The Bachelorette will reportedly air not one but two seasons on ABC this year -- with Katie Thurston and Michelle Young each getting the chance to find love.
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While Katie was officially announced as The Bachelorette's upcoming Season 17 star during Friday's taping of The Bachelor: After the Final Rose, ABC will also air a second The Bachelorette season this fall, according to Reality Steve spoiler blogger Steve Carbone.
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The Bachelorette's fall edition for 2021 will reportedly star Michelle, who will finish as Matt's runner-up on The Bachelor's Season 25 finale when it airs next week on Monday, March 15 on ABC.
"In yesterday's column, you clearly saw me post that there was a twist -- or curveball as [After the Final Rose host Emmanuel Acho] is calling it -- coming at the ATFR, but I didn't know what it was," Carbone wrote in his blog on Wednesday.
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"All I did know is that whatever this was, it didn't take away from the fact that Katie is the next 'Bachelorette.' And that still hasn't changed."
Emmanuel announcing on After the Final Rose that Michelle will also star as the Bachelorette later this year on Season 18 was the "twist" Carbone had teased earlier this week. (Carbone had said something would be "added on" to the news of Katie becoming the new Bachelorette).
The Bachelorette viewers will therefore experience something they've never seen before given two complete seasons will film and air in the same year.
"Michelle Young will have her OWN season of the 'Bachelorette' to be filmed later this summer," Carbone reported.
According to Carbone, The Bachelor's seventeenth season starring Katie will begin taping at the Hyatt Regency Tamaya in Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico in just a few weeks.
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ABC will also reportedly roll out another edition of Bachelor in Paradise this summer, which is on schedule to begin production in June 2021. Season 7 of Paradise, which producers skipped entirely last year due to the coronavirus pandemic, will likely tape all throughout July.
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The resort where bachelors and bachelorettes will be given a second chance to find their perfect match, however, has yet to be announced.
Michelle's The Bachelorette season will then film at some point after Bachelor in Paradise wraps production and air in Fall 2021 on ABC, Carbone reported.
"I'm sure some are asking, 'If they wanted Michelle, why didn't they just give her the season about to be filmed? Why have Katie as the Bachelorette up first?'" Carbone wrote in his blog.
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Michelle apparently declined the opportunity to film The Bachelorette right away because she is dedicated to her job as an elementary school teacher and doesn't want to let her students down.
"The reason is that Michelle did not want to leave her class again to start filming in a few weeks (meaning she'd miss most of the remainder of her school year), hence the reason she is getting her own season this summer when she's out of school," Carbone explained.
"That's the 'twist' or 'curveball' you'll see announced on the ATFR on Monday," Carbone concluded.
Although Emmanuel is hosting The Bachelor: After the Final Rose for Matt's season, it remains unclear who will take over hosting duties for the next two The Bachelorette seasons.
Longtime franchise host Chris Harrison had "stepped aside" for "a period of time" after disappointing and angering many The Bachelor fans in his early-February Extra interview with Season 13 The Bachelorette star Rachel Lindsay.
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Chris had dismissed backlash against Rachael's racist actions -- such as being photographed at an "Old South" Antebellum-themed fraternity party at her Georgia college in 2018 -- and defended the bachelorette by asking for "grace" and "compassion" on her behalf. Chris also used terms such as "the woke police" to drive home his opinions.
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On Tuesday, Carbone reported that Emmanuel, a sports analyst, and Good Morning America co-host Michael Strahan are currently in discussion to host The Bachelor franchise going forward.
But Chris made it clear during a March 3 appearance on GMA that he's going to fight for his job as The Bachelor host given he has served as the face of the franchise since The Bachelor premiered in 2002.
"I plan to be back and I want to be back," Chris said after apologizing for the third time and expressing regret over his offensive comments in the Extra interview.
Carbone reported Tuesday of Chris' potential return, "I don't think Chris hosts Bachelorette since it's too soon, but I really don't think he's gone forever."
Despite prior reports The Bachelorette planned to postpone production of Season 17 for at least one week due to Chris' racism controversy, Rachel said on Bachelor Party podcast there will be no delay between when Matt's The Bachelor season ends on TV and the new The Bachelorette season begins taping.
"They're already there, like, at least they're quarantining for it," Rachel revealed on the podcast's Tuesday episode, according to Us Weekly.
"There's no pause on it... Anybody that's standing up for change, I don't understand how you could be a part of this current season."
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Rachel reportedly added, "There is still so much work to be done. I don't want my name to be affiliated."
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Katie, a 30-year-old bank marketing manager from Lynnwood, WA, was eliminated by Matt during a one-on-one date well before the women's round of hometown dates on The Bachelor's 25th season.
Katie, known for her "adult humor" and "comedic entertainment videos" on social media, appeared to be the only woman denouncing bullying and gossip on the The Bachelor this year. She called out the "mean girls" in the house and asked Matt to address rumors.
Michelle, a 27-year-old former Division I basketball player from Woodbury, MN, showed up late on Matt's season following the third Rose Ceremony.
Matt and Michelle, however, had an instant connection and Michelle says she is now in love with The Bachelor star and ready for an engagement as the season is heading into its finale next week.
Click here to read spoilers on how Matt's The Bachelor season ends and whether he is still together with his winner, Rachael.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)
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