{"id":240965,"date":"2026-05-18T17:51:48","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T17:51:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/18\/ilona-maher-as-the-next-bachelorette\/"},"modified":"2026-05-18T17:51:48","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T17:51:48","slug":"ilona-maher-as-the-next-bachelorette","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/18\/ilona-maher-as-the-next-bachelorette\/","title":{"rendered":"Ilona Maher as the Next Bachelorette?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p><span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading Time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 2<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Will Ilona Maher be the next Bachelorette?<\/p>\n<p>Word has it that the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehollywoodgossip.com\/2026\/03\/taylor-frankie-pauls-season-of-the-bachelorette-canceled-by-abc-amid-domestic-violence-scandal\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Taylor Frankie Paul season<\/a> of <em>The Bachelorette<\/em> will <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehollywoodgossip.com\/2026\/05\/taylor-frankie-pauls-season-of-the-bachelorette-to-air-this-summer\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">air this summer<\/a>, albeit not with the show\u2019s usual rollout.<\/p>\n<p>Producers and fans alike are on the hunt for the next leading lady. It\u2019s probably safe to say that they\u2019re going to want to be careful with casting.<\/p>\n<p>A widely liked athlete could be a stellar pick. And Maher, close friends with a familiar face in the Bachelor Fam, is open to it.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><noscript><\/noscript><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"682\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0518_ilonamaher_01-682x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Ilona Maher on May 15 2026.\" class=\"wp-image-555179 lazyload\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0518_ilonamaher_01-682x1024.jpg 682w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0518_ilonamaher_01-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0518_ilonamaher_01-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0518_ilonamaher_01-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0518_ilonamaher_01-640x960.jpg 640w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0518_ilonamaher_01-720x1080.jpg 720w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0518_ilonamaher_01-800x1200.jpg 800w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0518_ilonamaher_01-scaled.jpg 1706w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 760px) calc(100vw - 20px), 720px\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0518_ilonamaher_01-scaled.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" data-trellis-processed=\"1\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ilona Maher attends Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Social Club on May 15, 2026.<span class=\"image-caption-credit\"> (Photo Credit: Astrid Stawiarz\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-i-ve-consulted-with-the-team\">\u2018I\u2019ve consulted with the team\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Speaking to <em><a href=\"https:\/\/okmagazine.com\/p\/ilona-maher-is-not-fully-ruling-out-being-bachelorette-one-day\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">OK! Magazine<\/a><\/em>, Maher shared that she hasn\u2019t ruled out being the lead on <em>The Bachelorette<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>That said, she wouldn\u2019t go in blindly or without certain conditions. That\u2019s smart!<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve consulted with the team,\u201d Maher confirmed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd,\u201d she teased, \u201cI\u2019ve consulted with Joey Graziadei.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She met the Bachelor Nation fan-favorite on <em>Dancing With The Stars<\/em> Season 33, and the two went on to forge a close friendship.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-tiktok wp-block-embed-tiktok\"\/>\n<p>Maher shared that Graziadei looks out for her \u2014 and that she trusts him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are a lot of things that would have to change for me to be the Bachelorette,\u201d she revealed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJoey would have to executive produce,\u201d Maher began her (admittedly short) list.<\/p>\n<p>She added: \u201cAll of my friends would have to be involved.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Past seasons have seen friends of the leading lady show up to keep an eye on the suitors during first impressions. It is unclear if that is the format that she envisions.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Ilona Maher\u2019s Disney Night Jazz \u2013 Dancing with the Stars\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/nhGSqT74Gc8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-i-would-do-it-for-you-guys-to-watch\">\u2018I would do it for you guys to watch\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>To be clear, Maher didn\u2019t come up with the idea of taking on the lead role on <em>The Bachelorette<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Fans \u2014 the Bachelor Nation \u2014 have been floating the idea organically on social media.<\/p>\n<p>Maher has a reputation for her authenticity.<\/p>\n<p>She is also a professional athlete with an athletic build, which would help break the mold of Bachelorettes with a very specific body type.<\/p>\n<p>With all of the <em>The Bachelorette<\/em> drama that went down on a corporate level with this latest, yet-to-be-seen season, fans hope that Maher would be a refreshing leading lady.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DYVohCrJx6L\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\"\/>\n<p>\u201cI love my girls, and they want me to find love so bad,\u201d Maher said of her fans, who have been cheering her on.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI would do it for your guys to watch,\u201d she admitted. \u201cThat\u2019s the only reason.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Maher continued: \u201cI don\u2019t even know if I\u2019d find love, but it would be funny to watch me. I\u2019m not fully ruling it out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>However, at the moment, she has other \u2014 and frankly more important \u2014 priorities.<\/p>\n<p>Her focus is on training ahead of the 2028 Olympics.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async defer src=\"https:\/\/platform.instagram.com\/en_US\/embeds.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehollywoodgossip.com\/2026\/05\/ilona-maher-the-bachelorette\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Reading Time: 2 minutes Will Ilona Maher be the next Bachelorette? Word has it that the Taylor Frankie Paul season of The Bachelorette will air this summer, albeit not with the show\u2019s usual rollout. Producers and fans alike are on the hunt for the next leading lady. It\u2019s probably safe to say that they\u2019re going [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":240967,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-240965","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-hollywood"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240965","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=240965"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240965\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/240967"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=240965"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=240965"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=240965"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}