Selling Sunset star says Ellen ruined her Bachelorette dream

You might know Chrishell Stause best for selling million-dollar homes on Selling Sunset, but before she hit Netflix screen's she was scheduled to hit another reality TV show: The Bachelorette.

In her new memoir, "Under Construction: Because Living My Best Life Took a Little Work," Stause revealed that she was actually lined up to become the season four Bachelorette.

According to her book, ABC had prepared to announce her as the season four lead following the 11th season of "The Bachelor," when Brad Womack dramatically denied finalists, DeAnna Pappas and Jenni Croft a final rose and proposal—leaving the three of them to walk away alone.

"DeAnna Pappas went on 'Ellen' and talked about getting rejected by Brad, and Ellen declared that DeAnna should be the next 'Bachelorette,'" Stause writes in her book, per Insider.

"Fans rallied around, the network listened, and my announcement was pulled. I never got the chance to hand out that fateful rose. I was in my mid-twenties at the time, and I was definitely bummed."

As fans of the Bachelor franchise know, Pappas went on to star as the Bachelorette in 2008.

Back in 2020, ABC executive Robert Mills discussed their decision to cut Stause for Pappas on an episode of "The Viall Files," a podcast hosted by Bachelor contestant Nick Viall.

"We didn't know who it was going to be, so we were looking for people and our casting director said, 'Oh, you should meet with this girl Chrishell Stause, she's amazing.' And we had this incredible lunch, I think it was at the Beverly Hills Hotel and just, she was awesome," Mills said.

"I was convinced, I'm like, this is the Bachelorette," he said.

This all changed when Ellen DeGeneres got involved and made the decision a personal one when she called the president of ABC to plead Pappas' case.

"I remember Ellen DeGeneres actually calling the president of ABC at the time, saying, 'This woman needs to be the Bachelorette," Mills said.

Where can we sign the Change.org petition to get Stause as the next Bachelorette?

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