The twenty-fifth season of '' The Bachelor'' premiered on January 4, 2021. This season features 28-year-old Matt James, a real estate broker and charity founder from

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the List of North Carolina county seats, seat of Wake County, North Carolina, Wake County in the United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most ...

. James was originally cast on the sixteenth season of ''

The Bachelorette A bachelorette is an unmarried woman. Bachelorette may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Bachelorette'', a reality television dating show part of ''The Bachelor'' franchise with numerous versions: ** ''The Bachelorette'' (American TV ser ...

'' featuring

Clare Crawley Clare Dawkins ( Crawley) (born March 20, 1981) is an American television personality, best known for her role as the runner-up on the 18th season of ABC's '' The Bachelor'' and as the lead of the 16th season of ''The Bachelorette''. She also ...

. However, after filming was delayed due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, he was instead selected to be The Bachelor. The entire season was filmed at

Nemacolin Woodlands Resort Nemacolin (formerly known as Nemacolin Woodlands Resort) is a four seasons resort in Farmington, Fayette County, Pennsylvania. The resort is owned by Maggie Hardy Knox, president of the 84 Lumber Company, and was founded by her father, Joseph Har ...

Farmington, Pennsylvania Farmington is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Wharton Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located along U.S. Route 40, the National Road, about southeast of Pittsburgh, and is the closest set ...

due to the pandemic, making this was the first and only season to film in a single location in ''The Bachelor''. James is the first Black male lead in ''The Bachelor'' franchise. The season concluded on March 15, 2021, with James choosing to pursue a relationship with 24-year-old graphic designer

Rachael Kirkconnell Rachael Kirkconnell (born September 26, 1996) is an American television personality, who is best known as the winner of season 25 of '' The Bachelor''. Early life and education Kirkconnell was born and raised in Cumming, Georgia to parents Da ...

. However, during the ''After the Final Rose'' special, it was revealed that James had broken up with Kirkconnell after her racially insensitive past came to light. On April 28, 2021, James confirmed that he and Kirkconnell were back together. This was the final ''Bachelor Nation'' season to feature

Chris Harrison Christopher Bryan Harrison (born July 26, 1971) is an American television and game show host, best known for his role as the host of the ABC reality television dating show '' The Bachelor'' from 2002 to 2021. He also hosted its spin-offs ''The ...

as the host.

Production

Casting and contestants

On June 12, 2020, James was announced as the next Bachelor on ''

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. Th ...

''. James is the first

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

Bachelor in franchise history, and while it was intended and announced as the second African-American lead (after

Rachel Lindsay Rachel Lindsay may refer to: * a pseudonym of Roberta Leigh, British author, artist, composer and television producer * Rachel Lindsay (television personality) Rachel Lynn Lindsay-Abasolo (born April 21, 1985) is an American media personality ...

of '' The Bachelorette 13''), the sudden introduction of

Tayshia Adams Tayshia Adams (born September 4, 1990) is an American television personality and television host. She received national recognition after appearing as a contestant on The Bachelor (American season 23), season 23 of ''The Bachelor (American TV ser ...

as a co-lead on '' The Bachelorette 16'', made James the third African-American lead of the franchise. He is also the first lead to have not previously appeared on a series in ''The Bachelor'' franchise since Matt Grant in season 12. Notable contestants include Mariela "Mari" Pepin, Miss Maryland USA 2019 and top 10 finalist in

Miss USA 2019 Miss USA 2019 was the 68th Miss USA pageant. It was held at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada, on May 2, 2019. Nick Lachey and Vanessa Lachey served as hosts, while Lu Sierra served as commentator, all for the second consecutive time and w ...

; Kit Keenan, daughter of fashion designer

Cynthia Rowley Cynthia Rowley (born July 29, 1958) is an American fashion designer based in the Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Early life and education Rowley is a native of Barrington, Illinois a northwestern suburb of Chicago. She is one of three ...

; Sydney Johnson, daughter of former

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

running backs coach and current

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

analyst Craig Johnson; Abigail Heringer, the first deaf contestant in ''The Bachelor'' franchise; and

Catalina Morales Catalina Morales Gómez (born December 11, 1990) is a Colombian-born Puerto Rican model, television personality and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Universe Puerto Rico 2015. She represented Puerto Rico at Miss Universe 2015, wher ...

, who was crowned

Miss Universe Puerto Rico 2015 The 60th Annual Miss Puerto Rico, Miss Universe Puerto Rico pageant was held at the Centro Ferial Juan H. Cintrón in Ponce, Puerto Rico, on October 9, 2014. Gabriela Berrios, who won the title of Miss Universe Puerto Rico 2014, crowned her succes ...

and competed at

Miss Universe 2015 Miss Universe 2015 was the 64th Miss Universe pageant, held at The AXIS at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States on December 20, 2015. This was the first edition of the pageant to be held under the ownership of WME/IMG, which ...

Filming and development

As with the sixteenth season of ''

'', the season was filmed in a

bio-secure bubble A bio-secure bubble, also known as a bubble, or hub city, was a hosting arrangement for sporting events that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic, under which events were held at a centralized site, often behind closed doors, with strict quarant ...

at the

, 60 miles southeast of

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

due to quarantine safety protocols, making this the first ''The Bachelor'' season not to film in the traditional Villa de la Vina mansion in

Agoura Hills, California Agoura Hills () is a city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. Its population was 20,330 at the 2010 census, which decreased to 20,299 in 2020. It is in the eastern Conejo Valley between the S ...

, and the first location other than the mansion since season 11.

Contestants

On October 5, 2020, 43 potential contestants were revealed on ''The Bachelor'' social media sites. On December 11, 2020, the final cast of 32 women was revealed. In week 3, five new women joined the cast, bringing the total number of contestants to 37. In week 6,

season 23 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

contestant Heather Martin asked to join the cast, but James declined prior to the rose ceremony.

Future appearances

''
The Bachelorette A bachelorette is an unmarried woman. Bachelorette may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Bachelorette'', a reality television dating show part of ''The Bachelor'' franchise with numerous versions: ** ''The Bachelorette'' (American TV ser ...
''

Katie Thurston Katie Lane Thurston (born January 3, 1991) is an American television personality. She received national recognition as a contestant on The Bachelor (season 25), season 25 of ''The Bachelor (U.S. TV series), The Bachelor'', and as the star of The ...

and Michelle Young were both chosen as the leads for seasons 17 and 18 of ''

'' respectively.

'' Bachelor in Paradise''

Season 7 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...

Abigail Heringer, Alana Milne, Anna Redman, Chelsea Vaughn, Jessenia Cruz, Mariela "Mari" Pepin, Pieper James, Serena Chew, Serena Pitt and Victoria Larson returned for season 7 of '' Bachelor in Paradise''. Chew and Larson were eliminated in week 1. Milne and James quit in week 3. Cruz was eliminated in week 3. Heringer split from Noah Erb in week 5, although they've gotten back together. Vaughn was eliminated in week 5. Redman split from James Bonsall in week 6. Pepin and Pitt got engaged in week 6 to Kenny Braasch and

Joe Amabile Joseph Anthony Amabile also known as “Grocery Store Joe” (born April 12, 1986) is an American reality television personality. He is best known for his appearances on '' The Bachelorette'' and '' Bachelor in Paradise''. Early life and educ ...

, respectively.

Season 8 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In tempera ...

Cruz and Brittany Galvin returned for season 8 of '' Bachelor in Paradise''. Cruz quit in week 5. Galvin left in a relationship with Tyler Norris in week 6.

''
Bachelor in Paradise Canada ''Bachelor in Paradise Canada'' is a Canadian reality competition television series, which premiered on October 10, 2021, on Citytv. It is a spin-off of the American reality television shows '' Bachelor in Paradise'', '' The Bachelor'', '' The Bac ...
''

Illeana Pennetto returned for the inaugural season of ''Bachelor in Paradise Canada''. She split from Brendan Scanzano in week 5. Chelsea Vaughn returned for the second season of ''Bachelor in Paradise Canada''.

''
Dancing with the Stars ''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the forma ...
''

James himself competed on

season 30 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...

of ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the forma ...

''. He was partnered with

Lindsay Arnold Lindsay Arnold Cusick (born January 11, 1994) is an American professional Latin dance, Latin and ballroom dancer. She was a contestant on ''So You Think You Can Dance (American TV series), So You Think You Can Dance''. She is a professional danc ...

. They were eliminated week 4, finishing in 12th place.

Call-out order

: The contestant received the first impression rose : The contestant received a rose during the date : The contestant received a rose outside of a rose ceremony or date : The contestant was eliminated : The contestant was eliminated outside the rose ceremony : The contestant was eliminated during the date : The contestant quit the competition : The contestant won the competition

Episodes

Controversy

Contestant Rachael Kirkconnell faced controversy in February 2021 after she was accused of liking racist social media posts and bullying a girl for dating African-American men in high school. Photos also emerged of Kirkconnell attending an

Antebellum South In History of the Southern United States, the history of the Southern United States, the Antebellum Period (from la, ante bellum, lit=Status quo ante bellum, before the war) spanned the Treaty of Ghent, end of the War of 1812 to the start of ...

plantation themed fraternity formal in 2018. Kirkconnell later issued an apology for her past behavior. Host

was criticized for his defense of Kirkconnell after he claimed that "50 million people [attended an

ball] in 2018," and "the woke police is out there." He later issued an apology for his comments. A petition to remove Harrison as host of the franchise garnered over 40,000 signatures. On February 13, 2021, Harrison announced that he would be "stepping aside for a period of time" and would not host the ''After the Final Rose'' special. On June 8, 2021, it was revealed Harrison would leave the franchise for good. On February 27, 2021,

Emmanuel Acho Emmanuel Chinedum Acho (born November 10, 1990) is a Nigerian-American former linebacker who played in the National Football League (NFL) and is currently working as an analyst for Fox Sports 1. He played college football at Texas before being dra ...

was selected as the replacement host for ''After the Final Rose''. Acho is the author of the

New York Times bestseller ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. John Bear, ''The #1 New York Times Best Seller: intriguing facts about the 484 books that have been #1 New York Times ...

''Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man''.

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bachelor (American season 25), The 2021 American television seasons 25 Television series impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic Television shows filmed in Pennsylvania