‘The Bachelor’ 2025 Lead Revealed: Who Will Hand out Roses?

Heavy ABC shared the scoop on their "Bachelor" 2025 lead early.

During episode 6 of Jenn Tran’s “The Bachelorette” season, ABC decided to reveal their pick as the lead for the 2025 “The Bachelor” season.

The network’s decision to announce their pick now came as a surprise to viewers. Who did ABC choose?

ABC picked Grant Ellis to be “The Bachelor” for season 29.

Grant Ellis From Jenn Tran’s ‘The Bachelorette’ Will Look for Love Again

Ahead of “The Bachelorette” airing on August 12, podcaster and blogger Reality Steve shared a teaser about the announcement. “The next Bachelor is being revealed tonight after the show airs on East Coast,” he tweeted on X, formerly Twitter.

At the time of his initial tweet, Reality Steve indicated he had “no idea” who ABC chose.

A few hours later, Reality Steve posted a new tweet. “The name I’m hearing for next Bachelor is Jonathon from this season,” he shared.

Jonathon Johnson is one of Tran’s remaining suitors on “The Bachelorette.” He has not, however, been eliminated by Tran yet. As it turned out, what Reality Steve heard about Johnson was wrong.

Instead, Grant Ellis will be “The Bachelor” for the upcoming season. People announced the news after the August 12 episode, and Reality Steve tweeted it out.

The revelation that Ellis got “The Bachelor” gig seemed to go over well with fans.

“Good I really like Grant and he’s a very good looking young man,” one fan tweeted.

“Would’ve gotten my final rose! Great choice, congrats to him and I’m certain he’ll find love,” tweeted another.

“I AM SO HAPPY ABOUT THIS RIGHT NOW,” declared another happy viewer.

“Great pick. Hottest man this season, seems nice, cool vibes, great kisser, good on tv. Wish he got more of a Bachelor edit and [hometown date] but I’m happy,” a fan noted in “The Bachelor” subreddit.

Fans Had Plenty of Suggestions

Before ABC made the official announcement, Bachelor Nation buzzed over the possibilities. Both on X and in “The Bachelor” subreddit, suggestions poured in.

Quite a few fans thought the announcement must be that someone from either an earlier season or outside the franchise got the opportunity.

Suggestions such as Blake Moynes, Michael Allio, and Greg Grippo popped up.

At least one person quipped that viewers would get a second season with Peter Weber as “The Bachelor” lead. One enthusiastic Redditor started a thread rallying for former “Bachelor in Paradise” star Derek Peth to be “The Bachelor.”

Some “The Bachelor” fans also speculated that perhaps the new lead was an Olympian. The fact that the Olympics in Paris just ended could tie into why ABC made the announcement now.

Most of the time in recent seasons, ABC announces “The Bachelor” or “The Bachelorette” lead during the season finale where they first appeared.

For the network to announce Ellis now before the “Men Tell All” or finale episodes air prompted curiosity among viewers.

Will announcing Ellis this early help hype his season of “The Bachelor” when it debuts in January 2025? Viewers will likely keep a close eye on him through the remainder of Tran’s “Bachelorette” season to get a better sense of him.