'Bachelorette' Fans Changed Their Minds About Nate Being the Next Possible 'Bachelor'

When it comes to leads on The Bachelorette and The Bachelor, you can't win them all. Sometimes, fans are split down the center in regards to who they root for or even like. But right now, most of the fandom isn't wild about Nate Mitchell as the next Bachelor.

Before, when Gabby Windey geared up to tearfully send him home, fans couldn't believe that the devoted single dad was sent packing. Many rallied for Nate to be named the next Bachelor for the 2023 season.

But after some news broke about Nate's past, The Bachelorette fandom did a 180 and the more popular feeling now is that Nate doesn't belong as the lead for The Bachelor. To be fair, no one from The Bachelor actually announced Nate as the next lead. But for a little while, it's what the fans wanted. Now? Not so much.

On Aug. 9, 2022, reality TV spoiler blogger Reality Steve shared cheating allegations on his website from two women who claim to have dated Nate in the past. One of the women, Kelsey Fankhauser, shared photos and details with Reality Steve regarding a relationship she had with Nate for more than a year, during which he never told her he had a daughter.

And, according to her, a female friend of his admitted to hooking up with Nate two weeks prior to Nate bringing her on a ski trip.

Kelsey also told Reality Steve that Nate traveled to Atlanta while they were dating and, she recently learned after the fact, he went on a Tinder date with a woman by the name of Laree Starke when he was there. Kelsey said that Laree reached out to her to share that information. Laree later sent Kelsey details about a continued relationship with Nate.

If what both of these women are saying is true, then Nate dated two women at the same time, kept the fact that he's a dad a secret, and didn't share any of this with Gabby during his time on The Bachelorette. Granted, none of the guys would want to share something like this with a woman they're trying to woo.

But after all of this came out, Bachelorette fans turned their backs on Nate. And now, no one really wants to see him lead his own Bachelor season.

Despite what these women say, Nate hasn't released a statement to respond to their claims. And that could be because he is in talks to be the next Bachelor lead and he plans to address the accusations on television in a very serious reality TV fashion that shows he has seen the error of his ways.

The Bachelor creator Mike Fleiss might have given fans a clue that Nate is being considered as the next Bachelor. After Reality Steve shared what he learned about Nate, Mike tweeted that people shouldn't "jump to conclusions about certain cast members based on mere allegations, as disturbing as they may be."

To many, this means that Mike defended Nate. And if Mike defended Nate, then it makes sense that the reason behind that is Nate as a possible Bachelor lead. For now, though, we'll have to see if this so-called scandal blows over.

Watch The Bachelorette on Mondays at 8 p.m. EST on ABC.