The Bachelorseason 29 finished airing a few weeks ago, and several contestants would be great asThe Bachelorettelead. Though ABC putThe Bacheloretteon hiatus, the series will return next year. When it does return, there are many great lead options among the recent batch of women. Grant Ellis, a 31-year-old day trader and former basketball player, ended the season by proposing to 28-year-old Juliana Pasquarosa, but he eliminated a lot of great women along the way. Several of these women have all the necessary qualities to make a good franchise lead.
Before appearing inThe Bachelorseason 29, Grant was a contestant who was eliminated during Jenn Tran’s season ofThe Bachelorette. Since then, ABC announced they had to put the show on hiatus due to scheduling issues. The show’s host, Jess Palmer, confirmedthe show wasn’t being shelved forever. Since it’s expected to be back soon, the lead would probably be cast directly from the cast-offs from Grant’s season. Luckily forBachelorNation, Grant eliminated a lot of fabulous women on his way to proposing to Juliana. Here are six women who’d make the perfect lead.
6Rose Sombke
27 Years Old
Rose, a 27-year-old nurse, caught Grant’s eye right away, but she would get involved in some early drama that sidelined her chances. DuringThe Bachelorseason 29, episode 3, thedrama started between Rose and CarolinaSofia Quixano, a public relations producer. Rose told Carolina off-camera that Grant told her he’d been thinking about her while dancing with Carolina during a recent group date.Rose told Carolina in confidence, but Carolina immediately confronted Grant about it.
Grant confronted Rose, who insisted she believed that was something she had heard him say. Grantcontinued to deny ever saying it. Despite the drama, Grant didn’t eliminate Rose that week. She traveled to Madrid with the rest of the cast. She ended up self-eliminating when she realized other women had a stronger connection with Grant. This proves her heart is in the right place, and she’d make a great lead forThe Bachelorette.
5Zoe McGrady
Though Grant didn’t seem to notice her during most of the season, he keptThe Bachelor’s Zoe McGradyuntil the final three. Maybe it was just the editing, but he seemed to have little connection to the 27-year-old tech engineer/model. Of the final four women, she wasthe only woman who never had a solo date with Grant. It was easy to forget Zoe was even there most of the time, so it was pretty surprising when she received a hometown date. He eliminated her before the final two, but she’d make a great lead forThe Bacheloretteseason 22.
After Dina’s parents decided not to meet Grant, he eliminated her.
DuringThe Bachelorseason 29 finale, host Jesse announcedBachelor In Paradiseseason 10 would premiere in the summer. He also announced Zoe would appear on the beach this summer. Appearing onBachelor In Paradisecould keep Zoe from being a franchise lead someday, but that’s not a hard and fast rule. ABC producers could, in theory, cast whoever they want.
4Dina Lupancu
31 Years Old
At 31 years old, Dina Lupancu was among the season’s older women. Grantliked Dina away. He was instantly impressed by her intelligence and trusted her judgment. He seemed to admire the lawyer. He was even taking her advice when it came to otherwomen onThe Bachelorseason 29. ThroughoutThe Bachelorseason 29,Dina was a favorite to win. Everything changed after Dina’s hometown visit went down in a blaze.
Grant was from a divorced family, so he always talked about family being important to him. Dina comes from a large, close-knit family, so their values were aligned. WhenGrant went to Chicago for Dina’s hometowndate, he was hoping to meet Dina’s parents and her ten siblings. However, that didn’t happen, and he met her friends instead asher family didn’t want to meet him. After Dina’s parents decided not to meet Grant, he eliminated her.
3Sarafiena Watkins
29 Years Old
Sarafiena Watkins, a 29-year-old associate media director from Connecticut, was eliminated during week five ofThe Bachelorseason 29, but she’d make a greatBachelorettelead. Though she was always popular with the other women,Grant never seemed to notice Sarafiena. She wanted to get married and start a family and was looking for someone who wanted the same, soher priorities were in the right placefor a franchise lead.
PastBachelorNation leads haven’t always been able to easily connect with others, but it’s the perfect trait for aBacheloretteto have.
Sarafiena is poised, so she’d be a greatThe Bachelorette.She’s a girl’s girl who is comfortable being emotionally vulnerable. PastBachelorNation leads haven’t always been able to easily connect with others, but it’s the perfect trait for aBacheloretteto have. Since appearing onThe Bachelor,Sarafiena has been spotted hanging out with former cast members, so she bonded with the other women.
2Alexe Godin
During the premiere night ofThe Bachelorseason 29, Grant instantly connected with27-year-old Alexe Godin. They seemed to have something special. Grant was smitten with Alexe from the moment she walked up to the mansion with Linda, a llama, on a leash. Alexe, a speech therapist, grew up on a farm and loved animals. Grant was charmed by her quirky personality. He liked her so much thathe gave her the highly coveted first impression roseand the first solo date.
For their one-on-one date, Grant took Alexe to a mall after hours, so they had the whole place. They had fun running around an empty mall, but they also connected emotionally. They shared the fact that they both have non-traditional families, and they seemed to connect deeply. Sadly, Grant and Alexe’s connection faded quickly soon after, andGrant eliminated her before hometown dates. Her unique personality would make for an interesting and entertaining season ofThe Bachelorette.
1Litia Garr
The saddest thing about what happened to31-year-old Litia Garrwas that she was so confident walking into that final rose ceremony. Litia was convinced she would win Grant’s final rose. She was blindsided whenGrant gave his rose to Juliana Pasquerosa instead. DuringThe Bachelorseason 29 finale, Litia sat down with Jesse and Grant and explained why she was so confident. Litia revealed that Grant had kept reassuring her he would propose to her. She claimed he even said he wanted to end the show early because he was sure she was the one.
“I can’t believe we’re getting engaged tomorrow,”
Litia went on to allege that the night beforeThe Bachelor29 final rose ceremony, she told Grant, “I can’t believe we’re getting engaged tomorrow,” and he agreed.Grant didn’t deny any of Litia’s claims at the time, but would do so later. Grant was the first man that Litia ever said “I love you” to, and she deserves another chance at finding her person. She’s also a very likable contestant with a lot of fans, so she’d make a great choice forThe Bacheloretteseason 22.
