'The Bachelor' and 'The Bachelorette': All the Celebrities Who Have Been Offered the Role

Ryan Lochte

The Olympic swimmer was in negotiations with ABC to be the 17th Bachelor after the 2012 London Olympics, but eventually lost the gig to Sean Lowe.

"We honestly briefly considered him," one source from the show told E! News. "But we are going elsewhere.

Even though he was passed up for the role, he told Access Hollywood earlier that year that he "definitely" considered the gig. "I would think about it. I definitely would because, you know, before I was training so much [for the Olympics] that I didn't have time for a girlfriend, [but] I wanted to give that perfect someone my heart," he said at the time.

Today, Lochte is married to Kayla Rae Reid, with whom he shares son Caiden Zane, 21 months, and is expecting a little girl later this year.

Kim Zolciak-Biermann

Years before Real Housewives of Atlanta star Kim Zolciak-Biermann was a Bravo staple, she said she was approached about being the next Bachelorette.

"I was asked to do The Bachelorette, you know that? Like, probably many years ago," she said on the podcast Juicy Scoop in September. " [The negotiations happened] a long time ago. Like, I was in talks with them, oh God, probably 14 years ago."

While the mother of six has been married to husband Kroy Biermann for seven years and is unlikely to ever appear on The Bachelor, she did hint that her 21-year-old daughter Brielle Biermann might be interested in finding love on TV.

"[The Bachelorette] would be so great [for Brielle]. Brielle actually has a huge offer going on a similar situation possibly," she revealed. "I just want Brielle to do what makes her happy."

Bobby Bones

iHeartMedia radio host Bobby Bones said he was approached by producers to see if he had any interest in becoming the next Bachelor.

"I was approached a few months ago, asked if I would entertain the option of being the Bachelor and I said no because it definitely wasn't an offer. It was, hey, is this something you'd want to do," Bones said on The Bobby Bones Show in March 2018, a few months before he joined the cast of (and won) Dancing With the Stars.

Months later, in September, he brought up the topic once again. "Listen, I'm gonna tell ya, if I go far on Dancing With the Stars, they're going to offer me The Bachelor, I can already tell you."

"If I'm still single and I go top three on Dancing With the Stars, I believe in the ABC family I would be offered The Bachelor," he said later, according to Forbes.

After he flat-out won the ABC reality dance competition, Bones didn't immediately squash rumors he was the next Bachelor. When Good Morning America co-host Michael Strahan asked Bones about it the morning after the DWTS finale, he said, "I'm in."

Charlie Ebersol

TV and film producer (as well as Britney Spears' ex-boyfriend) Charlie Ebersol told Us Weekly that he was offered the coveted gig, but immediately turned it down.

"They asked me to do The Bachelor a bunch of years ago and it was the most awkward phone call I have ever been a part of in my entire life," the Space Jam 2 producer said. "There's no way in hell I'm ever doing it."

Ivanka Trump

Years before her father was elected the 45th president of the United States, Ivanka Trump reportedly could have been on The Bachelorette. In 2007, she told PEOPLE magazine that she had been offered "tons of shows [including] The Bachelorette."

"I'm flattered, but that in no way furthers my objective of being a great real estate developer," she said at the time.

Jonathan Scott

Property Brothers star Jonathan Scott is no stranger to reality TV, but that doesn't mean he's ready to wear his heart on his sleeve on national TV. He told Us Weekly in December that he's turned down the lead three times — once from The Bachelor Canada and once from The Bachelor.

"That is so not my jam," Scott told the magazine. "That's my nightmare. Like, I can't even imagine. 30 — what is it, 30 women or whatever? I wouldn't even know how to wield three people. I would be terrified, so no."

Kaley Cuoco

While Kaley Cuoco wasn't ever seriously considered for the show, it seems as if host Chris Harrison would have been on board if she got the gig.

"Kaley would be great," he told Us Weekly of The Big Bang Theory star in 2016. "I would love that. She's an old friend of mine from the ABC days, and I think she likes to drink wine as much as I do."

Cuoco recently tied the knot with Karl Cook in June 2018, so it's unlikely Bachelorette viewers will ever see her as the lead.