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Bachelor Nation has seen its fair share of controversial contestants and final picks, but when it comes to choosing the franchise’s lead it’s usually easy to call — but not always.
When The Bachelorette announced Clare Crawley — who hadn’t been on a Bachelor series or one of its spinoffs since 2018’s Bachelor Winter Games — as its newest lead in March 2020, some fans were shocked.
More often than not the next Bachelor or Bachelorette is chosen from the final four contestants, many times the No. 3 runner-up. Crawley, however, isn’t the first individual to come out of left field to take over the reins on a season of the ABC dating show.
Before Crawley was announced as the oldest Bachelorette in history, Becca Kufrin, surprised some viewers when she took the role in 2018 — after winning her season of The Bachelor, she was subsequently dumped by Arie Luyendyk Jr. for all of America to watch on TV.
Then there was Luyendyk Jr. himself, who was out of the reality TV game for six years before he helmed The Bachelor during season 22.
Keep scrolling to relive the most shocking lead choices in Bachelor Nation history:
