Former ‘Bachelorette’ Reveals Juicy Tidbit About Franchise Pause: Report

ABC recently surprised Bachelor Nation by announcing that “The Bachelorette” would go on hiatus in 2025, skipping a season for the first time in years. Now, former “Bachelorette” Rachel Recchia has shared that she was shocked by the announcement.

Not only was Recchia surprised to learn “The Bachelorette” would not film in the spring as usual, but she explained there was a big reason why she was taken aback by the announcement. She admitted during an episode of the Almost Famous podcast that she had heard a lead for an upcoming season had already been chosen.

Rachel Recchia Heard a Lead Had Been Chosen

During the February 10 episode of the “Almost Famous” podcast, Recchia said, “Well, first of all, I was shocked because I heard they picked the lead. I heard the lead was decided and it made sense to me who they picked.”

Recchia did not reveal who she heard was picked, but she confirmed she had been told from a typically reliable source a specific person had been chosen. It sounded as if it was someone from Grant Ellis’ current season of “The Bachelor.”

She also emphasized that she had not heard this tidbit about the person supposedly chosen through any official channels. What she heard was a rumor, but it seemed she felt it was solid. Recchia explained the person she heard the scoop from usually has accurate information.

Recchia later noted she had heard the rumor about a new “Bachelorette” being chosen “like two months ago.”

In addition, Recchia said she was shocked that she learned about ABC’s decision via Instagram. “Normally, I feel like we hear stuff on the inside. I didn’t hear anything.”

Bachelor Nation Alums Worry This May Be the End of ‘The Bachelorette’

“Almost Famous” co-host Ashley Iaconetti added another juicy tidbit. She explained that a couple of weeks ago, her co-host Ben Higgins revealed he had heard about “The Bachelorette” pause.

Higgins told Iaconetti, according to her retelling of the conversation, that the network wanted to give the usual “Bachelorette” spot to the next season of “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.”

The original star of “The Bachelorette,” Trista Sutter, noted that ABC has “So many shows in the bucket currently” with not only “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette,” but also “Bachelor in Paradise” and the “Golden” variations. ABC skipped airing “Bachelor in Paradise” in 2024 but has confirmed it will be back in 2025.

Sutter noted, “I’m not taking it as it’s going away forever… I’ve been with the show for so long that I just feel like it’s not gonna go away forever. Maybe it will someday, but I don’t know if this is the time.”

Late in the podcast, Iaconnetti shared that they received some additional information. She said that the podcast’s executive producer “said that the whole team found out on Friday. 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. And they are still running those ads for casting, but nothing is set in stone,” Iaconetti said.

Recchia added, “I hope it’s not the beginning of the end, but it is scary.”