Victoria Fuller weighed in on speculation that she was asked to be the next Bachelorette.
“I heard a rumor that before The Bachelorette was put on pause, that you were on an extraordinary short list of people who were being considered as the next Bachelorette for the ABC franchise,” Host Nick Viall said on the Tuesday, March 25, episode of “The Viall Files” podcast. “Is there any truth to this rumor? If I could be clear, I heard it from a few people. But, you know, sometimes rumors aren’t true.”
Victoria, 31, initially played coy about the speculation, before confirming that the news was, in fact, true.
“I cannot confirm or deny. No, I can confirm,” Victoria said. “Yes, I’ll confirm.”
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Victoria Fuller and Greg Grippo had a strong connection despite their controversial start. Bachelor Nation met Fuller during Peter Weber’s season of The Bachelor, which aired in 2020. After her relationship with the pilot didn’t work out, she was linked to season 19 Bachelor Chris Soules. The twosome split in fall 2020 after spending time […]
Nick, 44, claimed that he learned of the rumor after The Bachelorette was put on pause, and heard that the other people who were being considered were the “usual suspects of people you might suspect.” (News broke in February that The Bachelorette would be skipping a season. Us Weekly understands that ABC won’t be airing the show and is unlikely to return in 2025. The reason for the show’s hiatus is unclear.)
“I was furious. I was furious because I thought that would be an epic decision,” Nick said of his reaction. “They maybe had some good options — there were some other people that people have been calling for — but Peter [Weber]’s season was one of the more iconic seasons. We haven’t had — I don’t remember the last time we called a Bachelor or Bachelorette season iconic.”
Nick noted that he wasn’t sure whether Victoria was at “the top of the list” of options to lead the franchise, adding, “You never know because they talk to other people.” When Nick asked Victoria to clarify if she had “some conversations,” she replied, “There was rumblings around.”
“I think when I first was considering this, it was very much, like, I didn’t think it was for me. I was like, ‘I don’t think I can go back to that.’ So it took me a minute to adjust to the idea of possibly even doing it. And then, after a week, I was like, ‘OK maybe I’ll consider and I’ll have more conversation around it.’ And then that’s when they put everything on pause,” Victoria said, clarifying that she was never actually asked but had “conversations.”
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When Nick noted that he was “sure” other people were being talked to, Victoria noted, “Oh, absolutely.”
“From my experience, they ask multiple people and then you kind of go through another interview process,” Victoria said. “And so, again like you said, it was probably narrowed down to a shorter list. And maybe or maybe not I was on that list.”
Nick claimed that he thinks Victoria was on a list of “three people,” to which she noted she “could see that.”
“People obviously will probably deduct whoever else they think it was,” she said, to which Nick added, “Yeah, it’s pretty easy to guess.”
Related: Nick Viall Says He Knows Who Was ‘Seriously’ Considered as New Bachelorette
The Bachelorette producers were allegedly deciding on the next lead before the show’s break, according to former Bachelor star Nick Viall. “I know one of the people they were seriously looking at [and] it would have been awesome,” Viall, 44, claimed on the Thursday, March 13, episode of his “The Viall Files” podcast. “We’re not […]
Victoria shared that it was “very endearing” to receive a phone call regarding the potential opportunity — which she initially replied via text message. “I just texted. I’m like, ‘Hey, what’s up?’” she said of her exchange. “But no, they are all great over there.”
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Bachelor Nation first met Victoria when she vied for the affections of Peter on season 24 of The Bachelor. After Victoria didn’t find The One in Peter, Us Weekly confirmed in April 2020 that Chris Soules “slid into [her] DMs.” One month later, Us broke the news that Victoria and the season 19 Bachelor were “exclusively dating” amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Victoria confirmed in September 2020 that they split. Victoria headed to the beaches of Mexico for Bachelor in Paradise season 8, where she ultimately accepted a proposal from Johnny DePhillipo. Their romance, however, didn’t last long after filming ended.
Courtesy of Greg Grippo/Instagram
In the season finale, the pair revealed they went their separate ways — and Victoria was dating Greg Grippo. After nearly two years of dating, Greg announced their split in April 2024. Victoria was most recently linked to NFL quarterback Will Levis.
