- Bachelor Nation alum Rachael Kirkconnell reveals whether she was approached to be on The Bachelorette season 22.
- Rachael reacted to The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Taylor Frankie Paul becoming the next Bachelorette.
- Rachael also shared whether she would come back to Bachelor Nation for any other shows.
In a major plot twist, The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Taylor Frankie Paul will be the next Bachelorette. ABC tends to cast a runner-up from the previous season of The Bachelor, and the choice came as a shock to fans of the beloved franchise because Taylor isn’t even a Bachelor Nation alum.
Initially, viewers wondered whether Rachael Kirkconnell from Matt James’s season might be offered the lead role—especially considering her recent split with the former Bachelor. But during Raising Cane’s NYFW Show on September 10, Rachael surprised fans by revealing that the network did not, in fact, ever approach her for The Bachelorette.
“I can say there’s no truth to that. Not for Bachelorette,” she exclusively told E! News at the New York Fashion Week event.
Interestingly enough, Rachael was offered to be a part of another Bachelor spin-off. During an August 6 appearance on Jason Tartick’s Trading Secrets podcast, she revealed that producers had reached out to gauge her interest in joining Bachelor in Paradise She ultimately declined ABC’s offer to protect her mental health and process her public breakup with Matt, which occurred in January 2025.
“I said if I’m scratching your back, you have to scratch mine too,” she said of her conversation with the network. “It would be a big deal if I went, but what would I get out of it? Because I really didn’t think I would leave in a relationship. I don’t even know how I feel about dating anyone in Bachelor Nation.”
So...where does Rachael’s future lie with the franchise? There may still be hope that she might return to our screens at some point. As she told E! News, “I would never say never, but I just don’t know if that’s for me.”
She added, “I love watching from afar. I love supporting from afar, but I don’t know how I would do in that world again, especially as the lead.”
As for how she feels about Taylor’s new chapter with the series, Rachael said, “I’m very excited for her. I think that it’s fun for a little refresh, someone not from the show already. I’m wishing her well, wishing her the best, and I think she’s going to rock it. It’s going to be fun.”
Good to know!
