'Bachelorette' contestant Clayton Echard is rumored to be the next Bachelor.
Kaitlyn Bristowe and Tayshia Adams are excited to see Jesse Palmer host the upcoming season of The Bachelor! ET's Lauren Zima spoke to the ladies, who hosted last season and the upcoming season's The Bachelorette, about the former Bachelor star taking over hosting duties for the next male-led season of the franchise, and they couldn't be more excited to see him in the role.
"I think it makes sense to have women around for The Bachelorette, and men around for The Bachelor, just to be supportive," Kaitlyn told ET. "He's been the Bachelor, we've been the Bachelorettes. It's kind of nice to have that perspective. I'm here to validate your feelings and what you're going through."
"I think it brings a whole different perception to The Bachelor and Bachelorette," Tayshia agreed. "I think with Jesse, we might be able to bring it back to how the franchise used to be. He can give some pretty good pointers. I was excited for him... I thought it was good for Jessie to come on."
As for who Jesse will be guiding through the Bachelor journey, rumors have swirled that Clayton Echard is the next franchise lead. Clayton, who will first appear on Michelle Young's season of The Bachelorette, seemingly confirmed reports of his casting while speaking to a crowd last month, but ABC has yet to comment on the speculation. ET previously reached out to the network.
"If he is the next Bachelor, he seems very emotionally mature, very vulnerable, very open with how he's feeling," Kaitlyn said of Clayton. "He doesn't shy away from talking about how he's feeling. He always seems to be taking care of people. He's well-spoken and he has good family."
Tayshia agreed, telling ET that Clayton "was really fun" while filming Michelle's season.
"[He] seemed to be down for anything athletic and always seemed to put a smile on Michelle's face, so I think he's definitely a good potential Bachelor if he were to become one," Tayshia said.
The Bachelorette herself had nothing but kind words for Clayton, too, calling him "a sweetheart."
"What the viewers are gonna see is that Clayton's just genuine. He's really sweet," Michelle said. "He came there to find his person. As cliché as it is, he was there for the right reasons. He deserves to find his person."
Michelle also had no shortage of praise for Kaitlyn and Tayshia for the why they helped guide her through her Bachelorette experience.
"Having two women mentor me who have actually been through this was incredibly helpful, even more helpful than I honestly realized at the beginning," Michelle said. "One part of navigating through this is feeling understood, and there are times where you feel really weird emotions because a lot of people have not been through this. They are like, 'No, this is 100 percent on par. It means it's working.'"
"I think in those moments they [were] really helping me bring myself down and just validate my emotions, because it is such an uncommon situation," the teacher added.
Both Kaitlyn and Tayshia enjoyed their second time hosting, too, after previously leading the charge on Katie Thurston's season of the show. As for if they'll be back for a third season, Kaitlyn told ET it "would be nice if they wanted to have us back," while Tayshia said she's keeping her "fingers crossed."
For now, though, they're focused on Michelle and her journey for love.
"It's going to be really romantic," Kaitlyn told ET of Michelle's season. "Michelle is so authentic in what she was looking for. I feel like she wasn't there for the wrong reasons. She wanted to go right back to her students after filming. That's who she is... [There are] some really heartbreaking heartbreaks. I cried a few times."
"It's actually really romantic," Tayshia teased. "It's like a fairytale, which is different, I think. You guys will understand that word at the end. It unfolds beautifully."
Michelle Young's season of The Bachelorette will premiere Tuesday, Oct. 19 on ABC. Tune in to Monday's episode of Entertainment Tonight for more of ET's interviews with Kaitlyn, Tayshia and Michelle.
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