With every new season of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, fans (and producers) are inevitably on the lookout for worthy candidates to lead the next season; who is most deserving of that second chance at love? One hopeful from Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia’s historic (and chaotic) season, Nate Mitchell, has seemed like a frontrunner to be the next Bachelor from the beginning. But after reports surfaced claiming he'd previously dated two women at the same time — while not telling one of them he has a daughter — are his chances now ruined? Let’s discuss.
Why Is Nate Mitchell Being Accused Of Cheating?
Nate Mitchell has been touted as such a stereotypical "good guy" on The Bachelorette this season, and Gabby Windey’s breakup with the single dad over her not being ready to take on motherhood had us crying actual tears. So Bachelor Nation fans were pretty shocked when Reality Steve came out with a column in which he spoke with two women who each claimed they dated Mitchell during the same time period in 2021. Not only were they unaware of each other, but Kelsey Fankhauser posted a TikTok revealing that she hadn’t even known he had a daughter until she found out on The Bachelorette. Watch the vid below.
@kelseyfank Shame on me👎🏼🙄
♬ son original - brittany barré
Kelsey Fankhauser isn’t just saying she didn’t meet Nate Mitchell’s daughter, which would be completely understandable on his part, but that she didn’t even know his offspring existed at all. That’s some pretty bizarre detail-withholding for a relationship that apparently lasted over a year.
Does This Ruin Nate Mitchell’s Chances Of Becoming The Next Bachelor?
ABC has made no announcement regarding The Bachelor for Season 27, so it’s only speculation pointing to Nate Mitchell being a frontrunner in the first place. From the premiere episode of The Bachelorette Season 19 all the way to his elimination, Mitchell has been shown being respectful to the two female leads, defending them when needed, and talking a lot about his young daughter. An added franchise bonus is that as a Black man, Mitchell would provide The Bachelor with more of the diversity it is so obviously lacking.
The Bachelor producer Mike Fleiss has posted a series of tweets in Nate Mitchell’s defense, asking viewers to withhold judgment until all the facts were presented.
Don’t jump to conclusions about certain cast members based on mere allegations, as disturbing as they may be. I beg you to wait until all the facts come out before making any judgments. #TheBacheloretteAugust 10, 2022
The fact that people behind the scenes of the show are (or were) standing by Nate Mitchell leads me to believe the network would be willing to stay the course if they did indeed intend to make him their next lead. But have the fans turned against him since the two-timing allegations came out?
As with any potential lead, there are going to be both supporters and naysayers. But Reality Steve’s report certainly seems to have turned some people off of the electrical engineer from Chicago, such as the viewer below:
Dear people in charge of things at The Bachelor: please, for the love of god, do not make Nate the next Bachelor. Even though he’s apparently very practiced at dating multiple women at once 😬 #TheBacheloretteAugust 16, 2022
However, he’s still garnering support from some Bachelor Nation fans, who insist he be the lead for The Bachelor Season 27.
Justice for Nate. This man has to be our next Bachelor.#bachelorette #TheBachelorette pic.twitter.com/LjYOlcbmpZAugust 16, 2022
And no, the irony is definitely not lost on social media users that we are discussing the possibility of Nate Mitchell losing out on the chance to date multiple women because he got caught dating multiple women.
Producers: Sorry Nate, you can’t be the bachelor after the gossip came out about you dating multiple women. Nate: isn’t that what I’d do as the bachelor?Producers: #thebachelorette #bachelorette #BachelorNation pic.twitter.com/gfovxZIQT7August 16, 2022
It will be interesting to see what all comes out of this situation. If Nate Mitchell is not named the lead of The Bachelor Season 27, we’ll likely never know if this played a role in it. As we wait for news on that front, we’ve still got two women who are hopefully well on their way to engagements. And if you want to know the rumored ending, check out our spoiler!
Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia’s journeys will continue on The Bachelorette at 8 p.m. ET Monday, August 22, on ABC. Check out our 2022 TV Schedule to see what shows are premiering soon.
