The Beatles taught us that “all you need is love,” and since 2003 ABC has been trying to give it to people with its reality series The Bachelorette (and The Bachelor). This fall, another young romantic will hope to meet her soulmate, but of course plenty of drama is bound to ensue.
Typically, fans of The Bachelorette/Bachelor get one season per year of the reality series, but in the 25th season of The Bachelor that aired in the first few months of 2021, fans fell in love with two contestants, Katie Thurston and Michelle Young. As a result, Thurston got the chance to be the Bachelorette for season 17, which just wrapped up in August, and now Young will be the Bachelorette for season 18.
Here is everything that you need to know about The Bachelorette season 18.
Who is Michelle Young?
As we mentioned, Michelle Young was someone that fans got behind when she appeared on the 25th season of The Bachelor. Now it’s her chance to hand out the roses as she searches for the man of her dreams.
Young was actually a late arrival to her season on The Bachelor, but the former Division I basketball player from Minnesota, now kindergarten teacher, clearly made an impression.
ABC’s biography for Young says that the 28-year-old is “looking for the Superman to her Superwoman,” someone that will be supportive and is driven to make the world a better place.
Who are 'The Bachelorette' season 18 contestants?
There will be 30 guys all vying for Michelle Young’s heart when The Bachelorette gets going. You’ll learn more about them in the first few episodes, but here is an overview of all the season 18 contestants, including their age, job and where they are from. An "X" by their name means that they have been eliminated.
(X) Alec, 29, engineer, North Charleston, S.C.
Brandon J., 26, traveling nurse recruiter, Portland, Ore.
(X) Brandon K., 29, brand manager, Austin, Texas
(X) Bryan, 31, NFL player, Chicago
(X) Casey, 36, advertising creative director, Miami Beach, Fla.
(X) Chris G., 28, motivational speaker, Halifax, Canada
(X) Chris S., 28, commodities broker, West Hollywood, Calif.
(X) Clayton, 28, medical sales rep, Columbia, Mo.
(X) Daniel, 26, firefighter, Austin, Texas
(X) Edward, 27, wellness coach, Los Angeles
(X) Garrett, 33, tech CEO, Salt Lake City
(X) Jack, 30, former Army officer, Philadelphia
(X) Jamie, 32, biotech CEO, San Diego
Joe, 28, real estate developer, Minneapolis
(X) JoMarri, 26, personal trainer, Fresno, Calif.
(X) Leroy, 27, biomedical Ph.D student, Dallas
(X) LT, 38, yoga guru, Bellevue, Wash.
(X) Martin, 29, personal trainer, Miami Beach, Fla.
(X) Mollique, academic administrator, San Diego
Nayte, 27, sales executive, Austin, Texas
(X) Olumide, 27, IT analyst, Newark, N.J.
(X) Pardeep, 30, neuroscientist, Brooklyn, N.Y.
(X) Peter, 26, pizzapreneur, Port St. Joe, Fla.
(X) PJ, 30, firefighter, Houston
(X) Rick, 32, medical sales rep, Los Angeles
(X) Rodney, 29, sales rep, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.
(X) Romeo, 32, mathematician, New York City
(X) Ryan, 30, environmental consultant, San Jose, Calif.
(X) Spencer, 25, financial crimes analyst, Cleveland
(X) Will, 28, academic interventionist, Grand Rapids, Mich.
Who are ‘The Bachelorette’ hosts?
Chris Harrison had been the long time host of both The Bachelor and The Bachelorette. However, after Harrison made inappropriate comments regarding racial issues on the series, he took a hiatus and then left the show entirely. So who is filling his shoes?
The first post-Harrison season of The Bachelorette was season 17, which featured former The Bachelorette leads Tayshia Adams and Kaitlyn Bristowe as the co-hosts. The duo will return in this capacity for season 18, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The entertainment publication does note that it is believed ABC is looking for a permanent host for its popular reality series, who would likely begin in 2022.
When does ‘The Bachelorette’ air?
The Bachelorette is set to premiere for its 18th season on Tuesday, Oct. 19, at 8 p.m. ET. It will air in that spot every Tuesday for its expected 10 episode run.
If you miss the live airing of The Bachelorette, you will be able to watch the latest episodes on-demand as soon as the next day (Wednesday in this case) on either ABC.com or streaming via Hulu.
Is there a ‘The Bachelorette’ trailer?
ABC has shared a promo for the premiere episode of The Bachelorette season 18, which will see Michelle Young meet all of her potential suitors. Warning, plenty of puns used in this 30-second trailer. Watch below.
How to watch ‘The Bachelorette’
With The Bachelorette airing on ABC every Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET, the first way to watch it is if you have access to your local ABC station via your TV. This is available either through a traditional cable/satellite pay-TV subscription, receiving the local station’s signals with a TV antenna, or subscribing to a live TV streaming service, including Fubo TV, Hulu with Live TV and YouTube TV .
Of course, not everyone can (or even wants) to tune in for live TV these days, so what are some on-demand options? The first is to watch the latest episodes the day after they air on ABC through the ABC.com website. It should be noted that you still need to be a subscriber to either a traditional pay-TV plan or one of the live TV streaming services that features ABC.
If streaming is your game, you can also watch the latest episodes (as well as past seasons of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette) on Hulu, which is available as part of the Hulu with Live TV service or as a standalone platform that features plans costing $5.99 per month and $11.99 per month (free trials are available for new subscribers).
One more way to watch this season of The Bachelorette will be with a virtual private network, otherwise known as a VPN. A VPN is designed to route network traffic through a specific set of servers in a specific country, allowing viewers to watch content on an encrypted feed over a computer.
