Bachelor Nation is waiting with bated breath for the upcoming season of The Bachelorette in June. With Chris Harrison gone and Tayshia Adams and Kaitlyn Bristowe stepping in as replacement hosts, there is no telling how different the dynamic of the reality show will actually be. As a former Bachelorette herself and now host for the franchise, Bristowe revealed the advice she offered to the newest leading lady of Season 17, Katie Thurston.
This season of The Bachelorette will be the first view of the franchise after the race scandal and fallout from The Bachelor. So all eyes are on Katie Thurston, as well as Tayshia Adams and Kaitlyn Bristowe. Bristowe revealed to HollywoodLife how she prepared Thurston for her season:
I always give the same advice to everyone that goes on the show and that’s basically to not try and control the narrative.
It’s a solid piece of advice from Kaitlyn Bristowe to Katie Thurston, but it’s not one so easy to accomplish. The ultimate edit that reality stars receive is at the mercy and hands of a network trying to sell drama and fairytales in equal measure. Clare Crawley from Season 16 – who dipped out early with Dale Moss – even revealed that she was unhappy with the edit she got that was, I guess, too magical.
Whether it’s the stars of Survivor or Keeping Up With the Kardashians or Bachelor Nation, the best that can be hoped for is that you portray your real self and, in theory, there shouldn’t be any regrets. This was another point that Kaitlyn Bristowe advised Katie Thurston on during The Bachelorette:
[I always say] to be authentic to who you are. There’s a lot of pressure from the world watching, and a lot of times you get in your head about what they would want to see and how it might be portrayed, but you can’t let that drive the narrative of the story. It has to be truly authentic to yourself and how you’re feeling, no matter who you’re going to piss off.
After everything that played out during Matt James’ recent season on The Bachelor, though, it's probably hard for the future contestants of Bachelor Nation to not think about audience perception. Rachael Kirkconnell obviously didn’t think twice, before the controversy, about how liking pics on social media and posting Antebellum-themed parties would affect people’s perception of her on the show. It has even been reported that many past contestants are hesitant to appear on the franchise again for these very reasons. Apparently though, this hasn’t stopped James and Kirkconnell from getting back together again.
Regardless, it’s a necessary, needle-moving change to see women advising women on important matters of the heart on The Bachelorette. The set has reportedly been awkward for the cast and crew without Chris Harrison around but, clearly, Tayshia Adams and Kaitlyn Bristowe know the experience of being a Bachelorette before and can advise accordingly.
We’ll find out what other changes are in store for The Bachelorette when Katie Thurston’s season premieres on June 7th on ABC.
