Just minutes after his elimination from Jenn Tran ’s season of The Bachelorette aired on TV, Grant Ellis was confirmed to have gone from broken-hearted to The Bachelor , with ABC officially confirming the 30-year-old was leading 2025’s 29th season. The news was made official by ABC just seconds after Grant missed out on making it to hometowns with Jenn–in an episode that also saw her send Sam McKinney hom e after he made shocking comments about what he had actually expected when he signed up for the show. Now, after producers had hinted in interviews they were looking to correct mistakes made during Matt James’ historic season as the first-ever Black Bachelor by casting another man in the role, they seem to have kept true to their word, by giving the job to Grant.
The news of his casting is a break from tradition, where the new lead is usually from the final four contestants and/or announced during the After the Final Rose special. However, in his case, ABC jumped the gun, revealing his identity as the new lead not only before Jenn’s season came to an end, but before fans even watched her hometown dates with Devin, Jeremy, Marcus and Jonathan. Sign up to The Bachelor newsletter HERE for the latest news and updates In a press release announcing his casting, ABC quickly played up Grant’s personality traits as they likely begin casting for women who want to have a chance at eventually marrying him.
“A self-proclaimed mama’s boy, Ellis’ infectious smile and unwa.