Chrishell Stause claims she was almost The Bachelorette, and she blames Ellen DeGeneres for ABC’s change of plans at the last minute.
Yes, the Selling Sunset star was set to make her reality television debut nearly 10 years before she popped up on the Netflix show. Chrishell has been sharing her life story as she promotes her new memoir, Under Construction: Because Living My Best Life Took a Little Work.
Nothing was off-limits when Chrishell was writing her book, which is why a few shocking details are starting to come to light.
Chrishell Stause claims she was almost The Bachelorette lead
In 2008, Chrishell was in her mid-20s and coming off a high-profile engagement to Glee star Matthew Morrison. At the time, the brunette beauty was best known for the role of Amanda Dillon on the ABC soap opera All My Children.
Chrishell caught the eye of The Bachelorette executives, casting for Season 4 of the show. After a meeting, Chrishell was cast with an announcement scheduled for The Bachelor Season 11 finale with Brad Womack.
As Bachelor Nation fans know, DeAnna Pappas ended up being The Bachelorette after Brad chose not to give her or Jenni Croft a final rose.
So how did Chrishell lose the coveted The Bachelorette spot? The answer is simple, Ellen and her talk show.
Why is Ellen DeGeneres blamed for ABC’s change of plans for The Bachelorette?
In her book, Chrishell opened up about the stunning event and person who cost her a stint on the hit ABC reality TV show.
“DeAnna Pappas went on Ellen and talked about getting rejected by Brad, and Ellen declared that DeAnna should be the next Bachelorette,” Chrishell wrote. “Fans rallied around, the network listened, and my announcement was pulled. I never got the chance to hand out that fateful rose. I was in my mid-twenties at the time, and I was definitely bummed.”
ABC executive Robert Mills previously discussed the last-minute change from Chrishell to DeAnna when he appeared on The Viall Files podcast, hosted by The Bachelor alum Nick Viall. Robert admitted he was convinced Chrishell was the perfect person for The Bachelorette.
However, Ellen called the president of ABC network fighting for DeAnna to be the leading lady. The phone call changed everything, and Robert admitted the executives had to move forward with DeAnna.
Chrishell Stause was almost The Bachelorette, but Ellen DeGeneres fought to have DeAnna Pappas.
The Days of our Lives alum once again finds herself single, she hopes to find a man outside of the entertainment world and spotlight this time around. After her divorce from Justin Hartley and public split from boss Jason Oppenheim, the Selling Sunset starlet is ready to try dating out of the limelight.
The Bachelorette is currently on hiatus on ABC.