Could This Newly Single ‘Bachelor in Paradise’ Star Become the Next ‘Bachelorette’?

Bachelor in Paradise Resort

ABC Bachelor in Paradise Resort

Could a franchise fan favorite be cast as the next star of ”The Bachelorette”? If Ashley Iaconetti and Jared Haibon have their way, a newly single pal from the ABC dating franchise would get the coveted role.

In an interview with Us Weekly, Iaconetti and Haibon pitched pal Carly Waddell as the show’s next lead.

“I know I say this about a lot of people, but I am all in on Carly Bachelorette 2022,” Haibon told the outlet. “She’s awesome. I’m totally in for Carly Bachelorette 2022 because it would just be such a great story. She deserves it. She’s an incredible person, she has wonderful kids.”

Iaconetti, who married Haibon in 2019, added that it would make for an interesting twist to have “somebody who came from a divorce situation in The Bachelor [world]” get a second chance at love. The expectant mom also said she believes Waddell, 36, would “totally” take the offer to be ABC’s next leading lady.


Carly Waddell Was Married to Fellow Bachelor in Paradise Star Evan Bass

 

Fans first met Waddell on Chris Soules’ season of “The Bachelor” back in 2015. She went on to look for love on the second and third seasons of “Bachelor in Paradise,” where she met future husband Evan Bass. The two tied the knot in June 2017 at the Vidanta Nuevo Vallarta resort near Puerto Vallarta, in a ceremony officiated by former “Bachelor” host  Chris Harrison, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The couple went on to have two kids together, Bella, and Charlie, but they announced their split in December 2020, per Entertainment Tonight.

In a YouTube video she posted at the time, Waddell revealed it was Bass who asked for the divorce after years of struggles between the two.

“We’ve been going to therapy for years,” she told fans, per Life & Style. “We tried. We tried, y’all, for a really long time to make it work. We went to therapy. We focused a lot more on the kids than we focused on ourselves. And, ultimately, I think that was probably our biggest downfall was that the kids kinda came at the top of the pyramid and we never put ourselves at the top.”


Carly Waddell Recently Joked About Getting Back into the Dating Scene

In early 2022, Waddell joked about getting back into the dating scene.

“Me trying to get back in the dating scene after being married,” she captioned a TikTok video that showed her asking herself, “Are you new here? Yeah.” In one shot she was putting on lipstick, and in another, she was rifling through a self-help book about finding love.

“If ya know, ya know. Here’s to 2022!” she captioned the post, with the hashtags #dating and #2022. She also shared the clip to Instagram.

Waddell is about six months behind her ex-husband when it comes to dating. In June 2021, Bass posted an Instagram Q&A with fans, where he answered followers who wanted to know about his relationship status.

“Yes I’m dating,” he confirmed at the time,  according to Us Weekly.

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