Christina Mandrell and Zach Shallcross facing each other

‘The Bachelorette’: Signs Suggest Christina Mandrell Will be the Season 20 Lead

Fans say Christina Mandrell, a former frontrunner on 'The Bachelor,' may be the next 'Bachelorette.' But is she too controversial?

by Stacy Feintuch

Published on February 27, 2023

2 min read

Early in Zach Shallcross’ season of The Bachelor, it looked as if Christina Mandrell was a frontrunner.

The contestant, who is the niece of country singer Barbara Mandrell, was awarded the first one-on-one date with Shallcross. The day included meeting his entire family at his mother’s birthday party.

During the evening portion, Mandrell opened up to the Bachelor about being a single mom to her 5-year-old daughter Blakely. He gave her the date rose and they looked very happy together.

Things went downhill from there when co-star Brianna Thorbourne accused Mandrell of bad behavior and painted her as the villain of the season.

The single mom tried to explain herself to Shallcross, but he eliminated her at the following rose ceremony anyway.

Now fans are saying that Mandrell may be chosen as the next Bachelorette.

Are signs pointing to Christina Mandrell becoming ‘The Bachelorette’?

Mandrell is very proud of her young daughter, and posts pics of Blakely and touts her achievements on Instagram: “Previously this school year, she was the first student to receive the Citizen of the Month award! Now, she’s received the first Star of the Week award ?!!”

Recently, a Bachelor promo asked single dads to apply to be a contestant on The Bachelorette. Fans believe that a single mom might be looking to date men with children.

Mandrell may be that single mom. Although she was eliminated early in the season, many don’t believe that she was a true villain, and some viewers really liked her.

She would not be the first mom with a child as the lead in the series. Emily Maynard had the role in 2012.

Christina Mandrell is an Influencer

Cosmopolitan called Mandrell a “low-key influencer.”

The Bachelor contestant tried her hand at acting when she was younger. She was an extra in Hannah Montana: The Movie and had a role in Taylor Swift’s “Fifteen” video.

She began blogging in 2018 with ChristinaMandrell.com. “I want to be able to share my life from mommy-hood, owning a business, being a wife, beauty, fashion, and designing my new home,” she announced on her Instagram.

She then became a content creator and social media influencer, and shares discount codes with her 129K followers on Instagram.

Is Christina Mandrell too controversial to be ‘The Bachelorette’?

Although some feel that Mandrell is a mean girl or a bully, not everyone thinks that way.

One Twitter post said, “I KNOW they’re not trying to make miss Christina look like the villain when she’s been nothing but respectful to everyone #TheBachelor.”

Another commented, “With all that being said ……Christina Mandrell for The Bachelorette #TheBachelor.”

She wouldn’t be the first Bachelorette who had controversy during her Bachelor season. Katie Thurston stirred things up on her season when she told Matt James about comments another contestant made about another being a sex worker. Many didn’t approve of Thurston’s behavior, but that didn’t stop her from becoming the Bachelorette.