Jenn Tran has revealed if she hesitated to accept the starring role on The Bachelorette's 21st season after appearing on Joey Graziadei's The Bachelor season.
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"Things had been in the works for months at that point, and I just didn't know what was going to happen," Jenn shared during a recent appearance on the "Call Her Daddy" podcast, which is hosted by Alex Cooper.
"The clock was ticking down, and so I was like, 'Maybe it's just not me. Maybe it's not happening.' But we had meetings and we had interviews about it. It was in the back of my head."
Jenn shared how she had just left the gym when ABC reached out to her with the exciting news.
"I was in my car and I got this text from one of the producers being like, 'Do you want to hop on a call really quick?' I was like, 'Oh god, what could this be?!'" Jenn said.
"I kind of knew but I was also really nervous, because I felt like my whole life was going to change. But obviously it was also like, 'Do I really want it?'"
Jenn had been thinking about the pros and cons of being The Bachelorette star "for months and months" already. She knew such a position would thrust her into the spotlight but also open many doors and opportunities for her.
"It's a big change! And I'm a very private person, so it was like, 'Do I really want my whole life to be put on blast like this?' And I knew that I was going to have to take a lot of heat for many different reasons," Jenn admitted.
At the time, it appeared the majority of The Bachelor fans favored Daisy Kent or Maria Georgas for The Bachelorette gig. One of Joey's The Bachelor finalists, Rachel Nance, was also allegedly in the running.
"I was like, 'Yes, I want to find love, but is this the capacity I want to do it in?' So it took me a while to think about it," Jenn confessed.
"But, I mean, I hopped on the call and I was immediately like, 'Obviously yes, I'm going to do it!'"
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOWJenn, who had been studying to become a physician assistant in Miami, therefore didn't really hesitate to accept the starring role.
Jenn -- who plans to continue her PA schooling after the show -- also said she was "really disappointed" to hear false narratives about The Bachelorette casting process once she returned home from filming and got back on social media.
"It was disappointing to come back from this incredible journey for myself and then see all of the speculation around it and to almost have these things kind of take away from what my journey was," Jenn admitted.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW: WHOM DID 'THE BACHELORETTE' STARS AND THEIR BACHELOR PICKS ULTIMATELY END UP WITH?! (PHOTOS)
Jenn explained how producers interview and have meetings with "multiple people" about potentially starring on the show every season.
"They'll do fittings or film intro packages, and it's never really you until it's you," Jenn explained.
"So that's why I was a little disappointed, because the narratives out there aren't exactly the truth."
Maria previously appeared on the April 30 episode of the "Call Her Daddy" podcast, and she alleged, "Yeah, I was offered the role. It was mine until I said it wasn't. It became very overwhelming to the point where I had to decline."
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But Jenn said she isn't going to "let anyone take claim" of something like that.
"It took a while for me to really find my voice in certain things, and this is something where I'm so proud to say, 'This is my time and this is my journey,'" Jenn told Alex.
"And that's what I want it to be focused on, because I have a voice now to be able to talk about it and stand my ground on it. This is my journey and I'm so happy about it, and I'm so happy for everyone to finally see that."
Jenn, however, assured Alex that she's talked to the other women who were also up for the position, alluding to Maria and Daisy.
"Everything is good," Jenn revealed. "That's the thing about being in this world and being mature and knowing what world you're in... is that we're all fine and it's all good."
Daisy told Season 21 The Bachelor star Nick Viall during an early April episode of his "The Viall Files" podcast that she was "very open and honest" with producers about the fact she wasn't sure if she wanted to star on The Bachelorette.
Daisy revealed "it was two weeks before" Joey's The Bachelor: After the Final Rose special aired in March that she had made her final decision.
"And they were all super nice and respectful," Daisy said of producers' reaction.
"They understood all of my reasons, too, and they still want to see me grow and do other things. They said, 'If we can help you in any way, we want to.'"
A few weeks later, Maria suggested on "Call Her Daddy" that she had backed out of The Bachelorette last minute, partly because Jenn was "verbalizing how badly" she wanted the job.
"And when everyone around me was so supportive of me being in this position and everyone wanted this for me, I kind of took a second and was like, 'Why am I not happy? Why am I not excited about this?'" Maria said.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' COUPLES NOW: WHO DID 'THE BACHELOR' STARS AND THEIR BACHELORETTE PICKS ACTUALLY END UP MARRYING? (PHOTOS)
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Alex went on to reveal that Maria had actually been scheduled to come on her podcast and make her The Bachelorette announcement in March. One day before the podcast episode was set to tape, Alex received a call that it wasn't going to happen and Maria was on a plane back to Toronto.
"Everyone was so excited, and I know what this season could have been like, and it would've been great," Maria said. "I just was not ready."
Maria also claimed The Bachelorette producers were actually "so supportive" of her last-minute decision because she had been "open and honest" about where she was at "mentally" and how she felt.
"As much as I wanted my time off, I also wanted Jenn to have her moment, and she is the most perfect Bachelorette in my eyes. I couldn't think of anyone better to do this. She was so ready for it, and that was enough for me to say, 'Yeah, this is not my time.'"
Maria said, however, she was "super appreciative" and "grateful" for all of the fan support.
"I thought in my head, 'I want to do this for them. I want to do this for the people who love and support me.' But that's not doing it for the right reasons," Maria explained, adding how she needed a long break after Joey's season.
"It's so isolating being in there. And I would have to give up my phone -- not my freedom, but having to be alone in that, and I just wasn't comfortable. I wasn't mentally prepared for it," Maria noted.
Maria insisted that she didn't go on The Bachelor for fame and so she wasn't interested in "milking [her] 15 minutes" by continuing on with The Bachelorette just because it was a great opportunity.
In addition, Maria clapped back at Bachelor in Paradise's Wells Adams, who had called Maria "a little unhinged" and wondered if producers thought Maria would be too difficult to control during the March 27 episode of his "Your Favorite Things" podcast.
"I heard that her demands were ridiculous and they were like, 'No,'" Wells said.
"I guess one of her demands is that she wanted to have her phone the entire time, which is like, come on! Another [rumor] I heard -- and who knows if any of this is true -- but I heard that she wanted... them to hire her friend to be her [own personal handler or producer], which, no! They are not qualified to do that job!"
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Maria vented to Alex that it was "so disheartening" to hear Wells say things that "are so not true" because he "knows how mentally draining and physically draining this could be."
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)
Click here to read episode-by-episode spoilers about how Jenn's The Bachelorette season unfolds, including her winner and runner-up.
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
