Celebrating 15 years of The Bachelorette … with 12 stars! Ahead of the season 15 premiere, a dozen former Bachelorettes got together for The Bachelorette Reunion: The Biggest Bachelorette Reunion in Bachelor History Ever!
So, why were only 12 of the 14 women in attendance? Season 2’s Meredith Phillips and season 3’s Jen Schefft were the only two that couldn’t attend — simply due to scheduling.
“Unfortunately Jen and Meredith couldn’t be there because we had to settle on a date. At the end of the day, we had to shoot this thing,” Chris Harrison told Entertainment Tonight. “So, we just picked a day where we could get as many as we possibly could, but unfortunately schedules, vacations, was one of them, just couldn’t be changed. And we just had to pull the trigger and do this thing.”
The host, 47, added that he was “grateful” it was even possible to get 12 of the former leads together. “Jen and Meredith are represented, they’re celebrated in this thing, we love them very much and they’re a part of our family and this sisterhood, but they just couldn’t join us,” he noted.
The reunion features Trista Sutter (season 1), DeAnna Pappas (season 4), Jillian Harris (season 5), Ali Fedotowsky (season 6), Ashley Rosenbaum (season 7), Emily Maynard (season 8), Desiree Hartsock (season 9), Andi Dorfman (season 10), Kaitlyn Bristowe (season 11), JoJo Fletcher (season 12), Rachel Lindsay (season 13) and Becca Kufrin (season 14) and definitely is not what anyone expected.
“I knew it was going to be fun to get all these former Bachelorettes together but I wasn’t prepared for how touching and meaningful it was for me,” Harrison told Us Weekly exclusively. “To see them all together talking and sharing stories about their lives and their seasons really filled my heart full of pride.”
Many of the other women opened up to Us about the experience as well, including Fedotowsky, 34, who just feels extremely lucky. “I still can’t believe that I’m a part of The Bachelor franchise. Part of me still doesn’t even believe it’s true. I half felt I belonged standing with all the past Bachelorettes and half felt I belonged on the super fan bus,” she said. “That’s exactly what I am: a super fan of the show! I love these girls!”
Dorfman, 32, added, “What we did was very reminiscent of that but without the pressure of any men being there. It was sort of Women Take Over the Mansion Day for us!”
The Bachelorette reunion airs on ABC Monday, May 6, at 8 p.m. ET.
