Inability to Land a Compelling Lead Reportedly to Blame for ‘The Bachelorette’ Pause, Says Alum

Fans of Bachelor Nation expected to learn who the next bachelorette would be soon. After all, Grant Ellis’ season of The Bachelor heads to its infamous hometowns episode next week. Instead of learning about the new bachelorette, they were served up a shocking announcement. Season 22 of The Bachelorette is officially paused, and crew members have been sent packing. The news has led to the development of several theories about what happened. They range from logistical limitations to more dramatic casting issues. A Bachelor Nation alum says a lack of compelling candidates is the reason behind the pause. 

Ashley Iconetti says ABC paused ‘The Bachelorette’ because they couldn’t get Maria

Ben Higgins and Ashley Iconetti reacted to news that the network had hit the pause button on The Bachelorette during a recent episode of their podcast, Almost Famous. During their chat, Iconetta claims that a source revealed that the casting agents couldn’t come up with a compelling enough lead, opting instead to sit this season out. Iconetti claims the team was after Maria Georgas, yet again, to serve as the lead, but something made it fall through. Iconetti didn’t elaborate on what prevented Georgas from signing up.

Higgins and Iconetti went on to insist that there were contestants from Grant’s season who were in talks for The Bachelorette as well. Still, none held enough appeal for ABC to continue forward. Iconetti posits the production team was laser-focused on Georgas, who appeared in season 28 of The Bachelor. When they couldn’t get her, they decided the show wasn’t worth producing.

Would Maria Georgas have been a good choice, anyway? 

While Iconetti seems confident in her source, the theory that ABC was so all-in on Georgas that they’d rather cancel the season than pick another lead seems a bit far-fetched. Sure, they wanted her to lead season 21 of the series, but when she passed, they moved on. Why would this time be different? While Jenn Tran’s season of The Bachelorette was among the most controversial, she didn’t do anything wrong and was largely likable. Some of the drama even started when Maria’s name was repeatedly brought into the conversation. 

Maria later admitted she was asked to take on the lead role but decided to pass. She even said her decision to pass is why Tran landed the part. The admission felt a bit mean-spirited. It certainly made the network look bad when you couple Maria’s revelation with the lackluster vetting process for Jenn Tran’s contestants. In short, bringing Maria back would likely have bothered some fans who felt especially protective of Tran. Maria probably would have been a bad public relations move.