‘Bachelor’ Creator Mike Fleiss Announces Franchise Exit: Details

Replace 3/31/23 at 11 p.m. ET:

Fleiss spoke out within the wake of a Variety report that claimed his exit from the franchise got here on the heels of an investigation into alleged racial discrimination and his on-set habits.

“Since its premiere 21 years in the past, occasions have definitely modified, and I’d need to say we didn’t sustain with the tempo of these adjustments,” Fleiss informed The Hollywood Reporter on Friday, March 31, two days after his announcement that he was leaving the collection. “I’m happy with the work we’ve executed over the previous 5 years to make the present considerably extra numerous, however I do imagine I may have executed extra. Hopefully, the franchise will proceed to maneuver in the precise route.”

In the end, the franchise creator informed THR, he believed he left his submit with “extra good days than unhealthy, lifted extra spirits than damage emotions” and with “extra associates than foe.”

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His remaining rose! Bachelor creator Mike Fleiss introduced he’s leaving the franchise after greater than 20 years.

“At the start, congratulations are to ensure that Zach [Shallcross] and Kaity [Biggar],” Fleiss, 58, informed Variety in a press release on Tuesday, March 28, referring to the season 27 lead, 26, and his fiancée, 27, after their engagement aired on the Monday, March 27, finale. “I want them an extended and completely happy life collectively.”

Fleiss, who launched the ABC collection in 2002, went on to verify his departure as the pinnacle of the relationship present.

“I wish to thank WBTV and ABC for 21 extraordinary years,” he continued. “They’ve discovered the proper artistic workforce for me to entrust The Bachelor franchise and preserve this lightening in a bottle daring and transferring ahead. Let the journey proceed.”

The California native, who created The Bachelorette in 2003 following the Bachelor’s success, beforehand stepped back as executive producer and showrunner of the female-led collection in 2021. (Season 20 of the Bachelorette premieres later this summer time with lead Charity Lawson.)

Shifting ahead, The Bachelor will probably be helmed by showrunners Claire Freeland, Jason Ehrlich and Bennett Graebner, based on Selection.

Forward of his departure, Fleiss made headlines in 2019 for his rocky marriage to Laura Kaeppeler. The Bachelor Winter Video games producer raised eyebrows in July of that yr when Kaeppler, who was pregnant with the couple’s second little one on the time, claimed her husband attacked her at their residence in Hawaii and demanded that she get an abortion.

Whereas Fleiss denied the allegations, the twosome called it quits that same month. Kaeppler ultimately dropped the assault claims she made towards her partner, and their authorized separation was finalized in July 2019.

4 months later, the pair introduced that they made amends and were back together. “Pleased to report that @FleissLaura and I’ve reconciled. I really like my spouse and am grateful for this chance to work on our marriage,” Fleiss wrote by way of Twitter in November 2019. “Thanks for the help, #BachelorNation!”

Fleiss’ marital woes, nevertheless, weren’t his solely actions referred to as into query that yr. In October 2019, former Bachelorette Kaitlyn Bristowe slammed the present’s creator for allegedly blocking her from with the ability to compete on Dancing With the Stars after her 2015 seek for love.

“I’ll let you know precisely why I can’t go on Dancing With the Stars. Anyone that listens to this podcast is aware of why I can not go on Dancing With the Stars,” Bristowe, 37, said during an appearance on the “Talkhouse” podcast. “I’ll say this with a mic in my hand and a smile on my face, that Mike Fleiss is a bit of s—t! He’s the creator of The Bachelor, and he hates girls.”

The “Off the Vine” podcast host claimed that Fleiss allowed “all the Bachelors” to compete on the dance collection however didn’t encourage her to do the identical.

“I used to be bitter for a very long time as a result of dancing was, like, a ardour of mine. Being informed no, simply because somebody desires to say no to you,” Bristowe completely informed Us Weekly in October 2019. “In case you have the choice to crush anyone’s goals or make it occur and also you select to crush their goals simply ‘trigger you’ve, like, a bitterness in direction of them and I’m similar to, ‘What kind of person are you?’”

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Fleiss, for his half, beforehand claimed that he had no issue with the Dew Edit designer going on DWTS. “@kaitlynbristowe has my whole help if she desires to seem on DWTS,” he wrote by way of Twitter in March 2017. Bristowe ultimately competed on season 29 of DWTS and won the coveted mirrorball trophy in November 2020.