The Bachelorette bachelor Nate Mitchell has confirmed that he won't be starring on The Bachelor's upcoming 27th season.
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Nate emerged as a fan-favorite on Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia's The Bachelorette season, which is heading into its last two episodes, but he was also subjected to scrutiny on social media when one of his former girlfriends claimed Nate had two-timed her and kept his daughter a secret during their entire year-and-a-half relationship.
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But Nate apologized for his past mistakes on The Bachelorette: The Men Tell All and Gabby publicly defended his honor, and so many fans continued rooting for the 33-year-old electrical engineer from Chicago, IL, to become the next The Bachelor star.
During a recent episode of the "Talking It Out with Bachelor Nation" podcast, co-hosts Mike Johnson and Bryan Abasolo, who both previously competed on The Bachelorette, pointed out how rumors have been swirling Nate had been asked to star on Season 27 of The Bachelor which will air on ABC in early 2023.
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"A lot of people out there are saying that you turned it down," Bryan acknowledged. "Is that accurate?"
Nate declared, "As far as The Bachelor goes, it's not for me. It's not for me right now, man. It's not for me."
Bryan pointed out with a big smile how starring on The Bachelor is not a good fit for Nate "right now," suggesting the single father's mindset about the role may change in the future.
"I don't think it's for me right now," Nate repeated.
Mike therefore asked Nate if he needs more incentives to be the franchise's leading man.
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"I don't think that I would ever make a decision based on just, like, incentives. It has to be the right timing," Nate explained, adding, "The timing is not right, right now."
Nate didn't confirm or deny whether he'd consider being the Bachelor down the road, but he insisted that he'd probably "kill it" as the show's star.
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"I think I would do well. I would go into it with the mindset of, 'I'm looking for love but everyone that is hear is trying to do the same.' So I wouldn't put my feelings above anyone else's," Nate shared.
"And I think coming into it with that mindset of, you know, 'I'm not trying to be the man,' and all of these things, with a bravado of putting myself above others, I think you can't really go wrong with that."
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But Nate confirmed, "I don't think there were any discussions about [me] doing it in the future."
"There wasn't any of that. Whenever I stepped away, there was just kind of an understanding. I think I'm still on good terms with everybody, but for the most part, I'm not thinking about the future," Nate said.
If Nate ends up starring on The Bachelor later on, he said his daughter will "absolutely" be a factor in how he'd navigate the process and go about dating multiple women at once.
"There's so many factors when you go into it with children -- the time away, being away from them, them being involved," Nate reasoned.
"There's so many things that come into play when you come into the lead role as it is, and then you add a child into it, and I think there's a lot of discussions between the parent and the child and how to go about doing that."
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Nate said he obviously didn't get to the point of discussing all of that with Gabby Windy but he's sure "it would be difficult."
Based on how far they made it on The Bachelorette 19, other options for The Bachelor in 2023 could be Tyler Norris, Johnny DePhillipo, Jason Alabaster, Erich Schwer, Tino Franco, Zach Shallcross, and Aven Jones -- depending on whom Gabby and Rachel picked and ended up with.
The Bachelorette's nineteenth season is going to conclude with a two-night finale on Tuesday, September 13 and Tuesday, September 20 on ABC.
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The Bachelorette host Jesse Palmer recently teased that a "controversy" is going to unfold on the show, and he said the finale promises to be the most emotional and unpredictable one ever, with a "totally insane" ending.
ABC executive Robert Mills has reportedly said the Bachelor will be announced on The Bachelorette: After the Final Rose next week.
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