Mike Fleiss/Twitter
After Bachelor Nation creator Mike Fleiss and Bachelor Nation host Chris Harrison teased photos of several of the former Bachelorette leads all together late last month it was revealed that ladies are coming together to celebrate the show’s 15 seasons.
Ahead of the new special which airs on May 6, before of the premiere of Hannah Brown’s season of The Bachelorette, the ladies spoke out about what the show means to them and the friendships they have forged through the unique experience.
The special joined 12 of the former Bachelorette leads including Becca Kufrin, Trista Sutter, DeAnna Stagliano, Jillian Harris, Ali Fedotowsky-Manno, Ashley Rosenbaum, Emily Maynard Johnson, Desiree Siegfried, Andi Dorfman, Kaitlyn Bristowe, JoJo Fletcher and Rachel Lindsay, and the women revealed despite being spread out around the country, they have maintained friendships.
“Even though we’re all different ages we’re all friends,” said Fedotowsky-Manno, 34, whose season aired in 2010. “We’re like sisters, it’s really cool.”
Meanwhile many of the women got very candid about the fact that despite being on the show in a search for love, most didn’t end up with the man they picked. “I didn’t end up with the guy that I picked, but I don’t have any regrets,” said Jillian Harris, who split up with fiancé Ed Swiderski after their season aired in 2009, but is now a happily engaged mom of two. “People associate The Bachelor and The Bachelorette with being fake, but the most real I’ve ever been was on this show, 100 percent.”
“If I hadn’t had the Bachelorette experience, I don’t think I would have prepared to meet and marry my husband,” agreed Emily Maynard.
The new special will be called Bachelorette Reunion: The Biggest Bachelorette Reunion in Bachelor History Ever!, and will air on ABC on May 6 ahead of the Season 15 premiere of The Bachelorette on May 13 on ABC.