Things Are Looking Rough For The Bachelor After It’s Revealed The Bachelorette Season 21 Struggled To Lock-In A Lead

As Jenn Tran begins her journey to find love on The Bachelorette season 21, two front-runners for the role, Daisy Kent and Maria Georgas, have both revealed that they turned it down, which could mean trouble for the Bachelor franchise in the future, since the leading role of the reality dating series used to be one of the most sought-after in television. Jenn, a 26-year-old physician assistant student from Hillsdale, New Jersey, who’s currently living in Miami, Florida, got her start in Joey Graziadei’s Bachelor season. She told him that she was falling in love with him, but he eliminated her right before his hometown dates.

Now Jenn is ready to continue her journey to find love on The Bachelorette season 21. However, the fact that she was the producers’ third choice for the role is very concerning. Women used to line up to be the Bachelorette, but this is no longer the case. Previousl, people wanted to experience falling in love in the fantasy world of the show, traveling the world and participating in adventures. However, from the constant public scrutiny to the producer manipulation, it’s no wonder that Daisy and Maria turned down the role. Their reluctance to continue with the franchise could spell trouble for the show in the future.

Daisy Kent Turned Down The Bachelorette Because It’s Too Hard On The Lead

Being The Bachelorette Takes A Physical & Emotional Toll

During Joey’s “After the Final Rose” episode, Daisy explained that she wasn’t ready to be the Bachelorette. She later appeared on former Bachelor Nick Viall’s Viall Files podcast and further explained her decision. She said that her health was an aspect that she had to consider. Daisy became very ill with Lyme disease as a teenager, which led to her losing her hearing. She’d gotten a cochlear implant shortly before she appeared on The Bachelor.

Daisy explained that the show takes a physical and an emotional toll, so she knew that it would be a lot for her from a health standpoint. She’d even spoke to many past leads when she was in talks to become the Bachelorette, which helped her to realize that it would be too much for her healthwise. It’s concerning that past leads expressed how hard the show was on them. The producers should work to make it less taxing in the future. In addition, Daisy was worried about hurting people through the process.

Daisy added that The Bachelorette wasn’t right for her at the time. She said that she felt very happy after Jenn was announced instead of regretful, so she knew that she made the right decision for her. Daisy is now dating Thor Herbst, a friend she knew from college. However, she emphasized on The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast that she made the decision not to be the Bachelorette on her own and her dating life had nothing to do with it.

Although it’s completely understandable that Daisy didn’t want to be the lead of The Bachelorette due to the toll it takes, it’s a valid concern that could discourage others from doing it in the future. Also, the lead inevitably has to break many hearts, which is very difficult. The format of the show is bizarre, so it’s no wonder that women are starting to turn it down.

The very public breakups of so many leads’ engagements in a row, including Becca Kufrin, Hannah Brown, Clare Crawley, Tayshia Adams, Katie Thurston, Michelle Young, Gabby Windey, and Rachel Recchia, also had to be a concern. However, The Bachelorette season 20 star Charity Lawson is still engaged to Dotun Olubeko and planning a 2025 wedding. Still, the failure rate of the show makes Daisy’s decision to date out of the public eye seem like a smart one.

Maria Georgas Theorizes That The Bachelor Franchise Planned To Make Her A Villain

Maria Thinks Producers Fabricated Her Feud With Sydney Gordon

During Joey’s Bachelor season, Maria clashed with several of the women, including Sydney Gordon. After Madina Alam expressed concern that she was one of the oldest women on the season at age 31, Sydney overheard Maria telling another contestant that Madina should embrace her age because she was a beautiful woman. Sydney misconstrued this as Maria belittling Madina’s feelings, and made it her mission to expose Maria as a mean girl and a bully to the other women and Joey, even though it clearly wasn’t true. Sydney seemed like a producer plant, who was only cast on the show to start trouble.

After Joey eliminated Sydney on a two-on-one date with Maria, Lea Cayanan continued Sydney’s crusade to paint Maria as the villain. It was very puzzling to viewers, who wondered why Maria was receiving so much hate from the women. After Jess Edwards joined in on the bullying, Maria almost left the show. However, Maria has now reconciled with Sydney. On the Call Her Daddy podcast, Maria revealed that she has a theory about why Sydney was so upset with her.

Maria admitted that she has a connection to Nick Viall. She’s known him since 2017, but they’ve always only been just friends. When Nick found out that Maria was cast in the show, he told her that she was going to be the villain of the season. At the time, Maria wondered why he’d say this, but now she has a theory about it. Nick is friends with Bachelor Nation alum Ashley Iaconetti, who’s friends with Sydney. Maria shared that someone had sent her a photo of Nick and Sydney together, which led her to wonder if the drama was all planned.

In addition, Maria revealed that she was offered the lead role of The Bachelorette season 21, but turned it down after she’d already been cast and was going for fittings. She said that she realized that she wasn’t happy and excited about it, so she knew that it wasn’t her time. Maria also knew how badly Jenn wanted to be the Bachelorette, so she declined the role.

However, although it’s just speculation, one has to wonder if Maria’s concern that she was being manipulated during The Bachelor season 28 played a role in her turning down The Bachelorette. If Maria had suspicions that the producers were conspiring against her, then it would make sense for her to distance herself from the franchise. No one would want to be part of something that didn’t have their best interests at heart.

It’s Insulting That Jenn Tran Was Revealed To Be Producers’ Third Choice For The Bachelorette

Jenn Deserved Better From The Show

The Bachelorette producers have been patting themselves on the back for finally casting an Asian American franchise lead, and Jenn, who’s Vietnamese, is happy to represent her culture. However, knowing that they chose Daisy and Maria first makes their step forward seem insincere. They didn’t originally set out to cast the first Asian American lead. Instead, they chose Jenn after their first two choices backed out.

It’s very insulting to Jenn that Daisy and Maria were allowed to reveal that they were the producers’ first choices for the lead role of The Bachelorette. This was especially true when Jenn was announced as the Bachelorette on “After the Final Rose” after fan favorite Daisy revealed that she’d turned down the role. Daisy and Maria’s refusals should never have been made public.

In addition, Reality Steve has reported that some of Jenn’s contestants were expecting Daisy or Maria to be the Bachelorette, and they made it known on the season. He stated that he had no way of knowing if this would be a storyline on the show. However, knowing how the producers love to create drama, it probably will be. It would be a shame if Jenn’s journey as the Bachelorette began with her feeling second-best or unwanted. The show is stressful enough without unnecessary producer-created drama coming into play.

As the years pass by and more of the truth about the Bachelor franchise is revealed, fewer people will be willing to put themselves through it all. The fact that two front-runners for The Bachelorette turned down the once-coveted lead role of show is a bad sign for the future of the franchise. It seems that it’s run its course, and it simply doesn’t work anymore. The fantasy has been destroyed, and the sad truths about the behind-the-scenes drama are being revealed. Although Jenn is excited for her journey, and The Bachelorette season 21 will be fun to watch, the roses have definitely begun to wither.

Sources: Viall Files, The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast, Call Her Daddy, Reality Steve