Perhaps the real winner of Bachelorette is the new Bachelor we found along the way
One of Bachelorette star Charity Lawson's exes has been tapped as the new Bachelor
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White smoke—and a trail of rose petals—means we’ve got a new Bachelor on our hands. The 20th season of The Bachelorette concluded on Monday, and this season’s leading lady Charity Lawson made her ultimate decision about the man with whom she wants to spend the rest of her life (or at least the immediate aftermath of the popular reality dating show upon which they both appeared, as is often the case with Bachelor Nation couples). Per tradition, the closing of a Bachelorette season is marked by the crowning of a new Bachelor star, and this finale was no different.
Not every Bachelor is the Bachelorette runner-up—many of them have been men chosen from outside the franchise entirely—but in this case, ABC didn’t look very far for its new romantic hero. In an extremely emotional decision, Lawson gave her final rose to Dotun Olubeko, ending things with Joey Graziadei (who, for what it’s worth, her family much preferred). Per Variety, Graziadei was gracious but took the breakup hard, crying in his car and wondering, “When is it going to happen for me?”
Apparently, it’s going to happen on the 28th season of The Bachelor, because Graziadei was chosen as the franchise’s next star. “I never expected this at all, didn’t know this is what my life was turning into at this moment,” he said in the finale special, noting that he’s been able to gain closure from his split with Charity and is now looking forward to finding his “person.”
As Hollywood’s dual writer and actor strikes wear on, ABC is milking the Bachelor franchise (and its other reality programming) for all it’s worth. This fall will see the premiere of a new series installment The Golden Bachelor, a.k.a. The Bachelor for olds, as well as the classic Bachelor In Paradise. The latest season of the latter will see a lot of familiar Bachelor Nation faces, including Lawson’s other runner-up ex Aaron Bryant. Here’s to all of these many bachelors finding genuine love and connection on reality television!