
Spoilers for The Bachelor. As the sure-to-be-nuts conclusion of Peter Weber's Bachelor season (opens in new tab) nears, the fans have naturally begun looking ahead: Who will be the next Bachelorette (opens in new tab)? It's been really hard to root for anyone this season (at least for me), but one potentially intuitive pick would be Hannah Ann Sluss (opens in new tab), the Tennessee native who's a model and former pageant contestant. The end of Weber's season hasn't been confirmed yet, but if rumors are to be believed, Sluss may come in second to fellow contestant Madison Prewett (opens in new tab). And Bachelor Nation loves a good runner-up: See also our very first Bachelorette, Trista Sutter!
Let me get this out of the way right now: I have no idea who's in the title role yet. No one does yet, at least as far as I can tell. Producers are probably in the process of making their short list now, and going out to do interviews. But we can still speculate about what would make Sluss a top contender, and what her chances might look like as of this moment.
Sluss is a natural fit for the role.
Sluss has the typical background that producers seem to gravitate towards these days, in terms of her pageant history and modeling chops. She's close with her family—the oldest of three siblings—and doesn't seem to have a ton of pre-show drama. See also Victoria Fuller (opens in new tab), who is very likely not going to be considered for the titular role.
There are a few previews that have Sluss actively weeping (probably during the finale), and as we know—fans tends to gravitate towards the contestant who had her heart broken most recently, which might put her ahead of the #4 choice Kelsey Weier.
If I had to guess, since we know Hannah Brown (opens in new tab) is likely not doing the show again, that Sluss is the intuitive pick.
But it might not be a perfect match.
Sluss would be tied with Hannah Brown for youngest Bachelorette ever (24) should she be picked. Aside from ChampagneGate and that time she pronounced "fiasco" as "finasco," (opens in new tab) she's almost totally low-key on the show (I bet that's by design on her part). Her vibe these days reminds me of a contestant who's actually BFFs with Sluss: Hannah Godwin (opens in new tab) from Colton Underwood's season. And as you'll remember, Godwin wasn't picked for Bachelorette but instead had a tremendous run on Bachelor in Paradise.
There's also the fact that Sluss has hunted animals in the past, based on a picture that now looks to be deleted (Reality Steve has it, but I won't link to it). That might rub some fans the wrong way, should she be seriously considered for the role. Sluss did have a long-term relationship before The Bachelor, but it ended several years ago, so she doesn't have relationship drama that could impact her.
Sluss has kept it low-key on social media.
Sluss will occasionally post about the show on her feed, either with flying puns or shots with her and Weber. Her dad "Ranger Rick" had the kind of skeptical attitude we love to see from contestant parents who are totally bewildered by the whole thing—and Sluss hopped on the bandwagon of support for her dad:
Otherwise, she's mostly gotten back to work as a model and influencer, regardless of what happens:
A post shared by Hannah Ann Sluss (@hannahann) (opens in new tab)
A photo posted by on
So we're not going to get any hints from her, but I bet she's a strong contender.
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Katherine’s a Boston-based contributor at Marie Claire who covers fashion, culture, and lifestyle—from “Clueless” to Everlane to news about Lizzo. She’s been a freelancer for 11 years and has had roles with Cosmopolitan and Bustle, with bylines in Parents, Seventeen, and elsewhere. It’s “I go to dinner,” not “Her huge ego,” but she responds to both.
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