derek bachelor
Should Bachelor Nation expect Derek Peth to be "The Bachelor" in 2020? ABC

Derek Peth left “Bachelor in Paradise” this week after facing two failed romances on Season 6 of the ABC dating series. His former connections, Tayshia Adams and Demi Burnett, both made it clear they felt semi-guilty for his premature exit, though his leave was on his own terms.

“It just seems like when I finally click with somebody, they run away. All I want is somebody who is ready to reciprocate when I start to care. It just hurts,” Derek, who joined the franchise on JoJo Fletcher’s “The Bachelorette” season in 2016, told the cameras. “I always thought I would have found somebody by now, without a doubt.”

He finished his teary-eyed exit by stating his biggest fear is “never” finding his person. So, does this mean Derek is a contender to be the next “The Bachelor” on ABC? Unfortunately for his fans, it doesn’t look like it.

READ: ‘Bachelor In Paradise’ 2019 Spoilers: Do Tayshia And John Paul Jones End Up Together?

According to spoiler blogger Reality Steve, ABC announced that “The Bachelorette” Season 15 star Peter Weber has already secured “The Bachelor” 2020 gig. He reported that the network announced Peter as their next lead during the “Bachelor in Paradise” reunion taping late last month.

And while fans may have considered Derek to still be in the running for “The Bachelor” spot following his series of heartbreaks on the franchise, Reality Steve says he most likely never was.

“... Just because someone gets dumped on this show, is sad, throws out lines of ‘this always happens’ and questions whether they will ever find love, doesn’t mean they’re going to be the “Bachelor,’” he explained in an Aug. 27 blog post.

He added, “... that Derek campaign came HARD last week. Overwhelming actually, and I never thought for a second they were gonna give it to him. But because some guy cries and doesn’t flip out when he gets dumped, everyone just assumes he’ll be the next ‘Bachelor.’”