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‘The Bachelorette’ 2016 Rumors: Ben Higgins’ Castoffs JoJo Fletcher, Caila Quinn, Amanda Stanton Frontrunners

By Cheryl Phillips
Published on: 11:58 PST, Dec 6, 2015

Ben Higgins season of The Bachelor begins next month and there is already speculation about the girls who may be offered the role of the next Bachelorette. Out of the 28 girls who will be exiting limos at the Bachelor mansion on the January 4 premiere, there are three who have a good shot at handing out roses as the Bachelorette in 2016.

[Spoilers ahead]

According to Reality Steve, Ben had his heart set on one girl during the season — Lauren Bushnell. His interest was apparently quite obvious to the other cast members who were hoping to end up with Ben’s final rose and a big Neil Lane diamond engagement ring.

“This season has essentially been over since about halfway through. Ben has been pretty clear about wanting Lauren in the end.”

Spoilers indicate that Ben gives Lauren his final rose, so that leaves three contestants who may end up getting the role of the season 11 Bachelorette — Ben’s runner up (JoJo Fletcher) and the two girls who came in third (Caila Quinn) and fourth place (Amanda Stanton).

Steve states that the runner-up rarely gets picked as the next Bachelorette because it would be hard to transition from being rejected at the Bachelor rose ceremony in March to finding love as ABC’s leading lady just weeks later.

Steve’s initial prediction was that Jolene “JoJo” Fletcher would make a great Bachelorette, so it’s completely possibly producers would change the filming schedule if they think she will draw in viewers. According to WetPaint, JoJo owns her own real estate development company in Texas, so she may have more flexibility than someone who has to ask for time off of work to film the show.

However, there may be one person who would hold her back from going on another reality show after getting her heart broken by Ben Higgins. Apparently she is still very close to her ex-boyfriend, Chad Rookstool — Reality Steve states that Chad watched her dog while she was away, so it sounds like he wants to stay as close to her as possible.

If JoJo isn’t selected as the next Bachelorette, Steve thinks it’s a toss up between Ohio native Caila Quinn and Orange County health and wellness blogger Amanda Stanton. Caila is rumored to make it to the overnight dates with Ben, but is eliminated before the final rose ceremony. There is speculation that fans may not be thrilled with her “drama queen” attitude this season, but apparently Ben liked her enough to bring her on the overnight dates.

Amanda Stanton didn’t make it quite that far, getting the boot after Ben spent time with her in California on a hometown date with her two daughters, ages 1 and 3. It wouldn’t be the first time ABC has picked a Bachelorette who is a single mother. Emily Maynard, who got engaged to Jef Holm on season 8, was cast for the show when her daughter, Ricki was just 6-years-old.

If Amanda is one of the girls producers are eyeing for the role of the 2016 Bachelorette, the decision to give her the gig will undoubtedly come with some criticism from fans and quite possibly her ex-husband, Nick Buonfiglio, who shares custody of their daughters.

It will be months before fans find out who is picked to become the next Bachelorette, so fans can expect to hear rumors about who the frontrunner until mid-March when Ben Higgins’ season of the Bachelor comes to an end. As always, there will be fans who favor one girl over the other, but in the end, the decision will be up to the producers of the show.

Watch the two-hour Bachelor season premiere on January 4, 2016 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

[Image via ABC Television Network]

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