Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia will share responsibilities as the two co-leads of The Bachelorette season 19, and Bachelor Nation is understandably curious to learn more about the other dating shows that already follow the format of having multiple leads in a single season. For the first time in the history of this franchise, two Bachelorettes will divide a cast of suitors vying for one of them. For 26 seasons of The Bachelor and 18 seasons on The Bachelorette, this show has been about one incredibly desirable single lead calling all the shots during his or her season.
The very few exceptions were: The Bachelorette season 11, which started out with two leads and had the contestants vote for one of them - Kaitlyn Bristowe - to stay aboard as the only lead; and The Bachelorette season 16, which saw Clare Crawley quitting the show mid-season and Tayshia Adams subsequently replacing her as the lead. Now that season 19 is slated to have two full-time leads from start to finish, Bachelor Nation is curious about other shows that follow this format.
Love Is Blind (Netflix)
One of the most successful dating shows with multiple leads to come out in recent years is Netflix's Love Is Blind. On the show, separate groups of men and women get to know one another without ever seeing their prospective partners. Their interactions take place in one-on-one pods that are divided by walls. The point of Love Is Blind can indeed be as "blind" as the saying goes. Each season, five couples get engaged in the pods and go on to become the co-leads in the series. After just two seasons and 10 engaged pairs, four couples are still together and happily married, so the show has a success rate of basically 50%.
12 Dates Of Christmas (HBO Max)
HBO Max has already launched 12 Dates Of Christmas as a dating show with not only multiple leads, but diverse leads. Season 1 leads were gay man Garrett Marcantel, straight woman Faith Fernandez, and straight man Chad Savage, who each had their own sets of contestants. A year later, 12 Dates of Christmas season 2 leads were straight man Danny Escalante, lesbian woman Amanda Grace Jenkins, and gay man Markelle Smith. Again, each of these leads had their own sets of contestants vying for their love, so the leads themselves didn't compete with one another.
FBoy Island (HBO Max)
Another new HBO Max dating competition with multiple leads is FBoy Island, which had a very interesting - albeit wacky - concept. On the show, co-leads CJ Franco, Nakia Renee, and Sarah Emig moved into an island with a full cast of single men. Out of that FBoy Island cast, half of the men were considered "good guys" and half were considered "fboys." This show most closely resembles The Bachelorette season 19 given that it involves multiple female co-leads getting to know a cast of single men. At least on FBoy Island, there wasn't that much friction between the leads, so one can hope that Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia will also get along that well.
The Bachelorette season 19 premieres Monday, July 11 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.