Bachelor Nation's Most Shocking Lead Castings
The "Bachelor" franchise has certainly featured its share of polarizing participants and ultimate selections, and while identifying the next lead is often straightforward, there are exceptions.
<When The Bachelorette revealed Clare Crawley — whose last appearance in a Bachelor program or its offshoots was in 2018's Bachelor Winter Games — as its upcoming star in March 2020, a segment of the audience was taken aback.
Typically, the next Bachelor or Bachelorette is selected from among the top four finalists, frequently the third-place finisher. Yet, Crawley is not the inaugural person to emerge unexpectedly and assume the leading role in a season of the ABC reality romance series.
Prior to Crawley's announcement as the eldest Bachelorette ever, Becca Kufrin caught some viewers off guard when she accepted the position in 2018 — following her victory on The Bachelor, she was later jilted by Arie Luyendyk Jr. in a televised breakup witnessed by the entire nation.
And then there was Luyendyk Jr. himself, who had been absent from the reality television scene for six years before taking the lead on The Bachelor for its 22nd season.
Continue reading below to revisit the most surprising casting decisions for leads throughout Bachelor Nation's past:
