Season 16 of The Bachelorette will be different in more ways than one. Besides having a woman in her late 30s handing out the roses, Clare Crawley's season may also be one of the first to stay stateside.
Sources told E! News that international travel for Clare's upcoming season of The Bachelorette are on hold due to health concerns regarding the outbreak of the coronavirus. This may change as the situation around the now-global virus continues to evolve, but as of press time the show is scrapping planned overseas travel.
Bachelor Nation shows typically send the casts on trips around the world. Peter Weber's season of The Bachelor, season 24, featured trips to Costa Rica, Chile and Peru, as well as a finale in Australia. Hannah Brown's season of The Bachelorette filmed in Scotland, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Latvia and Greece.
Pausing international travel is now becoming common for reality shows that film around the globe. CBS announced a temporary production suspension on The Amazing Race season 33 due to coronavirus concerns. The series filmed three episodes before production on the globe-trotting series was put on hold.
"Due to increased concerns and uncertainty regarding the coronavirus around the world, CBS and the producers of The Amazing Race have taken the precautionary measure of temporarily suspending production on the 33rd season of the series. All contestants and production staff are in the process of returning home," a CBS spokesperson said in a statement. "At this time, no Racers or anyone on the production team traveling with them have contracted the virus, or shown symptoms, and we are not aware of anyone being exposed to it. Out of an abundance of caution, everyone involved in the show will continue to be monitored when they return home. The health and well-being of the Racers and the production team are our top priorities."
We're told The Bachelorette starts production in early March. CBS has yet to set a restart production date for The Amazing Race has officially been announced.
The Bachelorette returns on Monday, May18 at 8 p.m. on ABC.