• Fans think Robert Irwin could be ABC's next Bachelor.
  • Robert is currently starring on Dancing With the Stars—an ABC show.
  • We're diving into all the evidence below (plus what Robert's said...).

Robert Irwin has been dancing his way into our hearts over on Dancing With the Stars, and there are rumors that he might be the next Bachelor to find love on reality TV. Some things to keep in mind?

  1. The Bachelor is an ABC show, and Robert has a relationship with the network due to DWTS.
  2. There's a very strong Bachelor/DWTS pipeline, though usually Bachelor stars do DWTS.
  3. Robert is single! Though, there are rumors that he's dating either Xochitl Gomez or Hailey Bills.
  4. The Bachelor franchise seems to have pivoted to casting celebrities as their leads—at least based on Taylor Frankie Paul of Secret Lives of Mormon Wives being our new Bachelorette.
  5. Even Bachelor Nation spoiler source Reality Steve is into the idea, saying on his podcast, "Just put Robert Irwin as the Bachelor. He makes the most sense. He’s got 8 [million followers]. I mean, Taylor Frankie Paul's got 1.7 million. He’s got 8.3 million. He’s 22 years old. He seems like the nicest human being on the planet. He’s got a backstory. I’m like, why wouldn’t they cast him?"

Meanwhile, fans are definitely rooting for Robert:

And in early November, a source told The Sun that "ABC execs on set have joked that Robert should be the next Bachelor. Well, it’s not really a joke. They would actually kill to cast Robert in the role and have told him that but he’s just too young."

So, what has Robert said? He told E! News, "Watch this space, stranger things have happened."