‘The Bachelor’ Season 26 Cast: Photos Of The 31 Gorgeous Women On Clayton Echard’s Season

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December 16, 2021 12:03PM EST

‘The Bachelor’ season 26 will premiere on January 3, 2022. See photos of the 31 gorgeous women who are hoping to find true love with Clayton.

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‘The Bachelor’ Cast Of Season 26

‘The Bachelor’ Cast Of Season 26 — Clayton Echard’s journey to find love continues. For the first time in two years, 31 women will arrive at the Bachelor Mansion to meet The Bachelor. For the past two years, Bachelor Nation has gone off-site because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Clayton’s road to finding true love will be a memorable one. The ‘Midwestern boy from Missiouri’ will have a first evening full of ups, downs, and everything in between. Even before the first limo even arrives, a shocking franchise first will have Clayton clutching a rose and questioning everything.

Clayton first came onto the Bachelor Nation scene on Michelle Young’s season of ‘The Bachelorette.’ He finished in eighth place. It was reported in September 2021 that Clayton would be the Bachelor for season 26, but ABC didn’t confirm the news until November. Season 26 will premiere on January 3, 2022.

See photos of the 31 women hoping to fall in love with Clayton and learn more about them in our gallery.

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Hailey

Hailey — Hailey is a 26-year-old pediatric nurse from Orlando, Florida. Hailey dreams of hanging out with elephants in Thailand.

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Mara

Mara — Mara is a 32-year-old entrepreneur from Collingswood, New Jersey. Snoring is a deal breaker for Mara

Clayton talked about what he was looking for with ‘Good Morning America’ after filming wrapped in Dec. 2021. He said, “I was looking for somebody that was funny, intelligent, driven, put forth effort and so I figured, ‘OK, that’s a good list and hopefully I’ll find that.'”

“Well, what I found was very quickly the women blew my expectations out of the water. They brought all of that and so much more, so the expectations continued to rise, and I realized that, ultimately, I was going to find everything that I wanted and so much more.”

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Sierra

Sierra — Sierra is a 26-year-old yoga instructor from Dallas, Texas. Sierra’s favorite flower is a black rose.

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Shanae

Shanae — Shanae is a 29-year-old recruiter from Sycamore, Ohio. Shanae is not interested in dating a man who performs magic.

Clayton admitted to being a bit unsure about the whole ‘Bachelor’ processing, telling GMA, “I was a little skeptical going into the whole journey, but I’m so pleasantly surprised that things worked out much different than I thought. Again, I’m just so excited to watch it back and have everyone else watch it as well.”

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Kira

Kira — Kira is a 32-year-old physician from Philadelphia. Kira taught herself to write hieroglyphics as a child.

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Rachel

Rachel — Rachel is a 25-year-old flight instructor from Clermont, Florida. Rachel could live off of Flaming Hot Cheetos.

Clayton called ‘The Bachelor’ a learning experience, telling Us Weekly, “There were so many things that I learned. I think the biggest one would be becoming comfortable with being uncomfortable and stepping out of that comfort zone. It really challenged me to grow as an individual. It has been quite the journey.”

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Serene

Serene — Serene is a 26-year-old elementary school teacher from Oklahoma City, Ohio. Guinea pigs seriously freak Serene out.

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Jane

Jane — Jane is a 22-year-old social media director from Los Angeles. Jane dreams of a life filled with unlimited kombucha.

Clayton had an emotional exit from Michelle Young’s season of ‘The Bachelorette’. On the show, he told cameras, “I just want to find love so badly, and have a family, and start that chapter of my life. I want it more than anything else. And I’ll do whatever it takes to get that. Whatever it takes.” Now, he has his chance.

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Genevieve

Genevieve — Genevieve is a 26-year-old bartender from Los Angeles. Genevieve says Hailey and Justin Bieber are #RelationshipGoals.

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Sarah

Sarah — Sarah is a 23-year-old wealth management advisor from New York City. Sarah gets frustrated by slow walkers.

‘Bachelorette’ Michelle Young commended Clayton for throwing himself into the emotional process. She told Us Weekly’s “Here For The Right Reasons” podcast in Nov. 2021, “With this process, I think just so many of the men challenge themselves to open up and Clayton was a guy who really challenges — truly challenges — himself. And [he] is always in this constant state of reflection. He has a good head on his shoulders.”

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Hunter

Hunter — Hunter is a 28-year-old human resources specialist from Charlotte, North Carolina. Hunter would love to be Justin Bieber’s ‘One Less Lonely Girl.’

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Gabby

Gabby — Gabby is a 30-year-old ICU nurse from Denver, Colorado. Gabby is terrified of humpback whales but would love to see one in person from a safe distance.

Clayton already drops a bombshell in the trailer for his season, where he admits he’s in love with 3 women and then at a rose ceremony tells 2 that he’s slept with them both.

He explained, “I just want you to know that what I am about to say is not going to be easy to hear. I want to be fully, fully transparent and I know it’s not easy to hear but I was intimate with both of you.”

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Lindsay D.

Lindsay D. — Lindsay D. is a 27-year-old neonatal nurse from Jacksonville, Florida. Lindsay D. loves Hallmark Christmas movies.

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Susie

Susie — Susie is a 28-year-old wedding videographer from Virginia Beach. Susie hates haunted houses.

Clatyon was first rumored to be in the running for ‘The Bachelor’ back in Sep. 2021, before Michelle’s season had begun to air. Insiders told Us Weekly he “stood out right off the bat.” They went on, “Producers ended up going with him because they believed he was the best fit for the role. They wanted to switch things up and go with someone new and someone who hasn’t been in the spotlight yet.”

“The mystery makes it more exciting for the prospective contestants. The crew found out about it last minute. The decision wasn’t even made until about a week prior to filming his intro.”

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Melina

Melina — Melina is a 27-year-old personal trainer from West Hollywood. When Melina dies, she wants to be buried in cranberry sauce and stuffing.

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Claire

Claire — Claire is a 28-year-old spray tanner from Virginia Beach, Virginia. People who don’t wear deodorant make Claire angry.

This season ‘The Bachelor’ will be hosted by Jessie Palmer, following longtime host Chris Harrison’s controversial exit in Feb. 2021. He left the show after defending the winner of Matt James’ season when photos of her in pre-Civil War plantation attire emerged before their season aired.

While talking to former Bachelorette Rachel Lindsay, he urged people to give the winner, Rachel Kirkconnel, “a little grace, a little understanding, a little compassion.” He later apologized for “wrongly speaking in a manner that perpetuates racism” and made the decision to step aside.

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Tessa

Tessa — Tessa is a 26-year-old human resources specialist from Brooklyn. Tessa has a fear of red fruits: apples, grapes, raisins, etc.

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Lyndsey W.

Lyndsey W. — Lyndsey W. is a 28-year-old industrial sales representative from Houston, Texas. Lyndsey W. says she is much more of a Baby Spice than a Sporty Spice.

Jesse Palmer is no stranger to the series. The NFL alum actually starred on season 5 of ‘The Bachelor’. He also has hosted the ABC shows ‘The Proposal’ (2018) and ‘The Ultimate Surfer’ (2021), in addition to Food Network’s ‘The Holiday Baking Championship’. Jesse has also worked with ESPN since 2007, currently serving as a college football analyst.

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Marlena

Marlena — Marlena is a 30-year-old former Olympian from Gainesville, Florida. Marlena had a blonde Mohawk in high school.

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Salley

Salley — Salley is a 26-year-old previously engaged spine surgery robot operator from Charlottesville, Virginia. Salley hates cotton balls and can’t be near them.

Jesse was over the moon when he was announced as host of ‘The Bachelor’ on Sep. 28. In a statement, he said, “For more than 20 years, The Bachelor has brought the world dozens of unforgettable love stories, including at one time, my own. Falling in love is one of life’s greatest gifts, and I am humbled by the opportunity to return to the show as host this season to offer the newest Bachelor advice gained from firsthand experience and I am grateful to play a small part in his journey.”

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Samantha

Samantha — Samantha is a 26-year-old occupational therapist from San Diego. Samantha would love to own a dog sanctuary one day.

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Rianna

Rianna — Rianna is a 26-year-old registered nurse from Dallas, Texas. Rianna is very competitive when it comes to playing Monopoly.

After Chris Harrison stepped down Bachelor Nation favorites Tayshia Adams and Kaitlyn Bristowe stepped in as temporary hosts for the back-to-back seasons of The Bachelorette starring Katie Thurston and Michelle Young.

Talking about Jesse’s arrival with Entertainment Tonight in October, Kaitlyn explained, “I think it makes sense to have women around for The Bachelorette, and men around for The Bachelor, just to be supportive.”

“He’s been the Bachelor, we’ve been the Bachelorettes. It’s kind of nice to have that perspective. I’m here to validate your feelings and what you’re going through.”

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Daria

Daria — Daria is a 24-year-old law student from New Haven, Connecticut. She hates sushi.

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Cassidy

Cassidy — Cassidy is a 26-year-old executive recruiter from Los Angeles. Cassidy doesn’t like clubs because she hates waiting in lines.

Former Bachelorette Tayshia Adams said she was all for Jesse joining as host, telling Entertainment Tonight in October, “I think it brings a whole different perception to The Bachelor and Bachelorette. I think with Jesse, we might be able to bring it back to how the franchise used to be. He can give some pretty good pointers. I was excited for him… I thought it was good for Jessie to come on.”

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Kate

Kate — Kate is a 32-year-old real estate agent from Lake Hollywood, California. Kate once went on a date with Harry Styles.

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Jill

Jill — Jill is a 26-year-old architectural historian from Scituate, Rhode Island. Jill knows how to identify baby pine trees as male or female.

Kaitlyn and Tayshia offered Entertainment Tonight some of their insights into Clayton after working with him on ‘The Bachelorette’, but ahead of his official casting.

“If he is the next Bachelor, he seems very emotionally mature, very vulnerable, very open with how he’s feeling,” Kaitlyn said of Clayton. “He doesn’t shy away from talking about how he’s feeling. He always seems to be taking care of people. He’s well-spoken and he has good family.”

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Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Elizabeth is a 32-year-old real estate advisor from Highlands Ranch, Colorado. Elizabeth says petting cute dogs makes her happy.

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Ency

Ency — Ency is a 28-year-old sales manager from Burbank, California. Ency would love more opportunities to dress in costume.

Tayshia also only had nice things to say about Clayton, adding, “[He] seemed to be down for anything athletic and always seemed to put a smile on Michelle’s face, so I think he’s definitely a good potential Bachelor if he were to become one.”

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Eliza

Eliza — Eliza is a 25-year-old marketing manager from Berlin, Germany. Eliza loves going to movies by herself.

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Teddi

Teddi — Teddi is a 24-year-old surgical unit nurse from Highland, California. Growing up, Teddi was terrified of ladybugs.

Though Bachelorette Michelle Young didn’t fall for Clayton herself, she called him “a sweetheart.”

“What the viewers are gonna see is that Clayton’s just genuine. He’s really sweet,” Michelle told Entertainment Tonight. “He came there to find his person. As cliché as it is, he was there for the right reasons. He deserves to find his person.”

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Ivana

Ivana — Ivana is a 31-year-old bar mitzvah dancer from Queens, New York. Ivana works as a hand model from time to time.

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