I want to be very clear that none of this is confirmed. It is PURE speculation.
There's been a lot of back-and-forth in the tabloids with conflicting theories speculating whether or not Chris Harrison will ever return as the host of all Bachelor Nation shows. But I saw something on the @bachelorabc Instagram page today that really made me think they might be interviewing other people or at least weighing their options for future hosts of The Bachelor.
As of right now, we do not know who will be hosting Bachelor In Paradise or Michelle Young's season of The Bachelorette. What we do know is that Chris Harrison is not hosting Katie Thurston's upcoming season of The Bachelorette, which is set to premiere on June 7. Instead, former Bachelorette leads Kaitlyn Bristowe and Tayshia Adams will be stepping in as "mentors" in lieu of a host.
On Thursday, @bachelorabc shared a promo video of The Bachelor season 5 lead, Jesse Palmer, who is set to host the NFL Draft on Thursday night on ABC.
This makes sense that they'd post this promo for several reasons, but I think there's a lot more to it. Yea, it's ABC and they're cross-promoting. MAYBE that's all it is. This promo is only posted on @bachelorabc, and not @bachelornation. It makes sense that it's not posted on @bacheloretteabc either, but this really makes me want to pay more attention to what they're posting on @bachelorabc in the coming weeks and months.
Jesse is part of Bachelor Nation. We haven't seen him in a while, though...and in the past year, he left Daily Mail TV as their host. (So he's a little more available...and very much dedicated to the ABC/Disney family now.) ABC loves keeping it in the family when it comes to Bachelor Nation, with the exception of Emmanuel Acho hosting After The Final Rose during season 25. He's affiliated with ABC, but Emmanuel was not part of Bachelor Nation until recently.
Jesse has a history with the show as a former lead, which stems way back to the early days of this franchise...which is also probably appealing for many people because the show has changed dramatically in just the last ten years alone. It might be refreshing to see someone come back from almost 20 years ago, when the franchise was in the earlier stages of establishing itself in pop culture. However, this move is drastically different from the choice of having Kaitlyn Bristowe and Tayshia Adams step in as mentors. Which path will they choose? I'm not sure.
Anyway, in no way do I have the inside scoop on what's really going on. I'm just speculating here. But Jesse Palmer seems like he might be a viable option for host.
What do you think?
As things begin to unfold, I'll cover what's happening in Bachelor Nation in my podcast, Can I Peel You For A Sec?, where Bachelor-meets-skincare. Check out my latest episode below, where I tell you how I discovered a spoiler in the wild from one of Katie's guys (I don't reveal the actual guy, so you're safe). Trust me, it's something you don't want to miss out on...and I'll give a follow-up to the story as Katie's season starts rolling.
