Former franchise star Andi Dorfman is having some mixed feelings about The Bachelorette naming both Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia as Season 19’s leads.
Apparently ABC is trying to change things up on their nearly 20 year old spinoff, but the attempt seems to be falling flat with some of the show’s former stars and fans. Even though I watched Clayton Echard‘s painful season of The Bachelor (some fans think he was possibly the “Worst Bachelor Ever,” though Juan Pablo Galavis will arguably hold that title in perpetuity), I barely remember either of these women. Neither is what I would call a stand-out.
Andi has other reasons to object to the new season’s casting. As recently reported in Us Weekly, “I want to be supportive because it’s a franchise that literally put me here right now, so I always feel a bit of support, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t bummed that it’s two women,” Andi said. “I’d like to see two men go at it. I don’t know. It gives me a little sexist vibe there that I don’t really love.”
The former attorney joined Bachelor Nation on Season 18 of The Bachelor — coincidentally, Juan Pablo‘s season (speak of the Devil!) — before starring in Season 10 of The Bachelorette in 2014. While she ended up with Josh Murray at the end of her season, the duo called it quits in January 2015. Andi has since moved on with Blaine Hart, now her fiancé.
“I know all these Bachelorette leads and what it takes to be onscreen and to hold your own on a show, and production and castmates. I have a lot of respect for those people,” Andi continued. “So I think I will show my support in that way.”
The author of It’s Not Okay (yet another Juan Pablo reference! Will he never go away?!) added, “I don’t really love the fact that two women have to share the screen. I think we’ve progressed a little further. It’s 2022. . . . I want each girl to have it for themselves. It is such an incredible thing.”
ABC announced during March’s After the Final Rose special (following Clayton‘s finale) that the ICU nurse and the pilot had been chosen to share star billing in the next season of the spinoff series.
At the time, the women revealed they were happy to have a “wing woman by their side” as they each looked for “The One” (“The Two?”). “It’s crazy. This is insane, and I’m excited to do this journey with you,” Rachel told Gabby. “We did it once together, and we’ve been through the [craziest] experience together.”
In contrast, Nick Viall, who competed on multiple seasons of The Bachelorette and Bachelor in Paradise before becoming The Bachelor himself in 2017, said that he “can’t wait” to see the two women run the show for an entire season.
“Don’t know how that’s going to go, but I’m sure it will be wild,” the Viall Files podcast host continued, noting he hopes the network doesn’t try to “pit them against each other,” because that would not be a “good look for anyone” at this point. I don’t think the Bachelor Nation would be happy to see that either!
Nick went on, “I hope and expect to see a lot of camaraderie and . . . a sisterhood between the two [women]. I’m sure there’ll be drama, and there will be ways to kind of elicit that, but I’m optimistic that it won’t be in any way Gabby versus Rachel. That’s my hope.” Me, too!
Season 19 of The Bachelorette premieres on ABC on Monday, July 11 at 8 p.m. ET. I’m wondering how many guys they’ll bring in for two women. It’s confusing enough trying to keep 25-30 men straight during the first episode!
TELL US – HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT HAVING TWO BACHELORETTES THIS SEASON? DO YOU REMEMBER ANYTHING ABOUT EITHER RACHEL OR GABBY FROM CLAYTON’S SEASON? TELL US HOW YOU REALLY FEEL!
[Photo Credit: Paul Archuleta/Getty Images]