‘The Bachelorette’: How Will Season 19 Work With Both Gabby and Rachel?
The Bachelorette is back for an unprecedented season 19 with Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia. For the first time, one season will feature two Bachelorettes at the same time as the show’s leading ladies. While the new season will still include rose ceremonies, group dates, and one-on-ones, it’s clear that the show’s format will be slightly different. Here’s everything we know so far about how season 19 will be structured.
The Bachelorette Season 19 will take place on a cruise ship
As it often is, season 19 of The Bachelorette will kick off at Villa de la Vina mansion, located in Malibu Hills, California. However, the filming location is shaking things up pretty quickly. Teasers for The Bachelorette Season 19 show Gabby Windey, Rachel Recchia, and the men on a cruise ship.
Former Bachelor Nick Viall discussed the new setting during an episode of his podcast, The Viall Files. “It is on a cruise ship — part of it,” he said. “I asked people because it sounds like the producers think it’s gonna be really interesting but very different.” It seems likely that the cruise ship will then take Gabby, Rachel, and the men to several idyllic destinations.
Gabby and Rachel will meet all 32 men together
Fans of The Bachelorette are familiar with the chaos of night one. As usual, the show’s leading ladies will meet limos full of men, but Gabby and Rachel won’t be split up. Promos for the premiere episode show the Bachelorettes meeting their contestants for the season together, which is sure to result in some awkwardness.
It’s also worth noting that although there are two Bachelorettes, season 19 is not doubling the number of contestants. There are reportedly 32 men total at the start of the season, which is pretty average for the franchise.
How will the rose ceremonies work in season 19?
While the rose ceremonies for The Bachelorette Season 19 will have a similar format, there will be some added tension this time around. It appears that Gabby and Rachel will hand out roses together. In the first two episodes, the men will have the opportunity to get to know both women. Things will reportedly change by the third rose ceremony.
According to Reality Steve, by night three the men reportedly must make decisions about which Bachelorette they want to date going forward. Reality Steve wrote that at rose ceremony No. 3, “Rachel and Gabby gave out roses to who they were interested in, and those guys would either choose to accept or not.”
A promo video shows one contestant rejecting a rose from Rachel, saying he is there for Gabby. It’s not yet clear whether that contestant will be able to stick around, though if Gabby wants him there that could be the case.
Will Hometowns and Fantasy Suites be the same?
Reality Steve also reportedly knows that both Gabby and Rachel will each take four men to the Hometown dates. This likely means they will also move onto the Fantasy Suites with three men each, then come down to a final two contestants per person.
What’s not clear is how Gabby and Rachel’s dates will be divvied up in terms of air time. Will one episode focus on Gabby’s Hometowns while the next focuses on Rachel’s men meeting her family? This will become clearer as the show approaches the end of Gabby and Rachel’s Bachelorette journey.
The Bachelorette Season 19 premieres on July 11 at 8 p.m. ET.
