Ashley Iaconnetti has thoughts on who should be the next lead of The Bachelorette — and it’s a blast from the past.
After clarifying that the person can be off the market in real life, Ashley, 37, revealed her “dream” scenario. “In a dream land, I think I’d still want Kaitlyn Bristowe to be the lead again because she is so entertaining. Even if she had the most boring cast ever, she would make a great TV show,” Ashley said on the Friday, March 14, episode of the “Almost Famous” podcast.
Ashley continued, “And of course, she didn’t find her happily ever after through the show, so I think she’d be worthy of getting another chance.”
Cohost Ben Higgins, for his part, agreed with Ashley’s opinion. “I would have to say Kaitlyn Bristowe as well,” Ben, 35, said.
Ashley Iaconetti Weighs In on Kaitlyn Bristowe and Jason Tartick’s Reunion
Kaitlyn, 39, appeared on Chris Soules’ season 19 of The Bachelor in 2015, where she vied for his affections alongside Ashley. Chris, 43, ultimately ended his season engaged to Whitney Bischoff, but the pair called off their engagement. Kaitlyn went on to be named as one of two Bachelorettes with fellow season 19 contestant Britt Nilsson. Kaitlyn accepted a proposal from Shawn Booth in the season finale, with whom she was together for three years before calling off their engagement and ending their relationship in 2018.
Kaitlyn went on to pursue a romance with Bachelor Nation’s Jason Tartick, whom she got engaged to in 2021. The pair split two years later. She has since been rumored to be linked to Zac Clark.
Ben, who noted that he’s “biased” with Kaitlyn, added that Desiree Hartsock and Andi Dorfman’s respective seasons 9 and 10 of The Bachelorette stood out to him as “iconic.” When it comes to choosing a lead for the next Bachelor, Ben had two options in mind.
“Andrew Firestone, because I just love being around him and watching him,” Ben explained. “I love being around and watching just this person operate: Bob Guiney. I think those two coming back would be good television because I like them as humans.”
Ashley, for her part, would nominate Chris as the next Bachelor. “I just really want him to have his happily ever after,” she said. “Now that he’s sober, he’s in such a different place in life. I just really feel like that man needs to be a father and a husband because he’d be so good at it.”
