The Bachelorette will star Becca Kufrin this spring, and host Chris Harrison is opening up about why she was selected and what the season will look like.
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Once Arie Luyendyk Jr.'s ending to The Bachelor aired and viewers saw him break Becca's heart on-camera weeks after proposing marriage to her, Chris told E! News that producers saw "the outpouring of love and support for Becca."
"And on top of that," the host added, "we saw how she handled that unedited, controversial scene. I mean, she was so graceful, so poised, so strong and put together, it made our decision so easy."
Chris insisted ABC did not make the decision of whom would star on The Bachelorette's fourteenth season until recently.
"[Arie and Becca's story] is why we don't ever really rush to judgment, and a lot of times people give us a hard time or say we've made the choice, and I just laugh at those articles and stuff that are written because I'm like, 'Um, we really haven't made our decision yet.' Because we want to wait and see," Chris explained.
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Producers also needed to wait to see if Becca would truly feel ready to fulfill such a role and responsibility only a couple of months after getting her heart crushed and watching Arie run back to his runner-up, Lauren Burnham, and propose marriage to her as well.
However, Chris revealed the network did not have another woman from Arie's The Bachelor season on standby.
Possibilities such as Bekah Martinez, Tia Booth, Kendall Long and Seinne Fleming therefore did not have their dreams dashed at the eleventh hour, according to E! News.
"There was nothing nearly that dramatic, but obviously we knew things were amiss for a couple of months ago, so the idea was let's wait and see how this turns out because a lot of factors go into it," Chris explained.
Now that Becca is the franchise's next leading lady, Chris is excited but uncertain about what's to come, especially coming off a shocking and dramatic season like Arie's.
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"The beautiful thing is you don't know. No way in a million years could you have ever foreseen Arie and his season going like this," Chris said.
"That's kind of the beauty of the show is when we start anew with Becca, something will happen -- some things will happen -- that never happened before. That's just the nature of this beast and the nature of this business."
And Chris added, "As a producer, you can't hold on too tight. You've got to let Becca really drive this bus."
Becca was already introduced to a handful of her The Bachelorette suitors at the conclusion of After the Final Rose earlier this week. She'll apparently have a mix of quirky, sweet and handsome men -- and I'm sure America is "ready to do the damn thing" right along with her.
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski