The past month has been a wild time in Bachelor Nation, and not in the normal ways of fantasy suite complications or contestants appearing on shows for the wrong reasons. Longtime host Chris Harrison found himself in hot water after defending The Bachelor Season 25 frontrunner Rachael Kirkconnell for her attendance of an Antebellum party, and even Kirkconnell has acknowledged that she deserves to be held accountable for racist behavior. Chris Harrison stepped back from The Bachelor after stirring up controversy with his interview Rachel Lindsay, and now it appears that The Bachelorette has officially replaced him as host with familiar faces.
Yes, that's familiar faces, plural. Bachelor Nation spoiler guru Reality Steve took to Twitter with the latest spoiler report that reveals The Bachelorette Season 17 (said to be starring Katie Thurston despite previous rumors of a recasting) will be the first not to be hosted by Chris Harrison, but rather by two others. Here's what Steve has to say about the situation:
Reality Steve is almost always reliable as a source of spoilers when it comes to Bachelor Nation, and his report that Tayshia Adams and Kaitlyn Bristowe are quarantining at the Hyatt Tamaya in New Mexico seems to corroborate earlier reports that suggested Chris Harrison could be out for Season 17. Adams and Bristowe are of course very familiar faces in the Bachelor franchise, both having appeared for some heartbreak on The Bachelor before starring in a search for love on The Bachelorette.
Tayshia Adams and Kaitlyn Bristowe are also likely fresh in the minds of ABC viewers, as Adams is the most recent Bachelorette after she stepped into Season 16 once Clare Crawley stepped out early, and Bristowe is fresh off winning Dancing with the Stars Season 29. Adams was also the first Black Bachelorette since Rachel Lindsay (and only the second of two Black leads of the entire franchise before Matt James became Bachelor).
All things considered, Tayshia Adams and Kaitlyn Bristowe aren't shocking choices to step in for Chris Harrison, if The Bachelorette was looking for new hosts within the Bachelor Nation family rather than bringing in somebody new, as is the case with Emmanuel Acho stepping in to host the "After the Final Rose" special of The Bachelor Season 25. Interestingly, another former Bachelorette served as temporary host of Adams' season as leading lady, but it was JoJo Fletcher who filled in.
That said, Tayshia Adams and Kaitlyn Bristowe will come back to The Bachelorette with very different experiences, and not just because Adams' season was bonkers overall. Bristowe found love in Bachelor Nation and seems likely to get engaged to her current partner, but he isn't one of the men who appeared on any of the Bachelor Nation shows with Bristowe. Bristowe is with Jason Tartick, who appeared in Becca Kufrin's season of The Bachelorette. As for Adams, she remains engaged to Zac Clark. One of the women is a Bachelorette success story; the other, less so.
So, how will these Bachelor Nation veterans but inexperienced hosts measure up to Chris Harrison? Only time will tell, assuming spoilers are correct, but production is definitely moving forward on the next season of The Bachelorette. A big question now is whether or not Harrison has a future in Bachelor Nation beyond The Bachelorette Season 16. There are undoubtedly more Bachelor and Bachelorette seasons to come, not to mention my personal favorite that is the trainwreck called Bachelor in Paradise.
