Would Hannah Ann Sluss Return for ‘The Bachelorette’? ‘The Bachelor’ Contestants Says ‘Never Say Never’
The grand finale of Peter Weber’s Bachelor journey had the entire fandom rallying behind Hannah Ann Sluss as the next bachelorette. Of course, the franchise already announced Clare Crawley as the lead for the upcoming 16th season. But would Sluss consider The Bachelorette in the future? Recently, the model revealed she is open to the idea.
[Spoiler alert: The Bachelor Season 24 finale.]
What happened to Hannah Ann Sluss on ‘The Bachelor’?
In The Bachelor Season 24 finale, Weber proposed to Sluss and the pair got engaged. Then a month later, the 28-year-old pilot revealed he couldn’t give Sluss his full heart. Weber was still in love with his runner-up, Madison Prewett. So in the end, Weber and Sluss split.
During their breakup, Sluss was upset with her ex-fiancé for stringing her along and taking away her first engagement. She called him out for not following through with his words. And even when Sluss tried to escape Weber, the bachelor kept trying to apologize. However, the 23-year-old wasn’t taking any of it.
“You betrayed me, and you know it, right?” Sluss told Weber. “I’m going to get my life back on track now, where it originally was before. I’m strong and I’ve been own rock throughout this. You don’t have to worry about me.”
Meanwhile, at the After the Final Rose special on March 10, Sluss ruthlessly tore into Weber. She explained the bachelor didn’t express the full extent of his feelings toward Prewett. The model also called Weber out for telling her things so she would stay.
“Words are powerful, Peter,” Sluss said. “Either you don’t mean what you say or you don’t understand the weight of your words and how they impact people. So which one is it?”
Then Sluss revealed Weber’s indecisiveness and lingering feelings for Prewett weren’t the only red flags in the couple’s engagement. Apparently, Weber tried to convince his fiancée to be comfortable with contacting The Bachelorette’s Hannah Brown after their reunion on the show.
“So really, looking back at it, our engagement involved three women. Me. You still being in love with Madison and proposing to me. And you needing closure with Hannah Brown,” Sluss said. “That’s three women involved in our engagement I was completely blindsided to.”
Finally, Sluss ended her breakup speech with some solid advice. “If you want to be with a woman, you need to become a real man,” she said to Weber.
Was Hannah Ann Sluss considered for ‘The Bachelorette’ Season 16?
As mentioned, Bachelor Nation fans stood behind Sluss after her split with Weber and many believed her actions in the finale proved the model deserved to be the new bachelorette. We also know Crawley was announced as the next lead a week prior to the dramatic conclusion. But was Sluss considered for The Bachelorette Season 16? It looks like the franchise thought it was too soon.
When speaking with The Hollywood Reporter in March 2020, ABC executive Rob Mills shared why the network didn’t choose Sluss for the bachelorette role.
“I think with Hannah Ann, it was just too soon,” Mills said. “Hannah Ann displayed such a strength, not that that means she can’t be the bachelorette. But some of those words would have felt weird if it was like, ‘Ok, now I’m ready to go and meet these five guys.’”
He continued: “We did do that with Becca [Kufrin], though I think Becca and Arie broke up a little bit earlier. This was probably just too soon. But as we saw with Clare and with other people too, this doesn’t mean this is your one shot with Bachelorette. Also, Clare just felt too good to pass up.”
Nevertheless, it seems the producers are open to Sluss on Bachelor in Paradise — so long as she is ready.
“She would have to be ready and want to do it, but of course,” Mills said of the summer series. “Really, most of the cast is always welcome when they are ready. I’m sure she’ll talk to producers and if it’s the right decision for her. Hopefully, we’ll see her this summer.”
Hannah Ann Sluss says ‘never say never’ to ‘The Bachelorette’ in the future
Now it seems Sluss has grown since her Bachelor experience. In an interview with Kufrin and Rachel Lindsay on Bachelor Happy Hour, Sluss revealed how watching Weber’s season helped her move on from Weber.
“Watching back the season has been really helpful for me. It’s helped me work through any unresolved feelings I had toward him. I’m able to see how he is consistently indecisive and confused,” Sluss said. “It’s really helped me move forward because I know I deserve more than someone just half-loving me. I deserve someone who’s going to give me 100 percent.”
But even so, the decision to keep Sluss out of the running for The Bachelorette Season 16 was likely the right call to make. In an interview with The Ellen DeGeneres Show producers in March 2020, Sluss said she is still in the process of repairing what Weber broke.
“I’m still healing. Our breakup was five weeks ago,” Sluss said when asked whether she would ever want to do The Bachelorette. “I’m continuing to just move forward and think positive. But I would never say never.”
That said, Sluss is still excited to see Crawley’s season of The Bachelorette, especially since there will be an older cast.
“I think [Crawley’s] going to be awesome,” Sluss said. “Especially this past season, I think they need a season that will work out.” The Knoxville native laughed at her own statement then added Crawley is not only ready for love, she truly wants it.
So with The Bachelorette off the table for at least another year, what’s next for Sluss moving forward? She’s going to take things one step at a time. “We’ll see what’s next,” Sluss said. “I’m gonna have all the opportunities presented to me and I’ll go from there.”
