Chrishell Stause Says She Was Almost 'The Bachelorette' Instead of DeAnna Pappas
Published Feb. 14 2022, 4:41 p.m. ET
Instead of giving house keys to buyers, doling out deal sheets, or discussing backup offers, Chrishell Stause was almost handing out roses.
The soap-opera-actress-turned real-estate-agent became a household name when she began working for the Oppenheim Group on Selling Sunset. However, according to her 2022 book, Under Construction: Because Living My Best Life Took a Little Work, Chrishell almost became a reality TV icon for another reason, entirely.
In her memoir, Chrishell said that, long before she ever dated Jason Oppenheim or married Justin Hartley, she was set to be the lead for The Bachelorette. Shortly before the announcement was made, a popular daytime talk show host aided in foiling Chrishell's Bachelorette plans.
Because many Bachelor and Bachelorette leads are selected after they appear as contestants on a prior season of the show, readers are now wondering if Chrishell appeared on any iteration of the hit ABC reality franchise.
Was Chrishell Stause ever on 'The Bachelor'? She claimed she was almost the star of 'The Bachelorette.'
While most leads now have appeared as contestants on prior seasons of The Bachelor or The Bachelorette — so the fans are invested in the continuation of their love journeys — that wasn't the precedent back in earlier seasons.
The California agent never appeared on the ABC dating series in any capacity, though she noted in her book that she was almost a major star for The Bachelorette in 2008.
Unfortunately, according to the Netflix star, that all changed because of Ellen DeGeneres.
"Several years ago, I was actually supposed to be the next Bachelorette," Chrishell wrote in Under Construction. "It was all set to be announced! Then, in Season 11 of The Bachelor, when Brad Womack didn't pick either girl, DeAnna Pappas went on Ellen and talked about getting rejected by Brad, and Ellen declared that DeAnna should be the next Bachelorette. Fans rallied around, the network listened, and my announcement was pulled. I never got the chance to hand out that fateful rose."
If Chrishell had become the Bachelorette for Season 4, she would have been the first and only female lead to have never appeared on The Bachelor.
Though many Bachelor leads have been new to the franchise when they've started handing out roses, there has never been a Bachelorette who has started out her TV love journey as the main star. Every Bachelorette to date has been on The Bachelor before.
Though Chrishell noted that she was "definitely bummed" when she missed out on The Bachelorette, she later found the silver lining in the situation.
"... If I had done The Bachelorette, my love life would have been THE topic of conversation," she wrote. Instead, her love life became the topic of conversation when her divorce from Justin played out on Season 3 of Selling Sunset.
Who did DeAnna Pappas choose on 'The Bachelorette'? Plus, find out who she is married to now.
Chrishell may have missed out on The Bachelorette, but her replacement didn't get a fairy-tale ending with her final selection, Jesse Csincsak.
DeAnna selected the snowboarder over Jason Mesnick (who became the next Bachelor) during her finale in 2008, and they got engaged. Just a few months later, DeAnna and Jason called off their engagement, and they broke up.
Though none of DeAnna's contestants proved to be "the one," she did ultimately meet her husband through the show. The Georgia native met Stephen Stagliano, who is the twin brother of The Bachelorette Season 5 contestant Michael Stagliano, during an after-party for The Men Tell All special in 2009.
They wed in 2010, and the two share a daughter named Addison and a son named Austin together.
The Bachelor airs on Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. Viewers can also watch the series on Hulu.
Selling Sunset is available on Netflix.
