Greg Grippo and Mykenna Dorn Were ‘Talking’ Before Katie Thurston’s Season of ‘The Bachelorette,’ Says a Source

Greg Grippo, from Katie Thurston’s season of The Bachelorette, has stirred quite the reaction from fans of the franchise. After a surprising breakup between the contestant and lead just after hometowns, and news of Grippo’s past as an actor, the New Jersey native has been accused of going on the show in hopes of becoming famous. Adding fuel to the fire, one anonymous source has come forward suggesting that Thurston wasn’t Grippo’s first shot at a Bachelor girl.

Mykenna Dorn, from Peter Weber’s ‘Bachelor’ season

Mykenna Dorn is the woman in question. Bachelor Nation was first introduced to Dorn in Peter Weber’s season of The Bachelor. Fans of the show might remember Dorn for her expressive facial expressions.

“Mykenna may love to curate chic outfits, but she’s way more than a pretty girl in a photo!” read her ABC bio, via Bachelor Nation Wiki. “She is here to find love and isn’t going to settle for anyone who won’t impress her family. Above all else, Mykenna loves her family. She is super close to her parents and is constantly inspired by her grandparent’s love, which makes sense, as they were together for 61 years and her grandpa proposed to her grandma on their first date. Mykenna has been in one relationship, but she ended it when he became too controlling. She’s looking for someone who will surprise her with romantic adventures, but will also be ok with it when she wants to go out drinking and dancing with her friends. Mykenna says, ‘I want the good and the bad. I want to laugh, be goofy and be spontaneous with my person, but I also want a relationship where we challenge each other. I don’t want an easy love!'”

Greg Grippo and Mykenna Dorn

According to Us Weekly, Grippo and Dorn were getting to know each other prior to Thurston’s Bachelorette season.

“Mykenna and Greg used to talk last summer,” said a source. “They really hit it off, but long distance came in the way.”

While the 28 and 24-year-olds were “talking” for about a month, they never met in person, as Dorn lives in Canada and Grippo in New Jersey.

The publication also reported that the reality stars have “liked” some of each other’s Instagram posts from early 2020, hinting at their courtship.

Katie Thurston’s was not the first ‘Bachelorette’ season Greg Grippo considered joining

In an interview with former bachelor Nick Viall on The Viall Files, Grippo spoke about his history with The Bachelor franchise.

He said his sister had submitted him for The Bachelorette without his knowledge. So when he got a call from casting for Becca Kufrin’s season, he thought it was a joke.

“I thought it was my buddy pranking me at first,” he said. “I was like ‘No, who the hell is this?’”

A couple of years later, Grippo received another call from producers. This time for Clare Crawley’s season. But Grippo didn’t know Crawley was the lead until he’d already agreed to go on the show.

“It ended up getting announced that it was Clare about three days before I was leaving,” he said. “Bags were packed, I was ready to go. And I’ll always remember, she was announced on GMA and I was like, ‘I don’t know if she’s gonna like me. I don’t know if this is like the perfect fit.’ But casting was like, ‘Age is just a number. You never know.’ And, yeah, I’ll give anything a shot really. I was just like, ‘Who knows? Maybe we’ll hit it off.’ You just never know until you know.”

So Grippo proceeded with things but then COVID-19 hit the United States and all the contestants were sent home. By the time production began again, Grippo had decided against participating.

“I just feel like it wasn’t for me at that point,” he said.

Next was Thurston’s season, which, again, Grippo says he almost didn’t do.

“I didn’t think I was gonna do it until the very last moment honestly,” he said. “I just hopped on a plane and got over there.”