The Bachelor host Jesse Palmer has admitted he doesn't know if Zach Shallcross is ready for what's coming up.

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The Bachelor's 27th season premieres Monday, January 23 on ABC, and Jesse told Becca Kufrin and Michelle Young on the January 4 episode of their "Bachelor Happy Hour" podcast that Zach found filming the show very difficult because he hated hurting and saying goodbye to wonderful women.

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But Zach also has challenging times ahead of him, considering he'll have to deal with the public's opinion and potential social-media backlash as the show airs on TV.

"To be fully honest with you, I don't know if Zach's ready for what's coming up," Jesse said.

"But are any of us really ready?... We always talk about how nothing can prepare you for being the Bachelor [and] nothing can prepare you for being the Bachelorette. You've just got to go out and do it."

Jesse added, "Nothing can prepare you for being the Bachelor or the Bachelorette once it airs and having to deal with it socially."

Michelle therefore asked Jesse if Zach struggled to be himself while filming the show, knowing the public would eventually judge and criticize his decisions and actions.

"It's so much harder now not to worry about what people are going to think about what you said or what you did," Jesse acknowledged on the podcast.

"I think one of the biggest compliments I can give Zach is that he is himself, unapologetically, through and through. I really feel like Zach -- people say, 'Well he's only 25-years-old, how can he know?' Zach knows who he is."

Jesse added, "Zach knows what he's about and what he stands for. And I'll say throughout this season, he is very consistent."

Jesse also pointed out how Zach -- who quit The Bachelorette's nineteenth season after a disappointing Fantasy Suite date with Rachel Recchia -- has "an amazing family" and "an amazing support system" behind him in 2023.

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"I don't know how he's going to take it. One thing we all know is that you're never going to  make all of Bachelor Nation happy. It's just literally impossible," Jesse insisted.

"But I think why Zach can lay his head down to bed every night and have peace of mind is because he knows who he is and he wasn't being somebody fake. You might like him, you might not like him, you might like one decision or you may not -- but he was being authentic to himself."

Jesse noted, "At the end of the day, I think that's all Zach can do. And I think that's what he did."

The Bachelor's previous star, Clayton Echard, openly battled insecurities while Season 26 was airing in early 2022.

Clayton spoke in the press numerous times about how "overwhelming" hate and negativity from the public made him question himself and even have suicidal thoughts.

Clayton was slammed during his time as the Bachelor for telling all of his Final 3 women that he loved them and for sleeping with both Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia before his last Fantasy Suite date with Susie Evans, whom he was supposedly the "most in love" with all along.

"I had very dark thoughts from the show, moments where I said, you know, 'It'd be better off if I just ended things,'" Clayton told Kaitlyn Bristowe on her "Off the Vine" podcast in early October.

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Clayton said he received death threats from some The Bachelor fans and revealed, "I started to believe some of what was being said about me... There was so much pain and so much hatred."

The negativity was even partially to blame for Clayton and Susie's post-show breakup in September, with Clayton explaining to Kaitlyn how the former couple was always "combating" something.

For instance, Clayton was accused of cheating on Susie early in their relationship.

Susie appeared to have Clayton's back during the scandal, but the former football player called it a "treacherous" time -- until he was finally able to disprove the allegation with evidence.

"We don't know what we signed up for," Clayton said, refuting claims he and Susie should've known what to expect once they became reality TV stars.

The former Missouri-based medical sales representative elaborated, "I could never have imagined that I was going to get thousands of death threats in my DMs. I couldn't have imagined that I was going to spend the vast majority of my relationship trying to convince Susie, like, 'Hey, I'm going to be better once I heal.'"

In July 2022, Clayton also told The Virginian-Pilot newspaper he was "disgusted" with how he was portrayed on The Bachelor and "would never, ever" do the show again.

Clayton, now single and living in Scottsdale, AZ, is working as a social-media influencer and motivational speaker. He recently said he's happier than he's ever been, but it apparently took him a full year to restore his confidence and feel at ease in the world.

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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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