Blake Moynes Reveals How Close He Came to Being ‘The Bachelor’

A former contestant from “The Bachelorette” has opened up about nearly being a lead for “The Bachelor,” too. Blake Moynes appeared on the Jax Taylor podcast “In the Mind of a Man” and shared the scoop.

Blake Moynes Teased He ‘Came Close’

Moynes first joined Bachelor Nation as a contestant on Clare Crawley’s season of “The Bachelorette.” When Crawley ended her journey abruptly, getting engaged to Dale Moss, Moynes stuck around as Tayshia Adams looked for love.

After leaving season 16 of “The Bachelorette” single, he returned during season 17 as Katie Thurston looked for love. That time, it seemed his search for love was successful. He received Thurston’s final rose, and the two got engaged.

Unfortunately, the pair split just a few months later. Moynes also joined “Bachelor in Paradise” for season 9, but lasting love remained elusive.

During his appearance on the April 10 episode of Taylor’s “In the Mind of a Man” podcast, Moynes said he “came close” to becoming “The Bachelor” lead.

“It came close. It came close,” he admitted.

Later in the podcast episode, Taylor asked Moynes if he would ever do another reality television show. Moynes admitted there have been a couple of opportunities that almost fell into place.

Moynes noted, “Last year, ‘The Bachelor’ almost became a thing, being the lead.”

However, he added, producers “went a different direction.”

As fans of “The Bachelor” know, the finale for Grant Ellis’ season recently aired, and Joey Graziadei was the lead for the 2024 season. Before Graziadei, Zach Shallcross was the lead for the 2023 season.

It was not clear, based on what Moynes said, how close he came to being officially offered “The Bachelor” gig. He also shared nothing regarding why producers went in a different direction.

The Wildlife Conservationist Has Suggestions for Producing a Season Tailored to Him

Moynes also admitted he had something of a vision of how a season of “The Bachelor” would look if he led.

“Let’s put some girls into some situations with rhinos and in the Amazon and dealing with the insects and see if they can live up to life because that’s the best way I’m going to be able to see who can be my partner and actually live the life that I’m kind of living,” he suggested.

Moynes spends much of his time traveling the world and is the founder of the Save Our Species Alliance. He shared that the fancy settings with cobblestone streets and helicopter dates did not resemble his real life. However, he acknowledged, the world traveling a lead typically gets to do does parallel his real life.

“The Bachelor” fans took to Reddit to share their thoughts on Moynes leading a season of the show.

“That’d actually be an interesting departure from the tired formula that doesn’t seem to be resonating anymore, and could be a fascinating watch,” one Reddit user shared.

That commenter added, “I doubt they’d do that, and I’d rather not see him as the lead, but it could get people’s interest piqued.”

Someone else suggested, “I think he’s the frontrunner for the gig if no one has a fan favorite run on ‘Paradise.'”

“They should definitely pivot to having dates that fit the lifestyle of the lead whether that’s more adventurous like Blake or more city exploring,” another Reddit user shared.