Fold the Bachelorettes, fold the drama.
Tonight After the Final Rose special, not one, but two women of Matt James‘season The bachelor were named as the next stars in the franchise.
Katie Thurston will lead season 17 of the ABC dating competition, which is set to debut in the summer of 2021, while Michelle Young will resume the role in season 18, showing in the fall of 2021.
So, what inspired Katie to take that leap of faith? “I’m ready to find love, and not just, like, the temporary type,” she shared. “I am speaking forever, my husband, and I am at a point in my life when I feel that I am the best version of myself.”
When the news that Katie would be announced as the next leader in the Bachelor franchise leaked on social media in February, the 29-year-old marketing manager responded with a shrug.
“New to me,” she wrote in her Instagram story. Maybe it was really news to her when she posted that Instagram or maybe she was minimizing the rumors to preserve the surprise, or maybe we will never know! Anyway, it is now official.