachelor Franchise In Flux
Iaconetti agreed with Higgins, adding that ABC “couldn’t make Maria happen” for whatever reason. Ratings have declined steeply since Jenn Tran’s season of The Bachelorette, and viewers also lost interest during Ellis Grant’s season of The Bachelor. ABC is navigating how to rekindle interest in the franchise.
“This seems like the reason this season isn’t happening,” Higgins continued. “The ratings haven’t been good enough. Even though I think there have been great seasons, I go back to think the show took a massive hit with the men that were cast for Jenn’s season.”
The duo also believes that ABC paused The Bachelorette to air The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives in its timeslot. Season 1 already concluded on the cable network. (Get details about Season 2 of Secret Lives, which is also streaming on Hulu.) Iaconetti and Higgins think The Bachelorette will return, just like Bachelor In Paradise returns after its hiatus. “It’s a little reboot time,” Iaconetti added.
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