A new season of The Bachelorette is a little over a month away. ABC is heavily promoting the new season by bringing back many beloved former leads for a TV special. Keep reading for all the details, including who is returning, when to watch, and why one star turned it down.
Bachelorette Moves From Mondays
Bachelor Nation shows usually air on Mondays or Tuesdays, depending on the time of the year. If it’s football season, the show airs on Tuesdays. But ABC made several changes for 2026. The Bachelor season that would normally air in January has reportedly been pushed back to later this year.
Instead, a new season of The Bachelorette airs. Season 22 premieres on Sunday, March 22, 2026. But some viewers may be unfamiliar with the lead. Taylor Frankie Paul isn’t from Bachelor Nation. The Salt Lake City, Utah, resident stars on Hulu’s Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.
Beloved Leads Reunite For Upcoming ABC Special
Taylor Frankie Paul is a divorced mom of three. She shares two children with her ex-husband, Tate Paul. She has another child with ex-boyfriend Dakota Mortensen. Their relationship ended in 2024 after two years together. Now, she’s ready to find love again. But she needs some help.
ABC announced this week an upcoming special featuring many former Bachelorette leads. The Bachelorette: Before the First Rose airs on Sunday, March 15, after the live Oscars telecast.
18 former leads share their advice with Taylor Frankie Paul and reflect on their time on the show. Check the list to see if your favorite Bachelorette will be there.
- Trista Sutter (Season 1)
- Meredith Phillips (Season 2)
- DeAnna Pappas (Season 4)
- Ali Fedotowsky-Manno (Season 6)
- Ashley Hebert-Rosenbaum (Season 7)
- Emily Maynard-Johnson (Season 8)
- Desiree Siegfried (Season 9)
- Andi Dorfman-Hart (Season 10)
- Kaitlyn Bristowe (Season 11)
- JoJo Fletcher (Season 12)
- Rachel Lindsay (Season 13)
- Becca Kufrin (Season 14)
- Hannah Brown-Woolard (Season 15)
- Tayshia Adams (Season 16)
- Katie Thurston (Season 17)
- Rachel Recchia (Season 19)
- Charity Lawson (Season 20)
- Joan Vassos (The Golden Bachelorette, Season 1)
Clare Crawley Reveals Why She Turned It Down
Clare Crawley was the Season 16 Bachelorette before Tayshia Adams took over. Clare fell hard and fast for one of her contestants, Dale Moss. The two quit the show so they could be together. But their engagement didn’t last. She has since married Ryan Dawkins and welcomed a daughter, Rowen.
Dale Moss was on Season 10 of Bachelor In Paradise but his relationship with Kat Izzo ended a few months after filming. She recently made some shocking claims about him.
During an Instagram Q&A, Clare Crawley explained why she didn’t take part in the Bachelorette reunion. She said there were multiple reasons. The first being that she was super sick during the time the reunion filmed.
Secondly, she claimed that the producers tried to get her to rehash what went down on her season and her relationship with Dale Moss. “Hard pass,” she wrote.
Clare Crawley won’t be there to give Taylor Frankie Paul words of wisdom, but many others will be. Tell us in the comments what advice you would give the new Bachelorette.
Jennifer Havener grew up in a small town in Upstate New York. She earned her B.A in Writing & Literature from Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. She always knew watching reality TV shows and soap operas, particularly ‘Days of Our Lives’, would come in handy someday. When she’s not writing, she’s playing with her dogs, Lola and Ruger
