Because 95 percent of the women on Matt James’s Bachelor season are either awful or racist, Katie Thurston, a vibrator-loving bank marketing manager from Washington who isn’t afraid of calling out toxic bullshit, is believed to be the next Bachelorette lead. The casting was first reported by franchise gossipmonger Reality Steve over the weekend, who claims that Thurston’s role was revealed during the recent “Women Tell All†episode taping. (Which will likely be hard to watch for the aforementioned reasons.) Variety also reports that Thurston is the show’s “top pick†as the next leading lady, according to two sources familiar with the casting decision. Vulture has reached out to ABC for comment.
For her part, Thurston has slyly denied the rumors, writing on Instagram Stories with a cute selfie that it was “news to me.†If correct, though, Thurston’s ascent to ball gowns and roses is quite unusual: Despite being a fan-favorite contestant during this current Bachelor season, she was friend-zoned and eliminated fairly early by James, not even cracking the top ten. (For reference, Hannah Brown was considered a surprising Bachelorette pick due to her low ranking — she placed seventh while competing on The Bachelor.) At 30 years old, she would also continue the new lineage of older Bachelorette leads who love cats. And sex toys. This girl really has it all!