As one Bachelor steps down, a new Bachelorette emerges to reign over Bachelor Nation. And yes, host Chris Harrison will remain on board to navigate the madness, as he has every season.
DRAMA
First, the 411 on the drama from the previous season. On the live finale Tuesday night, Hannah Ann confronted Peter Weber, who proposed to her before dumping her for Madison Prewett, telling him, “If you want to be with a woman, you need to become a real man.”
On Wednesday, she kept laying it on, throwing shade on Instagram and on the Bachelor Happy Hour podcast. On the Gram, she posted a shot of herself in a pilot’s outfit, and captioned it: “Flyin’ solo… no turbulence accepted. PERIOD.”
On the pod, she said she should have listened to her gut when Peter said he needed closure with his ex Hannah Brown. “That was the first red flag,” she said.
During Peter’s reunion with Madison, meanwhile, his mom made visibly disapproving faces, and had the final word, despite her son’s assurances otherwise: “Everyone that knows him knows it's not going to work,” she said.
NEW SEASON
Moving on to the new drama, ABC has revealed the season 16 cast of The Bachelorette. Matt James, BFF of former Bachelorette star Tyler Cameron is in the running.
And while viewers are about to see the oldest Bachelorette in history—Clare Crawley will be 39 when filming begins—22 of the suitors are in their 20s, and only two are older than her.
Not that Clare is concerned. “I feel like a lot of people put age out there as this negative thing, but for me, it just is more years under my belt, more learning and knowing what I want, what I don’t want and what I won’t settle for,” Crawley said on Good Morning America when she was announced as the next Bachelorette. “I want a man who is strong, who is willing to take off the body armor, open himself up and be vulnerable. I think that shows some serious strength right there, so I want a man who can do that.”
She has her share of experience on Bachelor Nation, having appeared on four iterations of the show.
The Bachelorette premieres Monday, May 18 on ABC.