Bachelorette: Tayshia & Kaitlyn Knew Jesse Would Be Hosting
Tayshia Adams confirmed she and Kaitlyn Bristowe knew Jesse Palmer was going to host the next season of The Bachelorette before The Bachelor finale's announcement. Only a year ago, the idea that someone other than Chris Harrison would host the franchise was out of the question. Chris had been hosting the series since its inception back in 2002, but that all changed in February of 2021. In an interview with former Bachelorette Rachel Lindsay, Chris was asked how he felt about contestant Rachael Kirkconnell's past racist behavior. Rather than acknowledging the behavior for what it was, Chris defended her actions and told Rachel--the first black lead the franchise ever had--that the public needed to give her a little "grace."
After an intense amount of backlash, the franchise announced Chris would be stepping down as host. Instead, the following season would be led by former Bachelorette's Tayshia and Kaitlyn. This move was a huge hit with Bachelor Nation. Throughout the season, they really added something to the role, and the leads were comfortable confiding in the women. Unfortunately, after hosting only two seasons of The Bachelorette it was announced that former Bachelor Jesse would be replacing them. While Bachelor Nation wasn't exactly excited about this move, they hoped Tayshia and Kaitlyn would go on to host the next female-led season. But that didn't happen because during the finale of Clayton Echard's season, it was announced that Jesse would continue on to host The Bachelorette, effectively ending the short-lived female-hosted era.
Bachelor Nation was not too pleased with this announcement, and now Tayshia is explaining that she's actually known for a while. In an interview with Us Weekly Tayshia said, "Kaitlyn and I both had a phone call weeks prior saying that they were going to go forward with Jesse, so it wasn’t really a surprise." This news, however, is. Earlier in the week Kaitlyn said on her Off The Vine podcast, "I saw at the end of the [Bachelor season 26] finale that Jesse was announcing the two Bachelorettes, and he said he was going to be by their side for that. So, I guess, spoiler alert: I’m not coming back." Given Kaitlyn's words, Bachelor Nation assumed Kaitlyn found out during the live finale, just like everyone else. So the reality that she actually knew beforehand is a bit surprising.
Despite the success of the hosting duo, both of them have had nothing but kind things to say about Jesse. When asked about him, Tayshia responded, "I’m very happy for him. I feel like he’s been so sweet and kind to me, so I wish everybody that takes that position the very best and I’m excited to see the new season." And even though Kaitlyn was candid about feeling "sad" that she wouldn't be able to host again, she seemed to echo Tayshia's sentiment in saying, "I think Jesse’s amazing. He’ll be a great host, and I hope he helps Gabby and Rachel in any way that he can."
It might be easier for Tayshia to let go of the hosting role than Kaitlyn. Since the ending of her engagement with former contestant Zac Clark, she's been pretty open about putting all things Bachelor behind her, even retiring from two Bachelor-related podcasts she co-hosted with other alumni. And despite the apprehension, Jesse didn't exactly get a fair shot at hosting, given that his first season was riddled with unseen twists and turns. Hopefully, during The Bachelorette, he'll get the chance to shine. And if not, Bachelor Nation would love to have Tayshia and Kaitlyn back.
The Bachelorette season 19 premieres July 11 at 8 p.m. EDT on ABC.
Sources: Us Weekly, Off The Vine/Apple Podcasts
Source: Screenrant
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