Will the new Bachelorette be Hannah Brown? Hannah Ann Sluss? Another one of Peter Weber‘s contestants on The Bachelor? That is the question ABC is discussing right now, as producers start to prepare for season 16 of The Bachelorette, host Chris Harrison revealed exclusively to Us Weekly.
“Talks are going but we’ll see,” Harrison, 48, said at the California Strong Celebrity Softball Game in L.A. on Sunday, January 12. He added that while there’s no one specific woman he’s hoping for just yet, “the debate goes on — the debate is always going on!”
Many viewers have wondered if the season 15 lead would take on the adventure for a second time following her brief stint on Weber’s current season of The Bachelor.
“Look, anything’s possible. I’m not against it,” the host told Us at the Television Critics’ Association’s winter press tour on in Pasadena on Wednesday, January 8. “I think the things that make us love her so much — and I’m included in that and adore her — is she is so open and honestly, she’s a train wreck. You get to see the good, the bad and the ugly in Hannah and that’s a rare thing in any human being.”
The former Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? host also noted that he finds Weber, 28, and the Dancing With the Stars winner, 25, to be very similar — which may help with their connection.
“The reason I think he and Hannah got along so well and probably love each other so much is they share that trait of being brutally honest,” Harrison told Us. He also noted that he was a bit nervous when Brown and Weber began their emotional conversation on the Bachelor premiere earlier this month.
“That was not ever produced or intended. It’s just something that organically happened and then it scared the hell out of all of us because the show might end,” he said, adding that the “riveting” chat was an “I-probably-shouldn’t-be-watching-this-personal-moment moment.”
The season will only get more juicy going forward. In a sneak peek at the finale, Harrison delivers news to Weber that seemingly changes everything. “Inevitably, something happens we’ve never dealt with before,” he told Us. “It’s gut-wrenching.”
The Bachelor airs on ABC Mondays at 8 p.m. ET.
