Season 27 of The Bachelor has cast its lead — Zach Shallcross! The 26-year-old first appeared in the franchise during season 19 of The Bachelorette, but broke up with Rachel Recchia after a disastrous fantasy suite date. Now, he’s ready to look for love once again, and he’ll begin by dating a pool of 30 women on the upcoming season of The Bachelor. The announcement was made during the live portion of the finale of The Bachelorette, with Zach appearing to celebrate the exciting news.
Zach had one of the first one-on-one dates with Rachel on this season of The Bachelorette. As the season progressed, Rachel had a successful meeting with Zach’s family, and he told her that he was in love with her. Unfortunately, things took a turn when the two were spending time off-camera during their fantasy suite date. Zach, who was 25 at the time, revealed that Rachel started questioning whether or not he was ready for an engagement. He assured her that he was ready to commit, but said that things were “off” between them during their overnight.
The next day, Zach admitted that he felt like Rachel was being “inauthentic” and began questioning their relationship. Ahead of the next rose ceremony, he pulled her aside and they ended the relationship. Rachel and Zach came face to face during part one of the live portion of the finale on Sept. 13 and apologized to each other for how things went down. They ended things very amicably after their reunion, which took place about four months after the breakup.
Fans were devastated when things went south for Rachel and Zach, but luckily, viewers will (hopefully) still get to see him find love. The Bachelor returns for its 27th season at the beginning of January 2023 on ABC. In the meantime, though, fans of the franchise can check out Bachelor in Paradise, featuring several men from this season of The Bachelorette. The show returns for its 8th season on Sept. 27 at 8:00 p.m. on ABC.