Jenn Tran shared her reaction to The Bachelorette taking a break before season 22, admitting she was caught off guard by the decision.
"It was a surprise to me," Jenn, 27, told People in an interview published on Wednesday, February 19. "The franchise has been going on for so long. Sometimes you hear things like why [shows go on pause]. I have no idea why and what's going on there. I really have no idea."
Jenn – who served as the lead for season 21 – went on to share a theory on why ABC might have chosen to pause on the show. "The Bachelorette does usually air in the summer when people are traveling - I heard that it doesn't do as well as The Bachelor, which airs in the fall, where people are home and ready to watch TV," she said. "So maybe it'll give a chance for the next Bachelorette to air at a time where there's more visibility. That would be nice."
Earlier in February, Deadline reported that the franchise was "pausing" production for The Bachelorette and season 22 will not air in its normal summer time slot. On February 10, host Jesse Palmer shared an update about the decision and assured fans that there will be a season 22 of The Bachelorette.
"The good news is I know it's not going away. I know it's definitely coming back," he said while appearing on the "Playing the Field" podcast. "Without being able to get into too much of the creative decisions on it, I know that when it does [return], I just think it's going to be absolutely tremendous."
After noting that it is "not unprecedented for The Bachelorette not to air in the summer," Jesse, 46, insisted that "Bachelor Nation will be really excited" once the show does officially come back.
Despite normally airing in the summer, season 16 of The Bachelorette aired in October 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, season 18 also premiered in October 2021.
During Jenn's season, fans watched her get engaged to Devin Strader. However, their romance wasn't meant to be and they confirmed their split in September 2024 during the After the Final Rose segment.
"As soon as we had left Hawaii, things were just different," she explained of her and Devin's relationship. "It kind of just felt like he was pulling away all the promises that he had made to me - wanting to move somewhere together, and wanting to have this future planned out, and wanting to see each other all the time."
Jenn said she became "confused" when Devin, 28, stopped responding to her messages, and he later blindsided her with a phone call.
While things didn't work out between Jenn and Devin, she has since found love with her Dancing With the Stars partner, Sasha Farber. "We are taking life one day at a time and we're not in any rush to define anything or put anything out there," she told People about her relationship with Sasha, 40. "We are just having fun and enjoying the moment that we're in."
