When I first learned that The Bachelorette wouldn’t be airing a new season in summer 2025, my brain cycled through some version of, “WHAT?! That makes sense, I guess. You know what, good. Wait, hold up. WHY?”
The news initially came as a shock, considering a new season of The Bachelor spinoff has aired every year since 2008. (It’s Bachelor Nation tradition! Not even COVID-19 halted production!) But following Jenn Tran’s disastrous Season 21 — which ended with her winner, Devin Strader, calling off their engagement over the phone followed by an unbelievably cruel live finale event that failed to protect the show’s first Asian American lead — the pause made sense. Surely the franchise, producers, and the folks at ABC saw how poorly Season 21 went and decided that some extra time to regroup was warranted, I thought. After such a disastrous season (one that also featured allegations of toxic behavior against the runner-up), the idea that a delay could be utilized to learn from past mistakes, sharpen a heavily questioned vetting process, and return even stronger felt promising. But if those are the intentions behind the skipped cycle, no one is owning them.
Decider reached out to reps for comment and will update this article if we receive a response. But per Deadline, “It’s not entirely clear why the decision has been made,” and Bachelor in Paradise, which skipped a season in 2024, will reportedly be the next show in the franchise to air, with new showrunner, Scott Teti. Though fall Bachelorette seasons have happened before and there’s still a chance the spinoff could return in late 2025, the lack of a statement — one that ideally offers clarity, accountability, or plans for the future — is part of what makes the pause so confusing and disappointing.
Since news of the schedule switch-up broke on February 7, franchise host Jesse Palmer went on the Playing the Field podcast to shed some light on the move and assure worried fans that The Bachelorette does indeed plan to return.
“I can’t get too far in depth with a lot of the creative decisions that went into that. I know it’s not unprecedented for The Bachelorette not to air in the summer. I think back in 2020 and 2021 it actually aired in the fall,” Palmer explained. “Listen, I’m obviously a little bummed myself just because I always love my interactions on that show with the lead. I love getting to meet a whole brand new cast. And I love being there to help guide people towards hopefully finding everlasting love on the show… The good news is, I know it’s not going away. I know it’s definitely coming back. And without being able to get into too much of the creative decisions, I know that when it does, I think it’s just going to be absolutely tremendous.”
After learning about the unexpected delay, however, former Bachelorette leads Rachel Recchia and Trista Sutter went on Ben Higgins and Ashley Iaconetti’s Almost Famous podcast to share some additional insight related to the decision.
“I was shocked, because I heard they picked the lead,” Recchia said. “I heard the lead was like decided, and it made sense to me who they picked — again, rumors. And then all of a sudden, I saw this on Instagram. Normally I feel like we hear stuff on the inside, I didn’t hear anything.”
“Ben told us, I want to say, two weeks ago. We were about to record an episode. I think he was with Wells around that time, and he goes, ‘So, guys. Guess what. I heard that The Bachelorette‘s not happening…because that housewives show [The Secret Lives Of Mormon Wives]… because that’s doing so well, they’re going to use the Bachelorette time slot, because it’s the same demographic,” Iaconetti added. “So, the same people are watching that, but it did so well on Hulu, the first season, that they brought it to air… and now they’re going to use the normal Bachelorette time slot for Mormon Wives.”
So is The Bachelorette skipping a season for the right reasons? Or are ratings the sole driving factor?
If the decision to push pause on The Bachelorette is in pursuit of better summer ratings as opposed to some much-needed reflection, it’s not ideal, but it’s still understandable. In any case, say something — anything! — to fans who have been begging for more transparency for years. With The Golden Bachelor and The Golden Bachelorette, the franchise now has five active shows to juggle, so I’m not here to knock them as they find their footing. But on the heels of an especially bad season of The Bachelorette, Bachelor Nation deserved more than the series getting a mysterious bump back on the schedule and trickling info from Palmer and speculative alum. Once again, the franchise had a perfect opportunity to own its mistakes and commit to crafting a more successful Bachelorette experience going forward. Instead of taking it, fans were left in the dark, which caused speculation to run wild.
Perhaps as Grant Ellis’ season of The Bachelor continues to air, we’ll hear more about The Bachelorette‘s future and possibly even a lead that will restore hope for fans. Without context, though, the franchise is making the break seem like a bigger deal than it needs to be. The women on Iaconetti’s podcast voicing concern about “the beginning of the end” of the franchise was a direct result keeping those “creative decisions” that Palmer couldn’t discuss too close to the vest.
As of right now, all signs point to The Bachelorette continuing down the line. (After all, there’s no Paradise cast without it!) The choice to skip the summer cycle will hopefully be cleared up this year, but the nondescript way the franchise delivered the news needlessly left a sour taste on the heels of a sour Bachelorette season.
New episodes of The Bachelor Season 29 air Mondays at 8:00 p.m. ET on ABC.