ABC/Craig Sjodin; ABC/Andrew Eccles
‘Bachelorette’ Alum Greg Grippo Is Rumored to Be the New Bachelor — Here’s What We Know
There may be a comeback in the works. Bachelorette contestant Greg Grippo is rumored to be taking the helm as the leading man of season 26 of The Bachelor — but is there any truth to the speculation following his bombshell blowout with Bachelorette Katie Thurston?
“Major announcement regarding #TheBachelor!!! No official decision has been made,” producer Mike Fleiss tweeted on Thursday, August 19. “Stay tuned. Have an ice cold, gluten-free @OmissionBeer,” the 57-year-old wrote. “These decisions regarding our next #TheBachelor are complicated. Like the complicated process that gives us delicious, gluten-free @OmissionBeer.”
The next day, he added, “Our casting choice for your next #TheBachelor will unite #BachelorNation and solve all of the world’s problems …”
It appears the ABC producer’s tweets were in response to a spoiler post made by Reality Steve earlier the same day. “What I’ve been hearing the past 5 days or so regarding the next Bachelor are this…been told it’s going to be Greg,” the Bachelor Nation guru wrote on Thursday. “Obviously it’s never ‘official’ until ABC announces it (whenever that may be), but at this point I would be very surprised if it’s not him.”
Two days before Mike clapped back, he made a complicated statement about whoever will become the next lead of the ABC series. “All I can tell you right now is that #BachelorNation will be very happy,” he wrote at the time. “Well, maybe not everybody…”
Greg, 28, became a fixture in Bachelor Nation after he self-eliminated following his hometown date with Katie. He claimed that the former bank marketing manager, 30, wasn’t reciprocating his feelings despite selecting him as her first impression rose recipient. “I can’t be there at the end if I don’t think it’s us,” he said prior to his departure. “I just don’t understand how you don’t know at this point. I just don’t get it.”
She then asked, “Are you not wanting to stay anymore? Are you done?” His answer continued to complicate things for the pair. “That’s exactly what I’m saying. It was never about a rose for me this week,” he replied. “I was never asking you to confess your love to me. All I was asking for was Katie.”
During her After the Final Rose special, the starlet told Greg how she felt about the way things were left. “I fill a hole in your heart, yet you treated me the way you did. You spoke down to me. You didn’t even bother to say goodbye,” Katie told him during the live episode. “You say you love me, but I don’t even think you know what love is.”
“What people need to remember is After the Final Rose is about kind of speaking your own truth and getting it out there for that final closure. And really that’s what Greg and I both were able to do,” Katie later told Us Weekly. “And we’re ready to just close that door forever and move forward. You can be happy and in love in your relationship, but still be upset with how someone treated you in the past and you want to speak on it.”
