ABC Is Announcing the Next Bachelorette Early, So Who Is She?

The Bachelor franchise sure knows how to create drama! On Friday, Good Morning America announced that the star of The Bachelorette 2020 will be revealed during Monday's episode of the morning show. The thing is, there are still two episodes left of The Bachelor. Typically, the next Bachelorette is announced during the finale, but for some reason, they're making the announcement early. And we think that the fact that they're announcing the Bachelorette early indicates who it is.

We predict that the 2020 Bachelorette is Tayshia Adams.

Tayshia finished third on Colton Underwood's season last year and dated John Paul Jones on Bachelor in Paradise. Reality Steve reported that Tayshia was among contenders who producers interviewed for the job, along with Tia Booth and Kelsey Weier, so there's evidence that she's already been part of the conversation.

If Tayshia is the Bachelorette, the early announcement may be an effort to assemble a more diverse cast for her season (Tayshia is biracial). The show has historically had a difficult time getting black men to apply. Rachel Lindsay, the first black Bachelorette, was announced so early that her storyline on The Bachelor was spoiled. At the time, host and producer Chris Harrison said she was announced early in order to cast the show "for her." (Typically, the cast of contestants is mostly settled before the lead is selected.) It's possible they're trying to do something similar for Tayshia, hoping that announcing her early will encourage men who wouldn't normally consider the show to apply before the season begins production in a few weeks.

The last time The Bachelorette had a black lead, ratings went down, which prompted creator Mike Fleiss to imply that the show's fans are racist. But if he and his producers are picking Tayshia anyway, good on them, because she's an excellent choice. She's a fan-favorite with a sterling reputation in Bachelor Nation. She's charismatic, a great communicator, and drop-dead gorgeous. She will be an excellent Bachelorette, if she is indeed the one. A rumor has Clare Crawley, runner-up on Juan Pablo Galavis' season in 2014, as the Bachelorette, and they might be announcing her early to encourage older men than the usual 25 to 33-year-olds to apply (Crawley is 38).

We'll find out for sure Monday on Good Morning America.

The Bachelor airs Monday at 8/7c on ABC. Episodes are available to stream the day after on Hulu.