Maria Georgas reveals she 'had to decline' becoming the next 'Bachelorette' lead
After more than a month of speculation within Bachelor Nation, "Bachelor" Season 28 finalist Maria Georgas is confirming the rumor that she turned down "The Bachelorette."
Georgas, a 29-year-old executive assistant from Ontario, Canada, who was introduced as one of 32 women vying for Joey Graziadei's heart earlier this year, sat down with Alex Cooper of "Call Her Daddy" on the podcast's Wednesday episode to open up about her dating life and her experience on "The Bachelor."
"I was offered the role. It was mine until I said it wasn’t," she said. "It became very overwhelming to the point where I had to decline."
"I just was not ready," Georgas added.
Cooper revealed that last month, Georgas was supposed to come on the podcast to promote her announcement as the next "Bachelorette."
USA TODAY has reached out to ABC for comment.
Every year, producers and studio executives speak with multiple potential candidates – usually contestants from the most recent season – who might become the next "Bachelor" or "Bachelorette" lead.
On March 25, after Graziadei's engagement to Kelsey Anderson was revealed in "The Bachelor's" finale, the franchise announced Jenn Tran, a 26-year-old physician assistant student from Miami, Florida, would be the next "Bachelorette" lead. She will be the first Asian American in the role in show's 22-year history.
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Maria Georgas says she 'wasn't mentally prepared for' 'The Bachelorette'
Georgas went into detail about why moving forward with "The Bachelorette" wasn't in her best interest.
"When everyone around me was so supportive of me being in this position and everyone wanted this for me, I took a second. I’m like, why am I not happy? Why am I not excited about this?" she said. "It took me realizing that it’s just not my time, (and) I was like, 'Guys, respectfully, I need to decline. I need to take a step back.' I was not in the right headspace for this."
Georgas indicated doing the show would not be best for her mental health, especially given that she had a hard time while filming Graziadei's season.
"What people saw on their screens was only the half of what I went through in the house," she said, alluding to the conflicts she had with a few of the other contestants. "I was so anxious throughout the whole thing."
She continued, "It's so isolating being in there. And I would have to give up my phone (and) my freedom — not my freedom, but having to be alone in that, I just wasn’t comfortable. I wasn’t mentally prepared for it."
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Maria Georgas says Jenn Tran is 'the perfect pick' for 'The Bachelorette'
The reality TV star, however, could not be happier with Tran being the show's next lead.
"Jenn, though, was the perfect pick," Georgas told Cooper. "She is the most perfect bachelorette in my eyes. I couldn’t think of anyone better to do this. She was so ready for it, and that was enough for me to kind of say, 'Yeah, it’s not my time.'"
As for her future in the franchise, it seems that, for now, fans shouldn't expect to see her on another "Bachelor" show anytime soon.
She's "so single," but there's "no 'Paradise'" in her future, referring to ABC's summer spinoff show "Bachelor in Paradise."