Zach Shallcross Is Your Next ‘Bachelor’ Season 27 Star

Fans have been on pins and needles for months, wondering if their favorite contestant from Rachel Recchia and Gabby Windey’s Bachelorette season (or perhaps a past season) would be named the next Bachelor star. But now, we officially know who will be picking up the mantle from previous lead Clayton Echard. Your Season 27 star is… Zach Shallcross!

Rachel’s second runner-up from Season 19 was revealed as the next guy to be handing out roses (starting in January!) during the After the Final Rose special on Tuesday, September 20. Viewers of the 26-year-old’s season got to know him the California native and tech executive as a self-professed “old-fashioned romantic” who has “a huge heart that he is so ready to share forever with the right woman.”

“I’m obviously very nervous but this is obviously a once-in-a-lifetime, incredible opportunity,” Zach told Jesse Palmer during the live special. “I’ll be ready, I’m ready.”

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He continued, “I’m more ready, that’s almost fuel to the fire. I’m ready to find my person, my best friend, and that breakup didn’t deter it.”

As Zach shared during the episode, after the show, he regrouped with his family to “take time to center myself to figure out what I want, who I am.” Oh, and he went to the gym a lot.

After that, as has been done in some seasons past, the show surprised Zach by starting his season right away on the live special. They brought out a backdrop of the Bachelor Mansion to do some contestant introductions, allowing the audience to get involved by tweeting to choose who should receive America’s First Impression Rose.

Many will best remember his Hometown Date, where it was revealed that Seinfeld star Patrick Warburton is his uncle. The actor made a brief but memorable appearance when Zach introduced Rachel to his family.

Zach made a quick connection with Rachel during the double Bachelorette season, receiving one of the first one-on-one dates with the Florida-based pilot. The two were styled by Queer Eye star Karamo Brown for a movie premiere, where the two took in old home movies and bonded over their love of family and watching planes take off. Though he remained a strong contender throughout Rachel’s journey for love, he ultimately was sent home after the Fantasy Suite dates, when the Bachelorette expressed concerns he was too young to get engaged (even though the two are very close in age).

ABC/Craig Sjodin

Prior to the announcement, there were a number of contestants rumored to be in the running to be the next star of The Bachelor, including single dad Nate Mitchell who was one of Gabby’s frontrunners at the start of the season. The Dancing With the Stars contestantultimately eliminated him prior to Hometown Dates out of concern she wasn’t ready to be a stepmother. Though Nate had a lot of fan support for the gig, his “good guy” image was tarnished when ex-girlfriends came out saying he hadn’t been forthcoming about his daughter or monogamous in their relationships.

“I’m deeply sorry for the way that I acted,” Mitchell told host Jesse Palmer on Men Tell All reunion special. “The one thing that I protect most on this earth is my daughter. I would never bring her into a situation that I feel is dangerous, a situation that I feel is unstable, and so it just made me put a wall up, protecting my daughter from the instability of my dating life.”

What do you think of Zach as Bachelor? Sound off in the comments!

The Bachelor, Season 27 Premiere, Monday, January 23, 8/7c, ABC