The Bachelor Season 29: Grant Ellis’ Cast Announced With Shocking Change From Joey Graziadei’s Season

The Bachelor season 29 star Grant Ellis' cast of women has been announced, and, with only 25 contestants, he shockingly has seven fewer people to choose from than Joey Graziadei, who had 32. Grant, a now-31-year-old day trader from Newark, New Jersey, was announced as the lead of The Bachelor season 29 early, immediately after he was eliminated from Jenn Tran's Bachelorette season. After that, host Jesse Palmer announced that over 10,000 women had applied for the show specifically to have the chance to date Grant.

In an Instagram post, The Bachelor announced the 25 women who'll be competing for Grant's heart. They include Alexe (27, a pediatric speech therapist from New Brunswick, Canada); Alli Jo (30, a boxing trainer from Manalapan, NJ); Allyshia (29, an interior designer from Tampa, FL); Bailey (27, a social media manager from Atlanta, GA); Beverly (30, an insurance salesperson from Howard Beach, NY); Carolina (28, a public relations producer from Guaynabo, Puerto Rico); Chloie (27, a model from New York, NY); and Christina (26, a marketing director from Fargo, ND).

In addition, Grant's Bachelor cast will include Dina (31, an attorney from Chicago, IL); Ella (25, a luxury travel host from Los Angeles, CA); J’Nae (28, an account coordinator from Colorado Springs, CO); Juliana (28, a client service associate from Newton, MA); Kelsey (26, an interior designer from Brooklyn, NY); Kyleigh (26, a retail manager from Wilmington, NC); Litia (31, a venture capitalist from Salt Lake City, UT); Natalie (25, a Ph.D. student from Louisville, KY); Neicey (32, a pediatrician from Blythewood, SC); and Parisa, (29, a pediatric behavior analyst from Birmingham, MI).

Grant will also meet Radhika (28, an attorney from New York, NY), Rebekah (31, an ICU nurse from Dallas, TX); Rose (27, a registered nurse from Chicago, IL); Sarafiena (29, an associate media director from New York, NY); Savannah (27, a wedding planner from Charlottesville, VA); Vicky (28, a nightclub server from Las Vegas, NV); and Zoe (27, a tech engineer and model from New York, NY).

What Fewer Women In The Cast Means For Grant Ellis’ Bachelor Journey

Fewer Women Could Be Good Or Bad For Grant

With only 25 women in The Bachelor season 29 cast, Grant will have significantly fewer contestants than Joey did when he had 32 people from whom to choose. In fact, this is the smallest cast since The Bachelor season 16 starring Ben Flajnik, which also had 25 women, although there were larger casts before his season.

Then, the numbers consistently went up, beginning with Sean Lowe (26), Juan Pablo Galavis (27), Chris Soules (30), Ben Higgins (28), Nick Viall (30), Arie Luyendyk Jr, (29), Colton Underwood (30), Peter Weber (30), Matt James (32, with 5 added for a total of 37), Clayton Echard (30), and Zach Shallcross (30).

Having a smaller cast could've been a good thing for Grant because it might've made his decisions easier. It can be overwhelming when there are too many women on the first night, making it impossible for the lead to give them all attention and have meaningful conversations before the first rose ceremony. However, a smaller pool of women could've also been a bad thing because Grant might not have found what he was looking for in his group of 25.

Our Take On Grant Ellis’ Cast Having Fewer Women Than Joey’s Season

Grant's Cast Of 25 Women Is Puzzling

It's very strange that Grant's cast has seven fewer contestants than Joey's because Jesse made it sound as though women were beating down the door of the Bachelor Mansion to get to Grant. It doesn't make sense that Grant would have a smaller cast considering that so many people applied to the show specifically to date him. Perhaps there's a twist coming, in which women will be added to the cast later. It's also possible that Grant didn't want such a large cast.

Whatever the reason for Grant having fewer contestants than many previous Bachelors, the hope is that his true love is in that group of 25 women. Grant wants to be a husband and a father, which is why he was the perfect choice to be the star of The Bachelor season 29. Hopefully, Grant found the love of his life, and they'll live happily ever after.