SPOILER ALERT: Stop reading right this instant if you do not yet know the results of Monday night’s Bachelor finale.
On an emotional roller coaster of a concluding episode, Ben Higgins broke the heart of JoJo Fletcher, shattering her hopes and dreams by sending her home and later proposing to Lauren Bushnell.
But less than an hour after the finale aired, Fletcher was officially awarded a pretty sweet consolation prize:
She will be this year’s Bachelorette!!!!!
Chris Harrison made the announcement on the network’s After the Final Rose ceremony, with Fletcher standing on stage and receiving a raucous ovation at the time.
There had been talk that third-place finisher Caila Quinn had been named The Bachelorette, but Us Weekly claims she was too “polarizing” of a choice and ABC switched to Fletcher after making its initial selection.
Fletcher is a 25-year-old real estate developer from Dallas, Texas. Her mother is Persian, which would typically be a random, inconsequential detail.
But ABC has come under fire for never having a non-white lead on The Bachelor or The Bachelorette.
Earlier this year, network President Paul Lee told reporters that he’d be “very surprised” if The Bachelorette was not a “diverse” woman.
Does Fletcher count as diverse, simply due to her mother’s heritage?
Do you care? Should it matter?
Will you watch The Bachelorette online this summer with JoJo at the show’s center?
Or is it too soon to ask any of these questions because you are still recovering from her getting dumped by Higgins last night? She’ll be okay, we think.
