Hold onto your roses, folks, because we just found out who our next Bachelorette is. Despite franchise creator Mike Fleiss promising that he was announcing the new leading lady before the Bachelor finale, the show stuck with tradition and broke the big news during the "After the Final Rose" special. In case you haven't heard, the 2019 Bachelorette is Hannah Brown. As the former Miss Alabama would say, Roll Tide!
The 24-year-old beauty queen is used to sparkly gowns, but Bachelor viewers got a glimpse at her unfiltered personality as she competed for the heart of Colton Underwood. Although she initially faced drama with former pageant rival Caelynn, Hannah reconciled with her and proceeded to deliver witty one-liners throughout the season. Fans' appreciation of her skyrocketed when Colton eliminated her and Hannah told cameras, "I will not allow myself to not feel chosen every single day, and I’ll wait ‘til whenever that is."
The love for Hannah deepened even more when she sat in the hot seat during "Women Tell All" and opened up about once thinking she would follow the pattern of those around her and marry and start a family soon after college. She then wondered why she was settling for that and expressed a desire to be loved fiercely. Even her second chance at a toast during the segment reeked of a Bachelorette blessing.
All of those beloved moments paid off when Hannah B. was officially announced. The show even included video footage of the moment Chris Harrison told her the news, and the leading lady teared up. Well, someone's excited to hand out roses!
Although he recently trolled the internet by fueling speculation that Khloé Kardashian was stepping into the Bachelorette's shoes, Fleiss is ultimately the godfather of Bachelor Nation. If he wanted to get the Bachelorette ball rolling as he initially alleged, the rest of ABC had to bow down. While most of his tweets veer into the territory of awkward dad jokes, Fleiss can still send fans into a frenzy with a single post. Case in point: He surprised followers by tweeting that he would post the announcement of the next Bachelorette prior to the first part of the Bachelor finale on March 11.
That wasn't meant to be, but the suspense was nice while it lasted.
It's unclear why Fleiss decided to tease announcing Hannah B. as the new lead ahead of schedule, but it looks like he just enjoys keeping Bachelor Nation on their toes. In the past, the Bachelorette has been revealed almost exclusively on the "After the Final Rose" special as producers literally sweep out the old and welcome in the new of the franchise. Most recent Bachelorettes Becca Kufrin and Rachel Lindsay even met a handful of their contestants during the live show before beginning to film the new season the following week. Hannah's announcement segment followed suit, and she got to meet a few guys and even hand out an early rose.
Fleiss ultimately drew out the announcement in the days leading up to the March 12 reveal. He claimed that ABC considered women from past seasons for the Bachelorette gig, but conversations only happened with five women. Fleiss teased in a post that they spoke to contestants "T, H, D, C, H." That code isn't too tricky to figure out, but we can probably count on seeing those other women on Bachelor in Paradise this summer.
Congrats to Hannah B.! Here's to a summer of beast growls and Alabama pride.
Season 15 of The Bachelorette premieres on ABC in May.
