As Matt James's season of The Bachelor starts to wind down, Bachelor Nation is starting to look ahead to the next season of The Bachelorette. Rumors have even started swirling that Katie Thurston—the fan-favorite suitor from Matt's season—is already lined up to be the reality dating franchise's next leading lady.
While chatting with former Bachelorette Rachel Lindsay for Extra on Tuesday (February 9), however, host Chris Harrison denied Katie has already been picked. "I promise you this: If we named her the next Bachelorette, I was not there," the longtime host said. "We did not name her or anybody the next Bachelorette during the Women Tell All special. And in fact, we didn't even talk about who was the next Bachelorette...unless they started taping in the middle of the night after I left."
"So as far as I know, nobody has been named the Bachelorette. And I promise you this, it will not be a part of the Tell All special at all," he continued. He then added that a "large debate" about who could be the next leading lady is still ongoing behind the scenes.
For her part, Katie has also denied the rumors she has signed on to star on The Bachelorette. She shared a selfie to her Instagram Stories with the simple caption "news to me."
Should Katie be picked as the next Bachelorette, her official suitor bio for Matt's season will give Bachelor Nation an idea of what Katie is looking for. According to her bio, Katie "knows exactly what she wants in a man and is done wasting her time on boys who won't live up to her expectations." The Washington-native is "looking for a mature man who has ambitions to succeed in everything he does, both personally and professionally. Her dream man will be passionate about building a long-term life with her and will treat Katie as his equal in the relationship."
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