Rachel Lindsay’s ‘Bachelorette’ Season Excluded From ‘The Bachelor: The Greatest Seasons- Ever!’ Special

After being unable to film Clare Crawley’s “The Bachelorette” season on schedule due to the pandemic, ABC decided to release condensed versions of past “Bachelorette” and “The Bachelor” seasons for its “The Bachelor: The Greatest Seasons - Ever!” event. The special 10-episode series will feature leads from years past with one rumored exclusion: Rachel Lindsay.

Rachel, who is still an active member of Bachelor Nation almost three years after her season ended and was the first and only Black lead in the show’s history, will reportedly not see her season featured as one of the 10 on “The Greatest Seasons - Ever!” This was confirmed by show spoiler blogger Reality Steve via Twitter on Monday.

At press time, representatives for the ABC show had not returned a request for comment about its lineup plans.

“The Bachelor: The Greatest Seasons-- Ever!” was announced by ABC in May. According to the official press release, the show, hosted by Chris Harrison, will “reach into the vault and bring back one of his favorite seasons, highlighting some of the most devastating rose ceremonies, passionate proposals, unexpected new arrivals, dramatic meltdowns, biggest breakups, and, of course, the most romantic moments.”

ABC’s preview for the televised event (below) showcased scenes from 10 former “Bachelorette” and “Bachelor” seasons, including, Trista Sutter (Season 1), Ali Fedotowsky (Season 6), Kaitlyn Bristowe (Season 11), JoJo Fletcher (Season 12), Brad Womack (Season 11 and 15), Sean Lowe (Season 17), Jason Mesnick (Season 13), Juan Pablo Galavis (Season 18), Ben Higgins (Season 20), and Nick Viall (Season 21).

However, despite their inclusion in the trailer, it is unclear if all aforementioned cast members’ seasons will be featured as part of the 2020 special.

The only clip of Rachel in the preview is a brief shot from a one-on-one date she had with Nick during his 2017 installment. As Bachelor Nation will recall, Rachel went on to lead her own season of “The Bachelorette” in 2017. Her Season 13 finale showed her get engaged to contestant Bryan Abasolo, whom she married in 2019.

The report of Rachel’s season’s omission from the series follows recent comments made by the reality star in which she expressed her desire to see ABC cast more racially diverse contestants and leads. In a blog post published Monday, she wrote, in part, “Although I have been vocal on many issues, I still feel that I have not been loud enough on the deep-rooted, 18-year systemic problems in this franchise. You never want to bite the hand that feeds you, but you also do not want to be aiding and abetting problematic behavior...

This is the reason that I have come to the conclusion that if changes are not made on the inside and outside of the franchise, I will dissociate myself from it. I am tired of asking for change and my requests have been ineffective. These changes have to extend beyond casting a lead of color. The whole franchise needs a diversity makeover.”

READ: ‘The Bachelorette’ 2020 Update: When Will Clare’s Season Start Filming And Other FAQs Answered

The first episode of “The Bachelor: The Greatest Seasons-- Ever!” aired Monday and followed Sean’s love story with his now-wife Catherine Giudici. Next week’s June 15 installment will focus on Kaitlyn’s season of “The Bachelorette” followed by Ben’s “Bachelor” season on June 22.

Fans can watch “The Bachelor: The Greatest Seasons-- Ever!” Mondays at 8 p.m. EDT on ABC.