Will The Bachelorette 2021 Katie Thurston meet the man of her dreams? The ABC dating show returns for season 17 and the latest Bachelorette spoilers may have come from Katie herself! The premiere episode will see Katie meeting 29 suitors — but there's also one more mystery man who will vie for her heart. And word is, it's someone familiar to Bachelor Nation.
This year will see two Bachelorette seasons for the first time. The Bachelorette 2021 Michelle Young will embark on her journey to finding love this fall. But first comes Katie. Filming has already wrapped and ABC has set the premiere date for early June. And Katie recently teased she's starting "a healthy relationship."
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Katie appeared on the most recent season of The Bachelor and ended up in 11th place, after a date where she and Matt pranked his best friend Tyler Cameron. Katie made a memorable entrance wielding a vibrator in the premiere and became a fan favorite for speaking out against the bullying and toxic environment perpetrated by some of her fellow contestants.
The Bachelorette season 17 is already notable because it'll be the first show within the franchise that isn't hosted by Chris Harrison, who stepped back after being criticized for defending Rachael Kirkconnell's racist photos. Stepping into his place are two former Bachelorettes, Tayshia Adams and Kaitlyn Bristowe.
Here's everything we know so far about Katie's season, including the latest from Bachelor spoiler king Reality Steve.
The Bachelorette 2021 premiere date
The Bachelorette season 17 will premiere date Monday, June 7 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
If you previously heard that Katie's season would premiere June 1, that's because Google search had that date listed. However, June 1 is a Tuesday, so it never made a ton of sense. The Bachelor franchise has almost always aired on Monday nights.
The Bachelorette 2021: Who is Katie Thurston?
Katie Thurston is a 30-year-old bank marketing manager from Seattle, Washington. In her Bachelor bio, she said she's interested in hosting a talk show one day.
Her memorable arrival with a purple vibrator was no joke, either. Katie is serious about being sex positive. She went viral last summer with a TikTok video about quarantine masturbation and told The Bachelor Happy Hour podcast, "I do believe it's 2021 and women should be comfortable talking about their sexuality."
@ventwithkatie Since they want to mute my video, let’s try reposting without hashtags and see what happens. I read the rules. I didn’t break any here.
♬ original sound - Katie Thurston
Katie gets the thumbs up from ex Matt James, who is fully on board with ABC's choice.
"Those are the type of women that should be in consideration for a Bachelorette role," he said on Watch What Happens Live. "She's bold, she's courageous, and she stands up for what she believes in."
And she's definitely looking forward to being The Bachelorette. "I’m ready to find love,” Katie said on the After the Rose finale special. "And not just the temporary kind—I’m talking forever, my husband. And I’m in a place in my life where I feel like I’m the best version of me.”
The Bachelorette 2021 trailer
The most recent promo for The Bachelorette 2021 is chock-full of shirtless men. "Come back to the sexy," the video teases. But there's also plenty of silliness in store for Katie.
In the first promo for season 17, Katie declares, “I don’t regret being myself. I know what I deserve" The teaser trailer shows a bit of old footage of Katie and Matt during his Bachelor season, intercut with Katie wearing a lavender gown and holding a rose (of course). No vibrator in sight, though.
The Bachelorette 2021 location
Due to the pandemic, Katie's season filmed entirely in one location, just like Matt's Bachelor season and Clare/Tayshia's split Bachelorette season.
Bachelor spoiler guru Reality Steve initially broke the news that The Bachelorette 2021 would film at the Hyatt Tamaya outside of Albuquerque, New Mexico even before Katie was officially chosen as the lead.
(SPOILER): Next season of the “Bachelorette” will begin filming in last half of March in New Mexico. No host or “Bachelorette” has been decided yet. Not 100% confirmed yet, but I’m hearing the location is the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort & Spa about 20 min outside of Albuquerque pic.twitter.com/dxUKCs1jo5February 24, 2021
Steve also tweeted the scoop that Katie and the cast — including the men, crew and hosts Kaitlyn and Tayshia — began quarantining last week.
The Bachelorette 2021 cast: Who are the contestants?
On May 18, ABC revealed 29 of the 30 contestants who will be competing for Katie's hand. One man remains a mystery ... could it be someone familiar to Bachelor Nation?
The 29 confirmed contestants range in age from 25 to 36. Get a first look at some of them in this introductory video:
See pics of all the men (plus, their interests and random facts):
The Bachelorette 2021 spoilers
Filming on Katie's season is now complete, and Reality Steve has released some spoilers!
Steve managed to find out the identity of the guy who got Katie's first impression rose: Greg Grippo, 27, from Edison, NJ.
(SPOILER): Hey, a spoiler for Katie’s season! Greg Grippo received the first impression rose. pic.twitter.com/c63JWr28NRApril 12, 2021
Steve also revealed the identity of the "mystery man" who is the 30th contestant: Blake Moynes, who was on Clare and Tayshia's season. And Blake apparently makes it to the final four, along with Greg (the first impression rose recipient).
And the big spoiler? Reality Steve says Katie is engaged! He doesn't know which of the men gets her final rose, though, so stay tuned.
Fans are also buzzing about potential Bachelorette spoilers surrounding the winner of Katie's season.
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