Greg Grippo has allegedly been chasing fame and trying to get himself cast on The Bachelorette for years, according to a "friend" of Katie Thurston's Final 4 bachelor.
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According to an alleged Greg friend who has known Katie's frontrunner for "years," Greg has been trying to get on TV for quite some time now and went on Season 17 of The Bachelorette for the wrong reasons.
"His goal was always, always, always fame. He's been trying to get on The Bachelorette literally for years," the source told The Sun.
The source said Greg was first selected to compete on Clare Crawley's season of The Bachelorette last year but his casting fell through due to the coronavirus pandemic and a long filming delay.
"He needed a shortcut to success because he is not a go-getter on his own. He's the biggest schemer of all," the source claimed.
In March 2020, ABC announced 32 potential suitors for Clare's heart on The Bachelorette's sixteenth season, and Greg was, in fact, one of them.
Production was then postponed for months due to COVID-19, and so in July 2020, ABC released a revised lineup of 42 potential bachelors -- including some extras in case the final vetting process turned up background issues with any of the men or any of them tested positive for the virus during the quarantine period -- and Greg was not on the list.
It's possible ABC cut Greg because he was 26 years old at the time and the network was trying to cast older men for Clare, who was 39 years old at the time, to satisfy the lead's expectations.
Greg could also have been booted from the cast for countless other reasons, including a conflict with the season's subsequent Summer 2020 filming schedule.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' COUPLES NOW: WHO DID 'THE BACHELOR' STARS AND THEIR BACHELORETTE PICKS ACTUALLY END UP MARRYING? (PHOTOS)
ABC later announced Clare's official cast of 31 bachelors in September 2020, a couple of weeks before Season 16 premiered on October 13.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOWThe source told The Sun that Greg had also attempted to join the cast of Hannah Brown's The Bachelorette season, which filmed and aired in 2019.
Last month, The Sun reported Greg's "passion" in life is acting and he had attended the prestigious New York City acting school, William Esper Studio, from 2017-2019.
Not only has Greg's acting ambition gone unmentioned on The Bachelorette, but there is also no mention of the bachelor having attended this school on his public accounts.
"He's always wanted to pursue an on-camera career," an insider said at the time.
The insider claimed Greg had scrubbed previous on-camera work he's done from his social-media accounts and LinkedIn profile to give the impression he's not trying to further his career in the entertainment industry.
Greg's LinkedIn page says Greg only began working for a New York marketing company called Mondo in November 2020, meaning he became an employee at the company only a few months before leaving to film for The Bachelorette this year.
However, The Sun reached out to Mondo and the company was unable to verify if Greg is an employee.
RELATED LINK: BACHELORETTE SPOILERS: WHO DID KATIE THURSTON PICK AND END UP WITH? WHAT HAPPENS ON THE 2021 SEASON OF 'THE BACHELORETTE' (SPOILERS)
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The meme featured Greg putting his hand over his face in distress and was posted by The Bachelor Season 22 alum Bekah Martinez's podcast "Chatty Broads" on June 22.
Katie also subsequently took to her Instagram Stories and posted a video of herself listening to Olivia Rodrigo's breakup anthem "Traitor," which many fans believed was The Bachelorette star slamming Greg once again.
After Katie reportedly "liked" and "unliked" the meme about Greg's alleged shady aspirations to become an actor, Greg's sister Samantha Collova dished it right back to Katie.
The Bachelor fan Instagram account @Bachelorteaspill posted a screenshot of Samantha's since-deleted comment that, according to Us, read, "[Katie] likes this post but was such a supporter of removing the toxicity and mean girls when she was on [Matt James' The Bachelor] season, you'd think if those intentions [were] genuine she'd had just as much of an issue with this post as well."
Samantha allegedly added in the comment, "Really disappointed in this."
Bekah -- who competed for Arie Luyendyk Jr.'s heart on The Bachelor's 22nd season -- made it known, however, her meme about Greg was intended to be light-hearted and funny.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW: WHOM DID 'THE BACHELORETTE' STARS AND THEIR BACHELOR PICKS ULTIMATELY END UP WITH?! (PHOTOS)
In the face of backlash, Bekah wrote in the comments section of her meme post, "IT'S A JOKE PEOPLE, I WENT ON THE SHOW 4 CLOUT TOO OKAY. I JUST HATE GREG."
Greg has been a frontrunner on Katie's The Bachelorette season since the very first night. After receiving the First Impression Rose, Greg accompanied Katie on the first one-on-one date of the season.
And as shown in the latest episode, Greg secured a second one-on-one date with Katie when a couple of bachelors were waiting for their first chance to have a solo date with The Bachelorette star.
Katie has admitted she's "falling in love" with Greg on the show, and Greg in turn has gushed about adoring Katie and feeling they're meant to be together.
"I'm falling so in love with her. I think I've found the love of my life. She's made me love more than I ever thought I could," Greg gushed in a confessional.
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Katie chose to eliminate Andrew Spencer, Mike Planeta and Brendan Scanzano.
Click here to learn more about Greg, and click here to read spoilers about Katie's The Bachelorette season and find out how far Greg allegedly makes it in the process.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
