After aiming for a reset, Tayshia Adams and Kaitlyn Bristowe return to ‘Bachelorette’
“The Bachelor” franchise alums Tayshia Adams and Kaitlyn Bristowe will be returning as hosts for Season 18, starring Michelle Young.
Adams and Bristowe are hosts of Season 17 of “The Bachelorette” with Katie Thurston as the show’s leading lady. Once the curtains close on Thurston’s season on Monday, Young’s journey to find love begins Oct. 19. In March, it was announced that Adams and Bristowe would be serving as hosts following Chris Harrison’s departure from the series.
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After 19 years as host, Harrison left the franchise in June after after making headlines with racially insensitive comments pertaining to the Rachael Kirkconnell controversy. Upon stepping into their new role, Bristowe and Adams spoke to The Times about their aspirations for Thurston’s season and “very needed change” within the franchise.
Adams said that while “no one can take away from Chris’ amazing 19 years,” she and Bristowe hope to be Thurston’s mentors. When asked about the prospect of hosting Young’s season, Adams and Bristowe were both open to the idea.
Just days after the longtime host departed the reality franchise for good, Tayshia Adams and Kaitlyn Bristowe discussed its “refreshing new start.”
“I think it would be an amazing opportunity if we were both offered it,” Adams told The Times. “But we haven’t been approached about it. But we’ll see what happens in the future. I guess it all really depends on how well it’s received by everybody else.”
According to Deadline, ABC and Warner Bros. Unscripted Television confirmed on Monday that the dynamic duo would be returning to host “The Bachelorette.” However, in June, it was reported that the series will be enlisting a slate of rotating hosts for the upcoming season of “Bachelor in Paradise” after Harrison’s fallout with the franchise.
Former Bachelorettes Tayshia Adams and Kaitlyn Bristowe will replace the besieged host, who has come under fire for making racially insensitive comments.
The controversy began when Kirkconnell was a contestant on Season 25 of “The Bachelor,” starring the franchise’s first Black bachelor, Matt James. During her time on the show, photos resurfaced of Kirkconnell dressed up in antebellum clothing at an Old South party at Georgia College & State University.
In an interview with the franchise’s first Black bachelorette, Rachel Lindsay, Harrison minimized the impact of the images, inciting uproar online and leading to his eventual exit from the series. During “The Bachelor: After the Final Rose” special, which was hosted by ex-NFL player Emmanuel Acho, the two back-to-back Bachelorettes were announced: Thurston and Young.
The franchise attempts to turn the corner after a season tarnished by controversy as two former “Bachelorettes” step in for host Chris Harrison.
Bristowe was a contestant on Season 19 of “The Bachelor” and starred on Season 11 of “The Bachelorette.” Adams’ journey was more untraditional, as she first appeared as a contestant on Season 23 of “The Bachelor” but replaced Clare Crawley as the lead on Season 16 of “The Bachelorette.”
But both Adams and Bristowe agreed that this season served as a reset for “The Bachelor” franchise and had high hopes for how they would like to see Young supported in this new season.
Adams told the Times, “I think it’s really hard to kind of pinpoint that exactly, but just get to know Michelle and find out what’s important for her ... it’s really just honing into what it means to the Bachelorette or Bachelor. It can change each season.”
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