Daisy Kent knew weeks before After the Final Rose that she wouldn’t hand out roses as the next Bachelorette.
“I was very open and honest about it and very transparent that I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do it but like two weeks before [AFTR I had decided],” Daisy, 25, said during the Thursday, April 4, episode of “The Viall Files” podcast. “They were all super nice and respectful and understood all my reasons. They still want to see me grow and said, ‘If we can help you in any way, we want to.’”
Daisy was one of Joey Graziadei’s final two women and opted to break up with him in the finale — which was filmed in November 2023 — after she realized that Kelsey Anderson was “his person.” (Joey, 28, proposed to Kelsey, 25, moments after Daisy’s breakup. They are still together.)
After Daisy left The Bachelor, she began talks with producers about becoming the franchise’s next lead. During AFTR in March, she publicly declined the role.
“There’s, like, a few reasons. One is my health is an aspect of it and I knew as the lead, it’s a lot on you — not only emotionally but also physically.” Daisy, who is deaf and has a cochlear implant, explained on Thursday. “You’re up super late, it’s nonstop and I talked to a lot of past leads when [the show] was in talks with me and I just knew from a health point it would be a lot.”
Daisy also admitted that she “wasn’t ready for that specific thing,” seemingly referring to the commitment of getting engaged at the end of the season.
“I think coming off the show and doing the show, I didn’t realize how much of a big thing it is,” Daisy said. “I think right now I just want to live and be happy. I’m always gonna jump for opportunities but I just think this specific opportunity wasn’t right for me right now.”
Daisy further stressed that she was concerned about “hurting other people” during the season.
“There’s around 30 people and, like, you can’t send everyone home at once. What if I didn’t actually like them?” she explained. “I don’t think I could sit there and kiss someone and you know what I mean? So, I thought really long and hard about all of it. It wasn’t an easy decision. I was wondering, like, after it got announced how I would feel … but I’m, like, so happy right now that I didn’t. So, it feels good [and] like I made the right decision for me.”
Daisy also had “a lot of conversations” with her family members and multiple past Bachelor Nation leads before making her final decision.
“Everyone was like, ‘It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done,’ but a lot of people were like, ‘It’s also the best thing too,’ and no one regretted it,” she said. “But [they said], ‘If [you’re] doing it, make sure you’re ready.’ It didn’t feel right.”
After Daisy turned down The Bachelorette, they offered the mantle to Jenn Tran. Her season is currently filming, which Daisy is “so excited” to watch.
