We Finally Know Who the Next Bachelorette Will Be…Clare Crawley

Drumroll please…Clare Crawley!

Yep, it's certainly a surprising choice, because Clare has been on so many Bachelor shows already. She finished 2nd on Juan Pablo’s season, was on BIP 1 and 2, and even got engaged to Benoit Beauséjour-Savard after Bachelor Winter Games. Clare, 38, is also older than the previous Bachelorettes (something that fans have been wanting for a while now). Not what we were expecting but we’re pleasantly surprised. 

Keep reading for some of our top contenders who didn’t make the cut.

According to famed TV blogger Reality Steve, Brown was the “top choice” to lead season 16 of The Bachelorette…but there’s a small catch. He says Brown wasn’t happy with the compensation ABC offered her, so she was threatening to walk away unless the network could make a better deal. Yikes.

It’s hard to tell, since there was no standout contestant from season 24 of The Bachelor. While some fans were rooting for Kelley (slim pickings), others were convinced that Kendall Long (from Arie Luyendyk Jr.’s season of The Bachelor) would make a good lead. In fact, they called us out for not originally including her in our predictions list, and we stand corrected.

Yes, she’s still a contestant on Weber’s season, but there’s a chance that she doesn’t end up with the pilot. Reality Steve recently released never-before-seen pics of Madison filming in her hometown of Auburn, Alabama. While she could be finalizing scenes for The Bachelor, the timing seemed awfully fishy, since production wrapped several months ago.

She didn’t make it to the hometown dates, but she was still a worthy contender. Sydney originally caught our attention during her one-on-one date in episode five, though it had nothing to do with her connection with Weber. Instead, she came off as extremely poised and well-spoken, which are two necessary traits that former Bachelorette Hannah Brown lacked. No offense, Beast.

It’s important to point out that she’s almost certainly heading to Bachelor in Paradise, so there’s a chance she’ll find love on the beaches of Mexico. But we expect she was considered for The Bachelorette. After all, she had some of the best facial expressions we’ve ever seen on The Bachelor, so bring on the viral memes.

This one might surprise some fans, since she developed quite the arrogant attitude as the show progressed. (Like when she said, “The other girls are children. Just look at me, I’m an attorney,” during her three-on-one date.) Still, you’d be surprised by how many people think she’s exactly what the show needs.

As one Twitter user points out, “If Kelley isn’t the next #bachelorette I don’t want it!” Sorry, to disappoint. 

Her emotions were all over the place during Weber’s season of The Bachelor, but there’s no denying that she’s totally Bachelorette material. Not only is she hungry to find a partner, but she’s also handled getting soaked in Champagne like a champ. *Cue the #ChampagneGate jokes*

OK, hear us out. Alayah was manipulative throughout the entire season, throwing girls under the bus only to reveal she’s been scheming (and lying) from the beginning. Still, it was fantastic reality TV. And one could argue that she wouldn’t be nearly as catty on The Bachelorette, since she wouldn’t be living with twenty-something women. Now, our money is on BiP.

Bachelor fans previously called us out for not including Kendall on our list. She originally appeared on Luyendyk Jr.’s season of The Bachelor before finding love with Joe the Grocer on Bachelor in Paradise. The couple recently called it quits, making her an ideal candidate for the highly coveted role.

You probably remember her as the girl Colton Underwood dumped on Bachelor in Paradise before becoming the Bachelor. Not only has she developed quite the social media presence (780,000 followers and counting), but she’s also currently single.

Yes, she already had her shot in season 15. But after her failed engagement with Jed Wyatt, we have no doubt the producers are 100 percent Team Beast. To top it off, Reality Steve recently confirmed that ABC wants Brown to be the Bachelorette again—looks like they couldn’t agree on how much they’re going to pay her.