Who Will Become the Next ‘Bachelorette’?

As season 28 of The Bachelor nears its end, fans of America’s favorite heteronormative reality TV pastime can’t help but wonder: Which lucky lady will be chosen to lead the next installment of The Bachelorette?

This week The Bachelor aired its eighth episode, in which leading man Joey Graziadei visited the hometowns of his final four: Kelsey A. in New Orleans; Rachel in Rancho Cucamonga, California; Daisy, whose family runs a Christmas tree farm in Minnesota; and Maria, the heiress to a decorative sprinkle fortune in Niagara Falls. At the end of episode 8, Joey—who I do believe is an 11-year-old boy trapped in a man’s body due to an encounter with a Zoltar machine—sends home everyone’s favorite firecracker, Maria, whose family, as it turns out, is not nearly as interesting as her father’s washed-out rockstar aesthetic suggests.

Now, we all know how Bachelor Nation operates, but if you’re new to this circus of performative heterosexuality, here’s the deal: The next Bachelor or Bachelorette is typically chosen from the crop of people eliminated from the prior season. For example, Joey was one of the final two contestants in The Bachelorette season 20, where he had his heart broken by Charity Lawson, who previously appeared in season 27 of The Bachelor—and so on. The next Bachelor or Bachelorette isn’t always someone who made it far in the previous season, but that’s usually the case because producers prefer a lead the audience already has an attachment to.

So, who will become the next Bachelorette? The Bachelor season 28 finale airs on March 25, so we still have a few weeks before ABC unveils the next leading lady. In the meantime, we can only speculate. Here’s a breakdown of the most likely candidates for The Bachelorette season 21.

Maria

Hometown: Niagara Falls, NY

Profession: Executive assistant

Notable for: Slipping into “something more comfortable” and making Joey’s eyeballs pop out of his skull like a cartoon wolf; when another contestant expressed concern about being too old (she was, like, 31???), Maria had the nerve to disagree, kicking off the weirdest house drama in recent Bachelor history; stands to inherit a decorative sprinkles empire; loves horror movies (Cool Girl vibes).

Will she become the next Bachelorette? I don’t think Maria is the least likely candidate for The Bachelorette, but her hometown visit was super anticlimactic and she really kicked herself when she almost self-eliminated in episode 7. Maria’s negging of Joey had been successful up to that point, but she pressed her luck too far. Thinking of herself as the prize is total Bachelorette mentality, though, and in a better version of this series, she could definitely be the next lead.

Kelsey A.

Hometown: New Orleans, Louisiana

Profession: Junior project manager

Notable for: Seeing butterflies, which makes her think of her mom, who died; growing up on a military base in Germany; being extremely chill when Joey took her to a Polar Plunge during a one-on-one date in Canada.

Will she become the next Bachelorette? Rumor has it that Joey proposes to either Kelsey A. or Daisy, which isn’t really a spoiler if you’ve been paying attention this season—they are the two most traditional picks, after all: their past traumas are relatable but not intimidating (Kelsey A.’s mom died from breast cancer), they are white, and they’re also free of drama. No one dislikes them. (Well, yet. The internet always manages to dig up the dirt when the time comes.)

That said, Kelsey A. is definitely a frontrunner for Bachelorette, but I’m more inclined to believe that she winds up engaged to Joey, especially after their hometown date.

Rachel

Hometown: Honolulu, Hawaii and Rancho Cucamonga, California

Profession: ICU nurse

Notable for: Being from Hawaii, where Joey used to live; dancing with Joey while Michael Bolton sang at a fake wedding; learning Flamenco with Joey during a one-on-one date in Spain.

Will she become the next Bachelorette? I wish. Rachel is beautiful, fun, cool, and has an important job she’s passionate about. As we learned during her hometown visit, Rachel is part Filipino and part Hawaiian. Unfortunately, the Bachelor franchise has a notoriously poor track record when it comes to race; The Bachelorette‘s first Black lead was Rachel Lindsay in season 13, and the first Black Bachelor lead was season 25’s Matt James.

Honestly? Rachel is too cool for Joey. And too cool to be the lead of The Bachelorette, but I’d still love it if she was.

Daisy

Hometown: Becker, Minnesota

Profession: Account executive

Notable for: Growing up on a Christmas tree farm; losing her hearing as a teenager and getting a cochlear implant that restored most of her ability to hear; getting the first one-on-one date; telling Joey she wasn’t in love with him (yet).

Will she become the next Bachelorette? Almost certainly. I’m going to preface this by saying that when you watch enough reality television, you become extremely cynical and well-versed in how these producers operate. Not only is Daisy blonde, blue-eyed, and white (the unholy Bachelor Nation trifecta), but she also has a disability and it’s a largely invisible disability, which makes her relatable and approachable while simultaneously fulfilling an inclusivity requirement. Plus, she grew up on a Christmas tree farm. She is basically a Hallmark original movie.

There’s also her last one-on-one date with Joey, where she made a point of telling him she’s “not there yet,” which is a ballsy move this late in the game—but one that fits with this season’s ongoing theme among the women, none of whom seem that enthusiastic about Joey. I suspect that Daisy is going to reject Joey and wind up becoming the next Bachelorette.

(featured image: ABC)