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Jesse Palmer Explains Why The Bachelor Isn't Concerned With Keeping Up With Love is Blind

In an exclusive interview with E! News, Bachelor host Jesse Palmer shared that the ABC show isn't worried about newer shows like Love is Blind and Too Hot to Handle.

By Daniel Trainor Feb 01, 2023 10:44 PMTags

The Bachelor will always get America's first impression rose, according to host Jesse Palmer.

Jesse, who is currently performing his duties on Zach Shallcross' season of The Bachelor, isn't concerned about the hip new dating shows on the block like Love Is Blind, Love Island or Too Hot to Handle—because you can't compete with the OG.

"The Bachelor was first," Jesse exclusively told E! News Jan. 30. "I think a big part of The Bachelor is about authenticity and really trying to get back to what the core of the show has always been about and what it's supposed to be about. It's finding love, it's the romance, it's the journey, it's the love story, and finding out how that develops."

Jesse acknowledged that The Bachelor and The Bachelorette haven't been immune to switching things up—after all, last season of The Bachelorette did feature two Bachelorettes—saying, "I think it's OK for a show to be cyclical sometimes and to try different things."

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But Jesse said Zach's season has thrown adaptation and innovation out the window.

"Instead of trying to completely redefine and recreate itself," Jesse said, "it's just getting back to what it's supposed to be."

The result, Jesse teased, should be pleasing to viewers who remember names like Alex Michel, Andrew Firestone and Bob Guiney.

"For Bachelor fans who have been watching for a long time," Jesse said, "my hope is that watching this season is going to feel really nostalgic to them."

ABC/Craig Sjodin

Find out if you get some Bachelor déjà vu when new episodes air Mondays at 8 p.m. on ABC.

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