The Bachelorette season 21 premieres on July 8, but it feels like an afterthought or an obligation, and it's so unfair to its lead, Jenn Tran. Jenn, a 26-year-old physician assistant student from Hillsdale, New Jersey, who's currently living in Miami, Florida, made her debut in Joey Graziadei's Bachelor season. She made it to the Top 6 and even told Joey that she was falling for him, but he eliminated her right before his hometown dates.
During The Bachelor season 28 finale, Jenn was announced as the next Bachelorette. It was a surprising decision because many fans expected that Joey's runner-up Daisy Kent or fan favorite Maria Georgas would take the lead of The Bachelorette season 21. Jenn is excited to continue her journey to find love, and she's breaking new ground as the first-ever Asian American Bachelor franchise lead. Jenn is very proud of her Vietnamese heritage, and believes that television needs more positive Asian American representation. Although Jenn's Bachelorette season should be one of the most anticipated, it feels like an afterthought or an obligation for many reasons, and she deserves so much better.
Daisy Kent & Maria Georgas Were The Favorites To Star In The Bachelorette Season 21
Jenn Tran Was An Unexpected Choice For The Lead
Throughout The Bachelor season 28, both Daisy and Maria were fan favorites. Daisy's sweet demeanor and openness about her health journey, including getting a cochlear implant due to her hearing loss, touched and inspired people. On the other hand, Maria's outspoken personality and her resilience in the face of bullying by some of the other women, really resonated with people. It seemed obvious when Joey didn't choose them and got engaged to Kelsey Anderson, that one of them would be the next Bachelorette.
However, Bachelor Nation was shocked when Jenn was named the star of The Bachelorette season 21. Although she was wonderful on the show, she'd only made it to the Top 6 before Joey said goodbye to her. This meant that fans had less time to get to know her. Joey hadn't met her family during his hometown dates, which meant that viewers hadn't either. All they knew about Jenn were the bits and pieces that she'd shared about herself during The Bachelor season 28.
However, if Bachelor viewers were paying attention, they actually would've learned a lot about Jenn, her interests, her family, and her heritage, but many were more focused on Daisy and Maria. Jenn taught Joey how to play the piano while on the show. She also shared a lot about her challenging family situation, which stemmed from her parents' difficult relationship. However, during "The Women Tell All," Jenn revealed that she and her mother had gotten closer because the show had helped her mother see her as an adult.
Jenn praised her mother, as she explained her journey from Vietnam to America. She stopped going to medical school to raise Jenn and her brother, became a single mom, and "never complained once." Jenn shared a lot about herself on the show, but fans wanted more. While Jenn will most likely be fantastic as the Bachelorette, many fans feel that they don't know enough about her in order to really get excited about her season. It's a shame that it's starting out this way. The producers should've done a better job of helping fans get to know Jenn if they knew that she would be cast in the lead role.
Daisy & Maria Made It Known That Jenn Tran Was Third Choice
Jenn's Announcement As The First Asian American Bachelorette Is Less Meaningful
One of the worst aspects of Jenn's casting was how The Bachelorette producers have allowed Daisy and Maria to make it known that Jenn wasn't their first choice for the role. Daisy revealed on Joey's "After the Final Rose" episode that she turned down The Bachelorette season 21 because she wasn't ready to do the show. In addition, on the Call Her Daddy podcast, Maria shared that she'd been offered the role, and had even gotten to the point of doing fittings for it.
However, Maria realized that she had to decline The Bachelorette season 21 when she noticed that she wasn't happy and excited about it. She knew that it wasn't her time. Maria added that Jenn wanted to be the Bachelorette so badly, so that confirmed her decision to leave the role behind even more.
The Bachelorette producers made a big mistake by bringing Daisy out on stage during Joey's "After the Final Rose" episode and making fans think that she might be the next Bachelorette. They only felt disappointed when she wasn't, and this made Jenn's announcement feel like a let-down. In addition, it was so unfair to Jenn to make her seem like they settled for her as a third choice when Daisy and Maria said no. Daisy and Maria shouldn't have been allowed to disclose that they were offered the role so close to Jenn being announced as the Bachelorette.
This also diminishes the impact of the Bachelorette producers finally choosing an Asian American lead after 21 years, 20 seasons, and 22 Bachelorettes (The Bachelorette seasons 16 and 19 both had two leads). They didn't choose Jenn because they wanted to be inclusive, but rather because she was the only one who accepted the role. She just happened to be Asian American. This won't diminish the impact that Jenn's season will have on Asian American representation, but it's certainly insulting to her.
Joan Vassos' Golden Bachelorette Season Is Overshadowing Jenn's Bachelorette Season
The Golden Bachelorette Announcement Was More Anticipated Than Jenn's Whole Season
Once Jenn was announced as the star of The Bachelorette season 21, fans' attention immediately turned to who would be cast as the first-ever lead of The Golden Bachelorette. Ever since Gerry Turner's season ended, Bachelor Nation had been wondering who'd take on the coveted role. They cared more about the Golden Bachelorette announcement than Jenn's whole season. They were thrilled when Joan Vassos was cast. In addition, Gerry and Theresa Nist's divorce announcement also became a bigger story than Jenn's season.
While Joan was the perfect choice for The Golden Bachelorette, and she deserves all of the fans' excitement about her, the producers' announcement shouldn't have come at Jenn's expense. They made a big mistake there. There are some who say that they want to skip over Jenn's season and jump straight to Joan's, but they're being unfair to Jenn. Joan wouldn't want that, and there's certainly room for everyone, since The Golden Bachelorette doesn't even premiere until the fall. Joan is in no way responsible for the way that Jenn has been treated, but the producers definitely are to blame.
Perhaps the Bachelor franchise producers should've waited until Jenn's season premiered before they announced the lead of The Golden Bachelorette. This would've allowed fans to focus solely on Jenn for a while before they turned their attention elsewhere. It feels as though The Bachelorette is just an obligation that the producers and the fans want to get over with, so that they can focus on The Golden Bachelorette, which they seem to care about more. This shouldn't be the case.
The Bachelorette Has A High Fail Rate
Only Four Out Of 22 Bachelorette Couples Are Still Together
Fans have lost interest in The Bachelorette and other franchise shows because the relationships, for the most part, don't last. The Bachelorette season 1 was a huge success, with Trista Rehn marrying Ryan Sutter in a televised wedding, but things have gone downhill since then. Out of the 22 Bachelorettes, 21 of them have gotten engaged (Bachelorette season 3 star Jen Schefft is the only one who didn't), but only four of them are still engaged or married to their final choices.
Trista and Ryan, Desiree Hartsock and Chris Siegfried, and JoJo Fletcher and Jordan Rodgers are still married, while Charity Lawson and Dotun Olubeko are still engaged and planning a 2025 wedding. Ashley Hebert and J.P. Rosenbaum and Rachel Lindsay and Bryan Abasolo also got married after the show, but, unfortunately, their marriages ended in divorce. In addition, beginning with Becca Kufrin's Bachelorette season in 2018, every Bachelorette engagement ended except for Charity's, including those of Hannah Brown, Clare Crawley, Tayshia Adams, Katie Thurston, Michelle Young, Gabby Windey, and Rachel Recchia.
Although The Bachelorette has led to more failure than success, it's unfair to Jenn to write off her season just because others have ended in heartache. Clayton Echard's Bachelor season was a disaster, but it led to Zach Shallcross and Kaity Biggar and Joey and Kelsey's engagements. One never knows when the magic will happen on the show, but it has in the past. Jenn should be given a clean slate as she begins her journey to find love on The Bachelorette season 21.
The Bachelorette season 21 should be one of the most anticipated ever, but many are treating it like an afterthought or an obligation, which is extremely unfair to Jenn. As the first-ever Asian American Bachelor franchise lead, she should be celebrated. In addition, she's open to new adventures and ready to find love, so she's the perfect choice for The Bachelorette season 21. Hopefully, Jenn will be made a priority when her season begins airing because she deserves more from the producers and the fans than what she's received so far.
