The New York-based banker already has some Bachelor Nation support.
One door closed for Derek Peth on Tuesday night's episode of Bachelor in Paradise -- but has another opened?
The commercial banker won fans over as he got his heart broken this season after Demi Burnett decided to pursue a relationship with her lady love interest, Kristian Haggerty. Peth has been nothing but supportive of Burnett as she explored her sexuality, and his undeniable respectfulness and real desire for love have many viewers -- and his castmates -- campaigning for him to become the next Bachelor.
While Peter Weber and Mike Johnson are among the men still in contention for the gig, a source close to the situation tells ET that there has been some chatter among the producers about Peth as Bachelor. However, the New Yorker hasn't gotten an official offer.
Peth first appeared on JoJo Fletcher's season of The Bachelorette in 2016, and later got engaged to Taylor Nolan on season four of Bachelor in Paradise. He and Nolan split a year later, in June 2018. As for whether Peth would sign on to become Bachelor, ET's source says, "He's in a good place. He's grown a lot as a person during his time on the shows. He's confident in who he is, so he's open to the idea."
In the meantime, Bachelor Nation is expressing their full support of Peth. "And here we have our next #TheBachelor Derek, who is level headed, emotionally intelligent, sensitive, sweet, and understanding. Raise your hand to cast your vote ??♀️ #BachelorInParadise," Kristina Schulman tweeted on Tuesday night.
Paradise bartender Wells Adams was among the first to "raise his hand," and even made a tribute video on Instagram.
And Clay Harbor is a big fan.
See more support of Peth below.
Bachelor in Paradise airs Mondays and Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC. Join ET's Bachelor Nation Facebook group here.
During his Monday interview with ET, Johnson seemed supportive of Peth's potential to be Bachelor. He also said that Weber would make a "good" lead, but that the pilot would be the "safe" choice.
"I think the Bachelor would be Peter [Weber]," he shared. "Based on [the fact that] history repeats itself. I think Peter looks the part... when he gets a 5 o'clock shadow, he looks good too."
"He'd be a safe Bachelor, meaning that he won't do anything crazy obnoxious," Johnson explained. "I think it'd be a good, safe, clean season if he were the Bachelor."
See more in the video below.
RELATED CONTENT:
