The Bachelor | |
---|---|
Season 25 | |
Starring | Matt James |
Presented by | Chris Harrison Emmanuel Acho |
No. of contestants | 37 |
Winner | Rachael Kirkconnell |
Runner-up | Michelle Young |
No. of episodes | 12 |
Release | |
Original network | ABC |
Original release | January 4 – March 15, 2021 |
Additional information | |
Filming dates | October 10 – November 21, 2020 |
Season chronology | |
The twenty-fifth season of The Bachelor premiered on January 4, 2021. This season features 28-year-old Matt James, a real estate broker and charity founder from Raleigh, North Carolina. [1]
James was originally cast on the sixteenth season of The Bachelorette featuring Clare Crawley. However, after filming was delayed due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, he was instead selected to be The Bachelor. The entire season was filmed at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort in Farmington, Pennsylvania due to the pandemic, making this was the first and only season to film in a single location in The Bachelor. James is the first Black male lead in The Bachelor franchise. [2]
The season concluded on March 15, 2021, with James choosing to pursue a relationship with 24-year-old graphic designer Rachael Kirkconnell. However, during the After the Final Rose special, it was revealed that James had broken up with Kirkconnell after her racially insensitive past came to light. [3] On April 28, 2021, James confirmed that he and Kirkconnell were back together. [4]
This was the final Bachelor Nation season to feature Chris Harrison as the host.
On June 12, 2020, James was announced as the next Bachelor on Good Morning America . [1] James is the first Black Bachelor in franchise history, [2] and while it was intended and announced as the second African-American lead (after Rachel Lindsay of The Bachelorette 13 ), the sudden introduction of Tayshia Adams as a co-lead on The Bachelorette 16 , made James the third African-American lead of the franchise. He is also the first lead to have not previously appeared on a series in The Bachelor franchise since Matt Grant in season 12. [lower-alpha 1]
Notable contestants include Mariela "Mari" Pepin, Miss Maryland USA 2019 and top 10 finalist in Miss USA 2019; Kit Keenan, daughter of fashion designer Cynthia Rowley; Sydney Johnson, daughter of former New York Giants running backs coach and current University of Maryland analyst Craig Johnson; Abigail Heringer, the first deaf contestant in The Bachelor franchise; and Catalina Morales, who was crowned Miss Universe Puerto Rico 2015 and competed at Miss Universe 2015. [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]
As with the sixteenth season of The Bachelorette , the season was filmed in a bio-secure bubble at the Nemacolin Woodlands Resort in Farmington, Pennsylvania, 60 miles southeast of Pittsburgh due to quarantine safety protocols, making this the first The Bachelor season not to film in the traditional Villa de la Vina mansion in Agoura Hills, California, and the first location other than the mansion since season 11. [10]
Former contestants Ashley Iaconetti, Ben Higgins, and Tyler Cameron, retired professional boxer Mia St. John, musician Aloe Blacc, and professional drift racer Tony Angelo made guest appearances this season. [11] [12] [13] [14]
On October 5, 2020, 43 potential contestants were revealed on The Bachelor social media sites. [15] On December 11, 2020, the final cast of 32 women was revealed. [16] In week 3, five new women joined the cast, bringing the total number of contestants to 37. [9]
In week 6, season 23 contestant Heather Martin asked to join the cast, but James declined prior to the rose ceremony. [14]
Name | Age | Hometown | Occupation | Arrived | Outcome | Place | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rachael Kirkconnell [17] | 24 | Cumming, Georgia | Graphic Designer | Week 1 | Winner | 1 | [18] |
Michelle Young [19] [20] | 27 | Woodbury, Minnesota | Teacher | Week 3 | Runner-Up | 2 | |
Briana "Bri" Springs [21] [22] | 24 | San Antonio, Texas | Communications Manager | Week 1 | Week 9 | 3 | [23] |
Serena Pitt [24] [25] | 23 | Markham, Ontario | Publicist | Week 8 | 4 (quit) | [26] | |
Pieper James [27] | 23 | Happy Valley, Oregon | Graduate Student | Week 7 | 5 | [14] | |
Jessenia Cruz [22] | 27 | El Paso, Texas | Social Media Marketer | 6 | |||
Kit Keenan [6] | 21 | Manhattan, New York | Fashion Entrepreneur | 7 (quit) | |||
Abigail Heringer [8] [27] | 25 | Salem, Oregon | Client Financial Manager | 8 | |||
Chelsea Vaughn [28] | 29 | Marietta, Georgia | Runway Model | Week 6 | 9–10 | ||
Serena Chew [29] | 24 | San Bruno, California | Flight Attendant | ||||
Katie Thurston [24] [30] | 29 | Lynnwood, Washington | Bank Marketing Manager | 11 | [13] | ||
Brittany Galvin [20] [31] | 23 | Hinsdale, Illinois | Model | Week 3 | Week 5 | 12–14 | |
Mearg "Magi" Tareke [32] | 32 | Adwa, Ethiopia [lower-alpha 2] | Pharmacist | Week 1 | |||
Ryan Claytor [20] | 26 | Mechanicsville, Virginia | Dancer/Choreographer | Week 3 | |||
Meredith "MJ" Snyder [33] | 23 | Hudson, Ohio | Hairstylist | Week 1 | 15 | ||
Catalina Morales [34] | 29 | Caguas, Puerto Rico [lower-alpha 3] | Former Miss Universe Puerto Rico | Week 3 | Week 4 | 16–19 | [35] |
Lauren Maddox [36] | 29 | Miami, Florida | Corporate Attorney | Week 1 | |||
Mariela "Mari" Pepin [5] [37] | 24 | Severn, Maryland | Marketing Director | ||||
Victoria Larson [38] | 27 | Los Angeles, California | Queen | ||||
Anna Redman [39] [40] | 24 | Owatonna, Minnesota | Copywriter | 20 | |||
Kaili Anderson [40] | 26 | San Diego, California | Hostess | Week 3 | 21–23 | [12] | |
Khaylah Epps [41] | 28 | Durham, North Carolina | Healthcare Advocate | ||||
Kimberly "Kim" Li [20] | 28 | Cypress, California | ICU Nurse | Week 3 | |||
Sarah Trott [42] | 24 | Scripps Ranch, California | Broadcast Journalist | Week 1 | 24 (quit) | [11] | |
Alana Milne [22] | 26 | San Antonio, Texas | Photographer | Week 2 | 25–29 | ||
Illeana Pennetto [43] | 25 | South Salem, New York | Health Food Developer | ||||
Kristin Hopkins [44] | 27 | Virginia Beach, Virginia | Attorney | ||||
Marylynn Sienna [45] | 28 | Huntington Beach, California | Event Coordinator | ||||
Sydney Johnson [7] | 28 | Franklin, Tennessee | Marketing Specialist | ||||
Alicia Holloway [46] | 24 | Morgantown, West Virginia | Professional Ballerina | Week 1 | 30–37 | [47] | |
Amber Andrews [45] | 30 | Rialto, California | Nursing Student | ||||
Carolyn Vallejo [45] | 30 | Newburyport, Massachusetts | Journalist | ||||
Casandra Suarez [45] | 25 | Lodi, California | Social Worker | ||||
Corrinne Jones [48] | 22 | Pomfret, Connecticut | Marketing Manager | ||||
Emani Curl [49] | 25 | Albuquerque, New Mexico | Realtor | ||||
Kimberly Courneya [30] | 28 | Lake Tapps, Washington | Airline Recruiter | ||||
Saneh Ste. Claire [50] | 25 | Vilano Beach, Florida | IT Consultant |
Katie Thurston and Michelle Young were both chosen as the leads for seasons 17 and 18 of The Bachelorette respectively.
Abigail Heringer, Alana Milne, Anna Redman, Chelsea Vaughn, Jessenia Cruz, Mariela "Mari" Pepin, Pieper James, Serena Chew, Serena Pitt and Victoria Larson returned for season 7 of Bachelor in Paradise . [51] Chew and Larson were eliminated in week 1. Milne and James quit in week 3. Cruz was eliminated in week 3. Heringer split from Noah Erb in week 5, although they've gotten back together. Vaughn was eliminated in week 5. Redman split from James Bonsall in week 6. Pepin and Pitt got engaged in week 6 to Kenny Braasch and Joe Amabile, respectively.
Cruz and Brittany Galvin returned for season 8 of Bachelor in Paradise. [52] Cruz quit in week 5. Galvin left in a relationship with Tyler Norris in week 6.
Illeana Pennetto returned for the inaugural season of Bachelor in Paradise Canada . She split from Brendan Scanzano in week 5.
Chelsea Vaughn returned for the second season of Bachelor in Paradise Canada. She left in a relationship with Austin Tinsley in week 6.
Matt James competed on season 30 of Dancing with the Stars . He was partnered with Lindsay Arnold. They were eliminated in week 4, finishing in 12th place.
Order | Bachelorettes | Week | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | ||||||
1 | Bri | Abigail | Bri | Rachael | Bri | Rachael | Pieper | Serena P. | Michelle | Michelle | Rachael | ||||
2 | Rachael | Bri | Lauren | Serena P. | Michelle | Abigail | Michelle | Rachael | Rachael | Rachael | Michelle | ||||
3 | Sarah | Rachael | Sarah | Chelsea | Pieper [lower-alpha 4] | Kit | Bri | Bri | Bri | Bri | |||||
4 | Jessenia | Chelsea | Pieper | MJ | Brittany | Jessenia | Rachael | Michelle | Serena P. | ||||||
5 | Chelsea | Sarah | Kit | Pieper | Ryan | Serena P. | Serena P. | Pieper | |||||||
6 | Mari | MJ | Magi | Bri | Rachael | Michelle | Kit | Jessenia | |||||||
7 | Magi | Serena P. | Rachael | Magi | Serena P. | Pieper | Jessenia | Kit | |||||||
8 | Carolyn | Khaylah | Abigail | Michelle | Magi | Bri | Abigail | Abigail | |||||||
9 | Sydney | Kristin | Chelsea | Mari | Kit | Chelsea | Chelsea Serena C. | ||||||||
10 | Kristin | Kit | Jessenia | Ryan | MJ | Katie | |||||||||
11 | Anna | Magi | Katie | Kit | Jessenia | Serena C. | Katie | ||||||||
12 | Khaylah | Pieper | Serena C. | Serena C. | Katie | Brittany Magi Ryan | |||||||||
13 | Serena C. | Mari | Serena P. | Abigail | Abigail | ||||||||||
14 | Serena P. | Illeana | Khaylah | Katie | Chelsea | ||||||||||
15 | Alicia | Jessenia | Mari | Victoria | Serena C. | MJ | |||||||||
16 | Saneh | Kaili | MJ | Lauren | Catalina Lauren Mari Victoria | ||||||||||
17 | Alana | Marylynn | Anna | Brittany | |||||||||||
18 | Kaili | Serena C. | Kaili | Jessenia | |||||||||||
19 | Abigail | Lauren | Victoria | Anna | |||||||||||
20 | Corrinne | Sydney | Alana Illeana Kristin Marylynn Sydney | Catalina | Anna | ||||||||||
21 | Marylynn | Alana | Kaili Khaylah Kim | ||||||||||||
22 | Emani | Katie | |||||||||||||
23 | Lauren | Anna | |||||||||||||
24 | Pieper | Victoria | Sarah | ||||||||||||
25 | MJ | Alicia Amber Carolyn Casandra Corrinne Emani Kimberly Saneh | |||||||||||||
26 | Katie | ||||||||||||||
27 | Amber | ||||||||||||||
28 | Kimberly | ||||||||||||||
29 | Casandra | ||||||||||||||
30 | Illeana | ||||||||||||||
31 | Kit | ||||||||||||||
32 | Victoria | ||||||||||||||
33 | Brittany [lower-alpha 5] | ||||||||||||||
34 | Michelle [lower-alpha 5] | ||||||||||||||
35 | Ryan [lower-alpha 5] | ||||||||||||||
36 | Kim [lower-alpha 5] | ||||||||||||||
37 | Catalina [lower-alpha 5] | ||||||||||||||
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date | Prod. code | U.S. viewers (millions) | Rating (18–49) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
252 | 1 | "Week 1: Season Premiere" | January 4, 2021 | 2501 | 5.23 [53] | 1.3 [53] |
253 | 2 | "Week 2" | January 11, 2021 | 2502 | 4.74 [54] | 1.2 [54] |
254 | 3 | "Week 3" | January 18, 2021 | 2503 | 5.00 [55] | 1.4 [55] |
255 | 4 | "Week 4" | January 25, 2021 | 2504 | 5.25 [56] | 1.5 [56] |
256 | 5 | "Week 5" | February 1, 2021 | 2505 | 5.49 [57] | 1.5 [57] |
257 | 6 | "Week 6" | February 8, 2021 | 2506 | 5.47 [58] | 1.4 [58] |
258 | 7 | "Week 7" | February 15, 2021 | 2507 | 5.51 [59] | 1.4 [59] |
259 | 8 | "Week 8: Hometowns" | February 22, 2021 | 2508 | 5.40 [60] | 1.3 [60] |
260 | 9 | "The Women Tell All" | March 1, 2021 | N/A | 4.69 [61] | 1.1 [61] |
261 | 10 | "Week 9: Fantasy Suites" | March 8, 2021 | 2509 | 5.08 [62] | 1.3 [62] |
262 | 11 | "Week 10: Season Finale" | March 15, 2021 | 2510 | 6.07 [63] | 1.5 [63] |
263 | 12 | "After the Final Rose" | March 15, 2021 | N/A | 5.64 [63] | 1.4 [63] |
Contestant Rachael Kirkconnell faced controversy in February 2021 after she was accused of liking racist social media posts and bullying a girl for dating African-American men in high school. [64] Photos also emerged of Kirkconnell attending an Antebellum South plantation themed fraternity formal in 2018. [65] Kirkconnell later issued an apology for her past behavior. [66]
Host Chris Harrison was criticized for his defense of Kirkconnell after he claimed that "50 million people [attended an Antebellum South ball] in 2018," and "the woke police is out there." He later issued an apology for his comments. [67] A petition to remove Harrison as host of the franchise garnered over 40,000 signatures. [68] [69] On February 13, 2021, Harrison announced that he would be "stepping aside for a period of time" and would not host the After the Final Rose special. [70] On June 8, 2021, it was revealed Harrison would leave the franchise for good. [71]
On February 27, 2021, Emmanuel Acho was selected as the replacement host for After the Final Rose. Acho is the author of the New York Times bestseller Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man. [72]
The Bachelor is an American dating and relationship reality television series that debuted on March 25, 2002, on ABC. For its first 25 seasons, the show was hosted by Chris Harrison. As the essence of the original The Bachelor franchise, its success resulted in several spin-offs including The Bachelorette, Bachelor Pad, Bachelor in Paradise, Bachelor in Paradise: After Paradise, The Bachelor Winter Games, The Bachelor Presents: Listen to Your Heart, The Bachelor: The Greatest Seasons – Ever!, The Golden Bachelor, and The Golden Bachelorette, as well as spawning many international editions of the shows.
The Bachelorette is an American reality television dating game show that debuted on ABC on January 8, 2003. The show is a spin-off of The Bachelor and the staple part of The Bachelor franchise. The first season featured Trista Rehn, the runner-up from the first season of The Bachelor, offering the opportunity for Rehn to choose a husband among 25 bachelors. The 2004 season of The Bachelorette again took a runner-up from the previous season of The Bachelor. After last airing on February 28, 2005, the series returned to ABC during the spring of 2008, following an absence of three years, and has since become an annual staple of the network's summer programming.
The ninth season of The Bachelorette premiered on May 27, 2013. This season features 27-year-old Desiree Hartsock, a bridal stylist from Northglenn, Colorado. Hartsock finished in fourth place on season 17 of The Bachelor featuring Sean Lowe.
The tenth season of The Bachelorette premiered on May 19, 2014, and featured Andi Dorfman, a 27-year-old assistant district attorney from Atlanta, Georgia. Dorfman finished in third place on season 18 of The Bachelor, featuring Juan Pablo Galavis, after she eliminated herself because of Galavis' behavior on their overnight date.
Bachelor in Paradise is an American elimination-style reality competition television series, which premiered on August 4, 2014, on ABC. It is a spin-off of the American reality television shows The Bachelor and The Bachelorette. The show features previous contestants who have been featured on The Bachelor and The Bachelorette as they travel to a secluded paradise in Mexico where the show will take place. The show was originally hosted by Chris Harrison.
The twenty-third season of The Bachelor premiered on January 7, 2019. This season features 26-year-old Colton Underwood, a former professional football player and charity founder from Washington, Illinois.
The sixteenth season of The Bachelorette premiered on October 13, 2020. It features Clare Crawley, a 39-year-old hairstylist from Sacramento, California, and Tayshia Adams, a 29-year-old phlebotomist from Corona del Mar, California.
The Bachelor Presents: Listen to Your Heart is an American dating reality television series created by Mike Fleiss for ABC. It is a spin-off of The Bachelor and is hosted by Chris Harrison. The series is produced by Next Entertainment in association with Warner Horizon Television, with Fleiss, Martin Hilton, Nicole Woods, Bennett Graebner, Peter Gust, Tim Warner, Louis Caric, and Peter Geist serving as executive producers.
Matthew James is an American television personality, businessman, and former NCAA football player. James is best known for being the first male African-American lead for The Bachelor in season 25.
Rachael Kirkconnell is an American television personality, who is best known as the winner of season 25 of The Bachelor.
The seventeenth season of The Bachelorette premiered on June 7, 2021. The season featured 30-year-old Katie Thurston, a bank marketing manager from Lynnwood, Washington.
American reality television franchise The Bachelor has long been criticized for how it handles race. Industry journalists, academics, and critics have condemned the franchise for its lack of racial diversity, its portrayal of people of color, and its contestants' racist behaviors.
The eighteenth season of The Bachelorette premiered on October 19, 2021. This season features 28-year-old Michelle Young, an elementary school teacher from Woodbury, Minnesota.
Michelle Anne Young is an American television personality. She received national recognition as the runner-up on season 25 of The Bachelor, and as the star of season 18 of The Bachelorette.
The seventh season of Bachelor in Paradise premiered on August 16, 2021. In June 2021, it was confirmed that David Spade, Lil Jon, Tituss Burgess, Lance Bass and others would serve as rotating guest hosts for the seventh season, replacing original host Chris Harrison.
The twenty-sixth season of The Bachelor premiered on January 3, 2022, with Jesse Palmer as host. This season featured 28-year-old Clayton Echard, a medical sales representative from Eureka, Missouri.
The nineteenth season of The Bachelorette premiered on July 11, 2022. This season features 26-year-old Rachel Recchia, a flight instructor from Clermont, Florida, and 31-year-old Gabby Windey, an ICU nurse from O'Fallon, Illinois.
The eighth season of Bachelor in Paradise premiered on September 27, 2022. In May 2022, Jesse Palmer was announced as the host.
The twenty-seventh season of The Bachelor premiered on January 23, 2023. This season features 26-year-old Zach Shallcross, an Oracle sales executive from Anaheim Hills, California.
The Golden Bachelor is an American dating reality television series that premiered on September 28, 2023 on ABC. It is a spin-off of The Bachelor featuring a cast of senior citizens as the contestants and single man.