Rachel Lindsay To Be Named Next Bachelorette—and the Franchise's First Black Lead Ever

Multiple reports say that Jimmy Kimmel will make the announcement during tonight's Jimmy Kimmel Live

By Lauren Piester Feb 13, 2017 11:35 PMTags
ABC

It seems that we won't have to wait until after the final rose to find out who the new star of the Bachelor franchise is. 

According to multiple reports, Rachel Lindsay will be named the next Bachelorette, and the announcement will be made on tonight's Jimmy Kimmel Live, despite the fact that six women—including Lindsay—remain on this season of The Bachelor

The 31 year-old attorney from Dallas, Texas will be the first black Bachelorette or Bachelor in the series' history. Viewers have been calling her out as the next Bachelorette since the season began, but the announcement is not usually made this early on in the season, and especially not before the contestant in question has been eliminated from the current season. 

Reality Steve first broke the news of Lindsay's casting, and of the announcement on Jimmy Kimmel Live

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Bachelor creator Mike Fleiss has been teasing an "historic" announcement on Twitter for weeks now, and revealed on Sunday that Kimmel would make the announcement during his Monday night show. 

ABC also broke tradition with their last announcement of Nick Viall as the Bachelor by making that reveal before he broke up with the woman he was dating on Bachelor in Paradise, and by choosing someone who wasn't on the most recent season. 

ABC has not yet returned a request for comment. 

The Bachelor airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on ABC, and Jimmy Kimmel Live airs weeknights at 11:35 p.m. on ABC.