The Bachelor is undoubtedly one of the most successful reality shows of the 21st century.
Described as a series in which “an eligible bachelor dates multiple women over several weeks in hopes of finding true love,” it first premiered in March of 2002 and entered its 28th season in January 2024. Since its initial airing, The Bachelor has birthed several spin-offs ⏤ including The Bachelorette, Bachelor in Paradise, and The Golden Bachelor ⏤ but the cult classic is back and better than ever with 28-year-old tennis professional Joey Graziadei stepping into the title role.
Because of this ⏤ and because there have been 28 Bachelors in the past, from Clayton Echard and Peter Weber to Nick Viall ⏤ fans of the franchise are jogging their memories in an attempt to remember who took his public shot at love before Joey.
Who held the coveted title of ‘Bachelor’ prior to Joey?
The last man to date many women at once, every moment of which was captured on TV for all the world to see, was the one and only Zach Shallcross, a 27-year-old account executive from Anaheim Hills, California.
Zach first appeared on season 19 of The Bachelorette, starring Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia, wherein he pursued the latter and ultimately finished in third place out of all of Rachel’s suitors. After being deemed a fan favorite, Zach was announced as the next Bachelor during the live “After the Final Rose” episode, resulting in an extremely excited group of girls.
As the lead of season 27, Zach felt sparks with women like Gabi Elnicki, Ariel Frenkel, and Charity Lawson, but ultimately, nobody compared to Kaity Biggar. The two lovebirds got engaged on finale night and are still going strong, even moving in together in July of 2023.
Will Joey have the same luck as Zach? To find out for yourself, catch new episodes of The Bachelor season 28 every Monday on ABC or stream them the next day on Hulu. According to Reality Steve (spoiler alert!), the rest of his season is sure to be nothing short of sensational.
Published: Jan 24, 2024 05:23 pm