ABC Michael Allio.
Will Michael Allio be the next “Bachelor“? The single dad from Akron, Ohio, didn’t end up winning Katie Thurston‘s heart on “The Bachelorette,” but he has won the hearts of fans all over the country.
Allio lost his wife, Laura, in 2019, following a battle with breast cancer. He spends the majority of his time raising their son, James, who is 4-years-old. Although Allio was ready to find love with Thurston, things just didn’t end up working out — but that doesn’t mean that he’s giving up on the whole “dating on reality television” thing.
Back in June — while Allio was still in the running on Thurston’s season — a Reddit user posted that she had heard that the next “Bachelor” is someone older — someone who is 37. This Reddit user claims that her friend is friends with a casting producer, and this is how she has the scoop.
“My friend texted me today saying that the next ‘Bachelor’ was 37 so there was a good chance that I wasn’t going to get called for his season, since I’m only 26 and the producers were looking for women more in their 30’s. Of course, this implies that Michael A is most likely the next bachelor. I assume a lot of us already suspected this due to Fleiss tweeting about Michael’s episode and there being a positive reaction from most fans,” the Redditor wrote to kick off a new thread.
Here’s what you need to know:
Fans Think That Allio Was Hinting at Becoming the Next ‘Bachelor’ in His Recent Instagram Share
On June 30, Allio shared a photo of himself on Instagram, and added a very interesting caption. “Busy waiting around,” the caption read. It didn’t take fans long to wonder if he was referring to waiting for his time to start filming the new season.
“Us waiting for you to become the next ‘Bachelor,'” one Instagram user commented.
“Totally! We all know he will be the next ‘Bachelor’!” another person wrote.
“BRB submitting my application to be on ‘The Bachelor’ if it’s you,” added a third.
As previously reported by Heavy, ABC has yet to renew “The Bachelor.” “Bachelor in Paradise” has already wrapped filming and is set to air beginning in August. Michelle Young’s season of “The Bachelorette” is expected to start filming in the current weeks and will air in the fall.
In recent weeks, “Bachelor” franchise producer Mike Fleiss has tweeted (and retweeted) quite a bit about Allio. He also asked fans who they would like to see hand out roses as the next “Bachelor” in a tweet posted on July 5.
Some Fans Think (& Hope) That Dr. Joe Park Is the Next ‘Bachelor’
While several fans are still rooting for Allio to get the gig, others are hoping to see Dr. Joe Park score the role. Dr. Joe became super popular on Clare Crawley and Tayshia Adams’ season of “The Bachelorette.”
Park is 37-years-old, so he would fit the bill that the original poster described.
“Literally my first thought was ‘is there any chance it could be Dr. Joe instead?’ without knowing his age. I think Michael A is great but we still need to do a lot better at having diverse leads,” wrote one Redditor.
“Joe is successful, adorable, kind and empathetic to causes. I can’t imagine a better ‘Bachelor,'” added a second.
“I really hope it is Dr Joe!!!” a third Redditor wrote.
If he were to be cast, Dr. Joe would be the first Asian man to become “The Bachelor.”