DWTS: ABC Exec Claims Chrishell Stause Was Almost The Bachelorette
According to a high-profile ABC executive, Dancing with the Stars contestant and Selling Sunset star Chrishell Stause was once considered to be the lead of The Bachelorette. Though the real estate agent couldn't find love on a dating competition, she did find her man off-camera. She met Justin Hartley in 2013. Then, in 2017, Chrishell and Justin got married.
Unfortunately, the relationship between Chrishell Stause and Justin Hartley had a few problems. In the end, the pair had to call it quits two years into marriage. In 2019, Chrishell stepped into reality TV with Netflix's hit real estate series, Selling Sunset, and then grabbed the opportunity to be a contestant in ABC's popular dancing show, Dancing with the Stars.
The Bachelor Nation fans are aware that The Bachelor season 21 lead Nick Viall hosts a podcast called The Viall Files. Recently, Nick talked to Rober Mills, who is ABC's Senior Vice President of Alternative Series, Specials, and Late Night Programming. During the episode, Robert revealed that Chrishell was considered to be the lead on The Bachelorette. He said, "I actually have had lunch with Chrishell - this was about 10 or 11 years ago - to talk about being the Bachelorette." At the time, the ABC executive was looking for a lead to fill the role of The Bachelorette season 4. He recalled, "We had this incredible lunch, I think it was at the Beverly Hills Hotel, and she was awesome. And I was convinced. I'm like, 'This is the Bachelorette.'"
After the podcast was released, the 39-year-old reality TV star confirmed the news. Chrishell Stause shared more details about her Bachelorette experience with her 1.9 million followers on Instagram. She explained how her season was supposed to have a unique storyline. At the time, Chrishell was acting on All My Children and modeling for a makeup company. On Instagram, she said that ABC was going to do a "'win a date with our model' storyline" for her on The Bachelorette, hinting that this would've been the twist of the season.
However, Chrishell was ultimately not cast for the role. It was instead given The Bachelor season 11 contestant DeAnna Pappas. She was one of the two women eliminated during the season finale. Since many fans were rooting for DeAnna, she was considered a strong candidate for season 4 of The Bachelorette. In the podcast, Robert Mills even revealed that Ellen DeGeneres called the President of ABC to say that DeAnna had to be the next Bachelorette. Nevertheless, once Chrishell is done with Dancing with the Stars, there's always a chance that she could be the lead on an upcoming season of The Bachelorette.
Source: The Viall Files