It's been a long road to love on Hannah Brown's season on The Bachelorette. There's been tons of drama on camera and off about Luke Parker, some unaddressed rumors about Jed Wyatt and similar rumors about Peter Weber as we watched both capture corners of Hannah's heart. But, Hannah did have some good guys this season who could go on to be the next Bachelor. Specifically, I'm talking about Mike Johnson and Tyler Cameron.
That's right, folks. The biggest question coming up for Bachelor Nation is not, "Who will Hannah choose?" (seeing as how spoilers suggest she will, unfortunately, pick a dud) but, "Who will be our next Bachelor?" Producers for The Bachelor have pointed out, since Rachel Lindsay's groundbreaking season as the first African American Bachelorette, that they need to see someone who is honest about their desire to try and find love on the show, as well as someone who has fan support to declare them as the next lead. So, where does that leave Mike and Tyler?
Let's break down the possibilities here, starting with Mike, since he's been gone for a few weeks from Hannah's season and has a clearer shot at the Bachelor gig. Because, potential spoilers notwithstanding, Tyler is still in the running for Hannah's main squeeze, and he might be able to win her heart, after all.
Ah, Mike Johnson of the megawatt smile. Just looking at him, it's pretty easy to see why he'd be in consideration for the next Bachelor, even though he didn't make it into Hannah's top three. Aside from his dashing good looks, the 31-year-old Air Force vet and portfolio manager from San Antonio, Texas got fan support early on for seemingly being totally sincere in his search for love...and for being an early vocal opponent of Luke P.'s. And, if you Google Mike right now, you'll see that that support from Bachelor Nation has never really wavered, either.
After Mike's elimination, where a sobbing Hannah told him she knew she wasn't his "fourth lady" and couldn't complete the number of important women in his life (even though she was clearly torn up about the decision), he took to Twitter and simply posted a lovely message about how his future wife should be "ready for smiles, adventure, comfort, growth, honesty, laughter, me falling using my inhaler and kissing your stretch marks and imperfections."
So, yeah, Mike seems perfect. And, there are three other things in the plus column for Mr. Johnson. He currently has no scandals brewing behind the scenes, he's rumored to make a grand showing during the Men Tell All special which could get anyone not sure about him for Bachelor on his side, and, Chris Harrison is a firm believer in the power of Mike, telling The Hollywood Reporter that he's "definitely in the mix" when it comes to men the show is looking at to lead Season 24 of The Bachelor.
To top it all off, Mike told THR that he'd consider becoming the Bachelor if asked, and he seems pretty high on the idea of a black Bachelor and finding love on the franchise, in general. When asked about the possibility of a black Bachelor and whether or not the show works he said:
[It's] 100 percent time to have a black Bachelor. I’m super grateful that it’s even in the conversation, but most importantly, I would want to have a conversation about the contestants being there for the right reasons. That’s something that I hold near and dear to my heart. In this process, love is 100 percent possible. We have proof that love has happened and love can happen, and that’s what I have to say about that.
Mike Johnson, everybody. His chances are looking pretty good!
Now, let's not forget good old Tyler Cameron. While the most vocal support for Bachelor appears to lead us to Mike, Tyler is no slouch in the fan-support department, becoming known for mostly staying out of all the drama with Luke P. and also giving Hannah just the advice or words of encouragement she needs to hear at all times.
It should be no surprise, then, that one of Tyler's fans is Hannah Brown, herself. Before their fantasy suite date (which aired last week), Hannah told Tyler that she didn't want to have sex with him that night if they decided to share a room. While he looked a bit saddened by it (as most dudes would), he didn't miss a beat in telling Hannah that he wanted her to do whatever she needed during their date. The next day, Hannah told everyone that Tyler was "the most respectful man I've been with...Ever." Which was enough to seal the deal in the minds of many fans for making Tyler the next Bachelor.
Even though he rubbed some the wrong way with a jab at Luke early in the season, and some think he's just not ready to be engaged at the end of a few weeks of knowing his potential Bachelor-chosen suitor, another possible point in Tyler's favor is that his mom seems to think her son will be handing out roses next season.
Apparently, a rumor is going around that Tyler's mom was at a Bachelorette watch party last week in his home state of Florida and was overheard telling every man, woman, child and pet in the room that her kid was gonna be the next Bachelor. Now, the chance that this is actually true, as opposed to his mom simply believing that her dear son is top-of-the-line Bachelor material, is pretty slim. The producers still have a Bachelor in Paradise season to weed through and see if anyone really gets the fans on their side for Bachelor, before they make a final decision.
So, who do I really think, deep down in my heart of hearts, will become the next Bachelor? No offense to Tyler, but I think Mike has it in the bag. Not only does he have a massive showing of support from fans and Chris Harrison, but most people seem to agree that it's time for the franchise to open itself up to non-white leads more. Of the men from the past three Bachelorette seasons (Rachel Lindsay, Becca Kufrin and Hannah Brown), Mike is the only such gentleman to get and keep fan support.
Obviously, we've got quite a while to wait until any decision on the next Bachelor will be announced, but until then you can catch up with The Bachelorette, which is airing its Men Tell All special tonight on ABC at 8 p.m. EST, and promises to show everyone's thoughts on all the Luke drama this season.
