As ABC narrows in on who will be The Bachelor for season 26, Greg Grippo’s name is being thrown around as a potential lead, even though he’s the last person who should be passing out roses. Many fans are still shading Greg for his surprising self-elimination on Katie’s season of The Bachelorette and don’t want to see him as the lead. There are several reasons why Greg shouldn’t be chosen to be the next Bachelor, and ABC would be wise to go with one of the many other, more deserving, past contestants.
Greg was an early frontrunner who received Katie’s first impression rose, first one-on-one date, and was the first contestant to get a second one-on-one. Katie’s introduction to Greg’s family during hometowns went well, but when she didn’t give him the answer he wanted when he expressed his feelings to her, Greg had a full-on meltdown. Fans had mixed feelings about Greg’s dramatic departure, and many felt he had unrealistic expectations of Katie and the show.
As one of Katie’s final men, Greg is one of the obvious choices for the next Bachelor. He shouldn’t get the job because he clearly can’t function within the show’s format. Greg felt that everything Katie was doing was just for the show and her feelings weren’t genuine enough because she wouldn’t give him the total validation that he needed. Greg heavily criticized Katie for following “The Bachelorette” script, so it would be extremely hypocritical of him to then take the role of The Bachelor next season. If he was so strongly against the process, why then would he agree to become the next lead?
Greg would also be a problematic pick for Bachelor because there are some disturbing allegations about him that his toxic behavior on the show would indicate are true. A source claiming to be close to Greg says he’s a “schemer” who has been trying to get on the show for years. The source also claims Greg’s "nice guy" routine is just an act, and that he’s actually a savvy manipulator. Greg’s acting background and the way he spoke down to Katie when breaking up with her make these claims seem all the more likely.
However, even if these claims are completely false and Greg wasn’t intentionally gaslighting Katie, his behavior still raised several red flags. On the show, Greg opened up to Katie that how he’s never spoken about his dad’s death with anyone else before, and his family told her that they hadn’t seen him so happy since before his father’s passing. If true, that indicates that Greg isn’t fully healed and probably shouldn’t be jumping into a relationship. Katie accused Greg of not knowing what love is, and if he thinks love is for filling emotional holes, Katie could be right.
There are still several months before The Bachelor begins filming, so ABC still has time before they have to decide and announce who will be the next lead. Obviously Greg is in the running, but for many reasons he shouldn’t be. At worst, he’s a conniving there-for-the-wrong-reasons contestant who has been angling to be the lead this entire time. At best, he’s still emotionally traumatized and should not be getting into a serious relationship. Though there are some fans rooting for Greg to be the lead, ABC would be wise to go with another candidate.