Who Is the Next Bachelorette? What Reality Steve Says

published 13 February 2021

If new spoilers are to be believed, Bachelor Nation officially has its next Bachelorette: Katie Thurston, from Matt James' season (which, yes, is still going)—but Thurston has denied the rumor.
Katie has been a fan favorite since she made a memorable first impression on night one, bringing a sparkling dildo with her as a statement about sex positivity. More recently, Katie made waves in the house by sticking up for the newest women added to the mix, both to her fellow contestants and to Matt, who she encouraged to address the bullying.
The spoiler comes courtesy of Bachelor Nation guru Reality Steve, who tweeted that Katie was announced as the new Bachelorette on Thursday night at the taping of the Women Tell All special for Matt's season. Obviously, this spoiler (if true) also means that Katie is not the recipient of Matt's final rose.

Is Katie Thurston is in line to be the next Bachelorette? The 30-year-old fan favorite is rumored to lead Season 17 of the ABC reality show, according to a fresh new spoiler from all-knowing Bachelor Nation guru Reality Steve. Katie made a strong first impression when she arrived at the socially-distanced season's makeshift Bachelor mansion carrying a sparkly dildo—something she did as a statement on sex positivity.

"It wasn’t some agenda that I had coming on to the show. It’s just who I am and who I’ve been this whole time. It wasn’t until after the fact that I realized how big of a deal it was — which excites me because I do believe it’s 2021 and women should be comfortable talking about their sexuality," Katie explained during an interview on the Bachelor Happy Hour podcast (hosted by former Bachelorettes Rachel Lindsay and Becca Kufrin). "I appreciate being comfortable being able to talk about it. Hopefully that means other women will soon start to open up a little bit because being sex-positive is important in a relationship, [the relationship you have with] yourself, in your self-care, and so many different things, especially in this [ongoing COVID-19] pandemic."

the bachelor 2501 matt james, the charismatic and engaging star of abcs hit romance reality series the bachelor, will hand out the roses for its momentous 25th season after meeting matt as a prospective suitor for the bachelorette, bachelor nation swooned when they learned he would take on the role as the lead of his own love story matt is the total package with strong family values, a great career, and has used his growing platform for good his emerging legion of fans cant wait to follow the 28 year old real estate broker, entrepreneur and community organization founder on his journey to find love during this historic season although matt hasnt been in love before, he feels he is ready now to welcome it into his lifeno matter what challenges he will faceas he starts his search for his happily ever after on the season premiere of the bachelor, monday, jan 4 800 1000 pm est, on abc craig sjodin via getty images

But then Thurston herself posted on her Instagram story: "Reading my texts this morning like news to me."

Then, Chris Harrison said in an interview with Extra: "I promise you this: If we named her the next Bachelorette, I was not there. We did not name her or anybody the next Bachelorette during the Women Tell All special. And in fact, we didn't even talk about who was the next Bachelorette ... unless they started taping in the middle of the night after I left. So as far as I know, nobody has been named the Bachelorette. And I promise you this, it will not be a part of the Tell All special at all."

Harrison, 49, said a "large debate" about who could be the next female lead is still going.

“I am not [The Bachelorette] as far as I know," Thurston told Tamron Hall. "When that rumor came out, I woke up to the 50 tags and I had a little panic attack and the first person I had to call was my mom and say ‘That’s news to me!’ I think it came out that it was told at the ‘Women Tell All’ which is not true. So until I hear otherwise officially, again it’s news to me."

As for what we would be able to expect from Katie as the Bachelorette, her official Bachelor bio offers the following ~insights~:

"Katie knows exactly what she wants in a man and is done wasting her time on boys who won't live up to her expectations. She is a witty storyteller who says when she finds someone worth committing to, she is the most loving and committed partner anyone could ask for. Katie is daring and adventurous. While Katie is serious about finding her person, she needs a man who can laugh along with her but is okay with him laughing at her too when the moment calls for it. Katie is looking for a mature man who has ambitions to succeed in everything he does, both personally and professionally. Her dream man will be passionate about building a long-term life with her and will treat Katie as his equal in the relationship. Nothing turns her off more than someone who sits around playing video games all day or a man who tries to kiss her at the inopportune moment … it's all about creating the right vibe with Katie! Will Matt be able to live up to Katie's standards?"

Fingers crossed that this intel is correct because Katie seems like she'll make a pretty amazing Bachelorette, TBH.