Caila Quinn opened up about nearly becoming The Bachelorette after being a contestant on Ben Higgin’s season of The Bachelor.
Caila made it far on Ben’s season and was one of the final three women who had stolen Ben’s heart. Ben ultimately sent her home when he realized he had strong feelings for his final two women, JoJo Fletcher and Lauren Bushnell.
Despite telling both Lauren and JoJo he loved them, Ben ended up proposing to Lauren Bushnell.
Following the season, JoJo Fletcher was announced as the next Bachelorette.
Years later, Caila has opened up about being in the running for the role and what fans missed out on when JoJo was chosen instead.
Caila Quinn shares what viewers missed out on
Caila appeared on Us Weekly‘s Here for the Right Reasons podcast and shared intel on what went on when she was almost chosen as the lead of The Bachelorette.
Despite not being chosen as the lead, Caila revealed she did film some footage with her family that viewers missed out on because it never made it to air.
She mentioned a large gathering with nearly 100 of her family members.
She said, “It felt like My Big Fat Greek Wedding, but my big fat Filipino wedding,”
Caila felt it was a missed opportunity for fans to gain insight into her culture.
She added, “That was just a lot of culture there that I think hasn’t been represented. And I’ll be honest, a lot of America doesn’t even know where the Philippines is or what Filipino culture is. I think Asian is grouped together as one ethnicity and there’s really just so much more to it out there than just like, you know, Chinese and Japanese.”
Caila has moved on but still thinks ‘it’s kind of crazy’
Despite being so long ago, Caila admitted it was “kind of crazy,” to be so close to being casted.
She said, “And it was kind of crazy because for six months, they would fly me to L.A. to do fittings and for meetings and stuff like that. So I tried on a couple of dresses and gowns that [JoJo Fletcher] wore on her season. I was like, ‘That blue dress looks good on you girl!’ I tried that same sparkly gown.”
When she saw JoJo’s promo for her season, Caila admitted that it was “a little bizarre,”
Caila explained, “And it’s, like, you kind of look and watch somebody else and you’re like, ‘That’s the life I could have lived.’ It’s kind of like when your ex moves on and gets married. You have this moment where you pause and you’re like, ‘Whoa, I mean, I know I’ve moved on, but that could have been my life.’ So it’s kind of crazy.”
Despite not being cast as the lead, Caila has found the love of her life and became engaged to her boyfriend Nick Burrello. Nick proposed in January of 2020 while visiting Caila’s grandparents in Florida.
The couple had to rearrange their wedding plans a couple of times due to COVID-19 but they are looking forward to finally tie the knot later this month on May 29 at the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art.
While Caila didn’t get her chance to be The Bachelorette, she certainly has found her fairytale.
The Bachelorette returns on Monday June 7 on ABC.