So, Apparently, Greg Grippo Almost Dated Another Bachelor Nation Star

Bachelor Nation fell for Greg Grippo when he made his debut on Katie Thurston’s season of The Bachelorette, but one Bachelor alum apparently took a liking to him even before that. Reportedly, in 2020, Grippo connected with Bachelor alum Mykenna Dorn. (ICYMI, Dorn vied for Bachelor Peter Weber’s heart on the show’s 24th season.) Can you really blame them — who didn’t DM their Bachelor Nation crush over quarantine?

A source explained the situation to Us Weekly, “Mykenna and Greg used to talk last summer.” But, considering Grippo is from New Jersey and Dorn lives in Canada, they didn’t have a chance to meet in person. Eventually, that put an end to their talking phase. The insider added, “They really hit it off, but long distance came in the way.” I’m sensing a Bachelor in Paradise arc coming (yes, even if Grippo doesn’t join Dorn on the beach this summer, this still has major Stagecoach vibes).

And Dorn actually isn’t the only Bachelor Nation star Grippo almost dated. During his interview on The Viall Files (a podcast hosted by former Bachelor Nick Viall), Grippo explained that he was nearly cast for two previous seasons of The Bachelorette: Becca Kufrin’s and Clare Crawley’s.

Grippo explained, “My sister Samantha submitted me, but I thought it was my buddy pranking me at first. … It was for Becca Kufrin’s season.” But he opted out of the rest of the casting process. “I didn’t even go through the next steps,” he explained. “I just told him it wasn’t the right time for me. I was extremely young. I wasn’t ready to be on the show at all.” Fair enough.

He was later invited to join Crawley’s cast. Initially, Grippo agreed, but when the ongoing coronavirus pandemic delayed filming by several months, he reconsidered. “They restarted that season. And I remember them calling me back in June [and asking] me if I wanted to do it,” he told Viall. “I had a long talk with my family, had a long talk with producers. I wanted to do it if I truly saw myself with the girl. And I just didn’t feel like it was gonna be a good result.”

And now I’m stuck wondering if Grippo was holding out hope Dorn would be the next Bachelorette. Her tearful goodbye with Peter Weber did make a pretty decent audition tape, after all...