Ashley Iaconetti and Rachel Recchia can’t help but speculate about the future of Bachelor Nation after recent news regarding The Bachelorette.
“I was shocked because I heard they picked the lead,” Recchia, 28, claimed during an episode of the “Almost Famous” podcast. “I heard the lead was decided and it made sense to me who they picked. Again, rumors.”
Us Weekly confirmed on Friday, February 7 that it was unlikely The Bachelorette would return in 2025.
“I saw this on Instagram,” Recchia continued. “Normally, I feel like we hear stuff on the inside. I didn’t hear anything [about the pause].”
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Iaconetti, 36, claimed that fellow Bachelor Nation alum Ben Higgins was privy to The Bachelorette news before it went public — and alleged that The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives was involved in the network’s decision.
“Sorry Ben, if you didn’t want me to tell this part, but he said because that Housewives show, the Mormon Housewives — which is different than like the Bravo Housewives. Because that’s doing so well, they’re going to use The Bachelorette time slot because it’s the same demographic,” Iaconetti claimed. (Us Weekly reached out to ABC for comment.)
Elsewhere in the same episode, Iaconetti circled back to Recchia’s allegation that a new Bachelorette had already been chosen.
“I just feel like it was really juicy when you said that they had already picked the Bachelorette. This seems like a ratings thing,” Iaconetti speculated.
Recchia made it clear that these were rumors she had heard.
“We all hear so much, but I heard this, it was like two months ago,” she claimed. “They knew who it was going to be. … I heard a name. I heard from someone who usually knows, normally it’s a good source, but I don’t know.”
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Iaconetti had a lot of questions about when the decision to put The Bachelorette on hiatus was made.
“I’m talking [to] producers right now, but do we have any insight on this season’s ratings? Did they make this decision final because of the premiere?” she wondered, speculating that it was “before” Grant Ellis’ season premiered last month.
“Ben seemed to know before the season premiered that this was something that they were considering,” she added. The “Almost Famous” podcast producer also heard that The Bachelorette team allegedly found out the show news 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,” Iaconetti claimed. “They are still running those ads for casting, but nothing is set in stone. Does anybody think that this is the beginning of the end?”
Ellis’ season of The Bachelor is currently airing on ABC Mondays at 8 p.m. ET
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