Now that The Bachelorette has wrapped and Rachel Lindsay has run off into the sunset with the nation’s second choice, Bryan Abasolo, the hunt is on for the next Bachelor. Sure, Bachelor fans would be quick to swoon over Lindsay’s leftover, Peter Kraus, but the show's producers? Not so much.
Bachelor creator Mike Fleiss tweeted some serious shade at the chronically non-committal Peter on Thursday. Fleiss hinted that someone like Kraus just isn’t what the show is after. “Do we really want a Bachelor who isn’t ready to settle down with a woman he loves? Hmmm. Not what #thebachelor is all about….”
Do we really want a Bachelor who isn't ready to settle down with a woman he loves? Hmmm. Not what #thebachelor is all about...
— Mike Fleiss (@fleissmeister) August 17, 2017
Although Peter was a fan favorite, he wasn’t ready to pop the question, which was a total non-starter for Rachel and apparently for the people who call the shots on the show. An unnamed source shared their insight with PEOPLE on why Kraus would probably never grace the small screen again as part of the franchise, calling him “every Bachelor producer’s worst nightmare.”
The source added, “The fact that no one could talk Peter into buckling under and just giving her the ring—and that he wouldn’t play along—absolutely enraged the higher-ups at the show. Including Fleiss, definitely. He is totally on their s— list forever, and there is no way they will reward him with a shot at The Bachelor. No way.”
Some viewers aren’t entirely convinced that this decision was totally up to Bachelor execs. In fact, there's been speculation that it was Kraus who turned them down and that all of this is just childish backlash to hide their embarrassment.
Spoiler guru Reality Steve tweeted, "This is what I'm hearing: They absolutely want Peter as the 'Bachelor.' Hearing he told them no. Now they're leaking stuff to People...pretending they never wanted him in the first place. BS. They want him, he said no apparently, & now they turn the narrative around."
(1/2) This is what I'm hearing: They absolutely want Peter as the "Bachelor." Hearing he told them no. Now they're leaking stuff to People
— RealitySteve (@RealitySteve) August 17, 2017
(2/2)...pretending they never wanted him in first place. BS. They want him, he said no apparently, & now they turn the narrative around
— RealitySteve (@RealitySteve) August 17, 2017
For now, the jury is still out on who the next Bachelor will be, but the show is set to premiere early next year.