Jenn Tran's debut as the lead of The Bachelorette 's season 21 has stirred up some drama before the show even airs. It has been reported that the reality TV star and her former friend, Maria Georgas , have had a falling out after Maria made some statements that made it seem like Jenn was the producers' third choice on the show.
Jenn and Maria became friends during Joey Graziadei's season of The Bachelor. Neither one of them won, but they ended the season as close friends. All that came crashing down when The Bachelorette season 21 was announced, and Daisy Kent revealed that she passed on the opportunity. And that's when Jenn was then announced as the next Bachelorette, instead of fan-favorite, Maria.
Now the casting choice has reportedly caused a wedge between them, and has even led to them ending their friendship. Check out what happened between Jenn and Maria ahead of the new season of The Bachelorette below.
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READ MORE: Everything you need to know about latest Bachelorette Jenn Tran
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What did Maria say about Jenn?
Maria appeared on the Call Her Daddy podcast and revealed that she was the one who was cast on The Bachelorette season 21 until she declined the offer. "If I'm going to be in this world, I have to be honest," she said. "I was offered the role. I mean, it was mine until I said it wasn't. To the point where I was doing fittings. It was set in stone."
Maria then went on to say that Jenn was one of her "closest girls in the house" during Joey's Bachelor season, and "she was always verbalizing how badly she wanted this." Maria shared she didn't feel happy or excited about doing the show and that's when she turned it down. "It's just not my time," she said about declining the role. Maria was also supportive of Jenn becoming the next Bachelorette and said she wanted her friend "to have her moment."
"She is the most perfect Bachelorette in my eyes. I couldn't think of anyone better to do this. And she was so ready for it. And that was enough for me to kind of say, yeah, it's not my time."
Jenn denies Maria's claims that she was the third choice
After Jenn finished filming her season of The Bachelorette, she also made an appearance on the Call Her Daddy podcast , and shared her thoughts of her former friend Maria's remarks about her not being the top choice for the role. Jenn shared that wasn't aware about Maria's Call Her Daddy interview, because she didn't have access to her phone while she was filming the show. She said that she was "obviously really disappointed to see all that." Jenn also shared that there are "a lot of narratives out there, and they're not necessarily the truth."
Jenn denied Maria's claims, and said that "every season there are multiple people in contention for the role." She said that a group of people get interviewed or do meetings before a final choice is made. Because Maria said she had already gone through fittings before she turned down the show, Jenn clarified that the runner-ups also do fittings or film intro packages, saying "and it's never really you until it's you."
The Jenn vs. Maria feud then becomes obvious on social media
While Jenn said she believed that there were no issues between her and Maria, it was reported that after her Call Her Daddy podcast appearance, Maria unfollowed her on Instagram. Meanwhile, Jenn still follows Maria.
Maria also seemed to address the situation i n a TikTok video . She shared a lip sync video of herself reciting the popular quote from Scarlet Envy's RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 6 promo. "Is it me? Am I the drama? I don't think I'm the drama. Maybe I am. Am I the villain? I don't think I'm the villain." Some fans believe the TikTok made it seem like Maria was making light of the situation.
Why is Jenn being this year's Bachelorette such a big deal?
Maria alluding that Jenn was the third choice may just put a damper on the ABC franchise choosing Jenn as their lead for this season of The Bachelorette since she is breaking ground as the first Asian-American to land the lead role in the history of the Bachelor franchise. Jenn appeared on season 28 of The Bachelor and will star in season 21 of The Bachelorette., which premieres on Monday, July 8.
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