The Bachelorette did something unprecedented for season 11 of the hit show—they cast 2 leads. We knew producers really liked Britt Nilsson and Kaitlyn Bristowe, but we thought they had decided upon Bristowe after Britt came off a bit unpredictable. But apparently producers could not decide so they didn’t. Host Chris Harrison is also an Executive Producer of the show. He said this in his TV Guide blog about the difficulty of making the decision.
“This could’ve changed yesterday. It was a down-to-the-wire, heated debate, and Becca was a part of the debate too. But we all came to the realization that it made no sense. This girl is not ready to take charge and be the Bachelorette. You have to be clear about what you want and even if you’re really ready, it’s a tough, grueling task emotionally. So it came down to Britt and Kaitlyn, and I still stand by that. On my Twitter feed, I get absolute avid fans for both. They both have rabid fans, but it’s almost mean out there. The responses today have been just that. Some are happy, but I’m not sure what is so polarizing about these girls that’s driving everybody crazy — which makes me realize we made the right choice.”
Kaitlyn was definitely a lot more popular with fans than Britt, but both women could be problematic. Kaitlyin never really made herself vulnerable throughout the entire process (There are even reports that she had a firefighter boyfriend the whole time Trevor Partlo–that’s a situation for sure), and Britt didn’t quite seem sincere on the show, aka both may be doing the show for the wrong reasons.
TV Guide asks Chris about the rather disappointing reception that Britt received from the crowd.
“Did you hear people boo for Britt?
Harrison: I totally did. This is what’s funny. Obviously people saw spoilers that Kaitlyn was the Bachelorette, so their thinking was that I’m setting them up to cheer for Kaitlyn. But everybody was wrong. When we say we hadn’t made a decision even though we had talked to them, we really hadn’t. So because everybody assumed it was Kaitlyn, they cheered a little more knowing she was backstage. I think the fake spoilers set up that moment. But I definitely heard a couple of boos and I loved it. I was laughing.”
Here’s the thing, and I hope ABC has learned their lesson from Juan Pablo–just because a contestant is hugely popular on one season does not mean they won’t be a disaster if they lead the show. Juan Pablo had a HUGE fan base on Desiree’s season, but was probably the most hated Bachelor in Bachelor history. So let’s give Britt a chance to redeem herself.
Finally to the big question I have been wondering about…How will this work?
“I think by Night 1, we’re going to knock it down to one Bachelorette. That seems to be the consensus. We have discussed other versions and we haven’t filmed it, so until we do, I can’t guarantee it. But the overwhelming consensus seems to be that Night 1, we’ll go forward with one Bachelorette. And who that’ll be, I really don’t know.”
I am kind of bummed to hear that. I was hoping they would allow both women to lead the show until the end.
Meet the cast of season 11 on The Bachelorette thus far!
More from Bachelorette 2015 Kaitlyn Bristowe & Britt Nilsson season
