'Bachelorette' Producers React to Rats Fans Spotted in New Mansion

'The Bachelorette' fans were quick to notice the rodent stars of Jenn Tran's premiere.

By Anna Rumer

The Bachelorette producers are celebrating all love stories – big and small – this season. As Bachelorette Jenn Tran made her debut on Monday's season premiere, eagle-eyed viewers spotted a couple of uninvited guests in the form of two rats scurrying through the background.  

Footage of the rats darting past Tran and Sam Nejad quickly went viral, and while the pair didn't seem to notice the small rodents making their own TV debut, show producers did. "You'll notice there were two of them," the producers told Entertainment Weekly after the episode aired. "Everyone deserves to find love!"

SAM N.
(Photo: John Fleenor/Disney)

Tran's premiere episode wasn't filmed at Bachelor Nation's beloved Bachelor Mansion, a stunning home in Agoura Hills, Calif., but instead broke tradition and took place at Hummingbird Nest Ranch, a private event venue in Southern California's Santa Susana Mountains. The Bachelorette contestants need not worry about any lingering rodents, however, as Tran announced after the first rose ceremony that she and her suitors will be jetting off to Melbourne, Australia. 

And while Nejad was by Trann's side in the viral scene, it was another Sam – Sam McKinney – that earned the coveted first impression rose and became the first man she kissed as the Bachelorette. Ahead of her season premiere, the 26-year-old told former Bachelorette Kaitlyn Bristowe that she only had one regret when it came to her romantic journey.

SAM M.
(Photo: John Fleenor/Disney)

"I don't have regrets in any decisions that I made because I trusted myself very much, and I still do," the physician assistant student said on Bristowe's Off the Vine podcast. "I think everything happened the way it was supposed to. I think that I regret the steamy makeouts because my family will be watching."

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Tran explained that during Season 28 of The Bachelor with Joey Graziadei, she felt much more conscious of the cameras that were following along before she was eliminated. "And then the second time around, I was like, what do you mean? I'm just living my life," Tran said, explaining that she learned how to ignore the cameras more as time went on. "So, like, in my head, I was like, 'This isn't gonna be televised anywhere. Mom and Dad will have to watch this,'" she joked.

The Bachelorette airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

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