ABC/Ricky Middlesworth
Is ‘Bachelorette’ Season 19 Star Nate Mitchell the Next Bachelor? Why Fans Think So
Can we call Nate Mitchell the next Bachelor? No official announcements have been made just yet, but fans are convinced that he’s in the running! Keep reading for everything we know.
Was Nate Mitchell Involved In a Cheating Scandal?
Nate was under fire in August 2022 after a woman named Kelsey Fankhauser — who claimed to be his ex-girlfriend — alleged that he cheated on her before leaving for season 19 of The Bachelorette. Kelsey claimed to Reality Steve that she and Nate started dating in January 2020 before he allegedly “ghosted” her “for a week” in July 2021. A second woman, Laree Starke, allegedly reached out to Kelsey and claimed she and Nate had been “heavily dating” throughout 2021. Kelsey claimed she and Nate had broken up in November of that year.
However, Nate seemingly denied the accusations with an Instagram comment that read, “Two sides to every story [prayer emoji] wish u the best.”
The Bachelor franchise creator Mike Fleiss seemingly weighed in on the drama with a Twitter post. While he did not address Nate by name, fans assumed he was talking about the cheating allegations.
“Don’t jump to conclusions about certain cast members based on mere allegations, as disturbing as they may be,” the TV creator wrote at the time. “I beg you to wait until all the facts come out before making any judgments.”
In a series of other Twitter posts, he claimed that ABC executives were “conducting a thorough investigation.” Mike added, “Since there is an innocent, young child in this situation, we must conduct a full and complete investigation!!! #TheBachelorette,” referring to Nate’s daughter, whim he talked about on The Bachelorette.
Is Nate Mitchell the Next Bachelor?
Amid his stint on and Rachel Recchia‘s joint season of The Bachelorette, fans made a pretty strong case for the Illinois native to become the next lead. However, nothing has been announced just yet.
Amid Mike Fleiss’ apparent acknowledgement of the Nate drama, he fueled Bachelor speculation with a separate Twitter post. “OK, so who should we pick as your next #TheBachelor ???” he tweeted in August 2022.
“Sounds like you were ready to make him the bachelor and now you can’t with all that has come out about him. Hence the next tweet ‘who should be our next bachelor,'” one fan replied. Another added, “Sounds like damage control for a cast member who is absolutely guilty.”
A third speculated, “Tell us you are planning to make Nate the bachelor without telling us you are planning to make Nate the bachelor.”
Does Gabby Windey Support Nate Mitchell?
Even though the Bachelorette star sent him home, she still has love in her heart for the former contestant.
“I’ll always have his back 100 percent. He was nothing but good to me,” Gabby told Extra in August 2022. “When we met, he really was a role model for a lot of the guys and stood up for me and stood up for what he believed in, so I have a hard time knowing that person, thinking anything else about him, no matter what comes out online.”
