Is Clare Crawley the Oldest ‘Bachelorette’? All of the Ages of Past Leads (PHOTOS)
Hannah Brown
The Alabama native was the youngest lead the franchise has ever had. She served as the Season 15 star when she was just 24 years old.
JoJo Fletcher
The house-flipper found her happily ever after with Jordan Rodgers at age 25 in Season 12.
Ali Fedotowsky
The Season 6 beauty was just 25 years old when she took the driver’s seat on ABC.
Emily Maynard
The Southern belle was 26 when she became the Season 8 lead.
Ashley Hebert
Ashley Hebert, now Ashley Rosenbaum, was 26 when she gave her final rose to now-husband J.P. Rosenbaum in Season 7.
Andi Dorfman
The former district attorney was 27 years old when she handed out the roses in Season 10.
Desiree Hartsock
The bridal stylist was 27 when she met and fell in love with her now-husband Chris Siegfried in Season 9.
DeAnna
Pappas Stagliano
The former real estate agent was also 27 years old when she was given the chance to find love in Season 4.
Becca Kufrin
The Season 14 lead was 28 years old when she became The Bachelorette.
Jen Schefft
Jen was 28 when she took on the role as Season 3 lead. This came just over a year after she broke off her engagement to Bachelor Andrew Firestone.
Kaitlyn Bristowe
The Season 11 Bachelorette was 29 years old.
Jillian Harris
The brunette beauty was also 29 when she served as the Season 5 lead.
Meredith Phillips
The Season 2 star, who was runner-up on Bob Guiney’s fourth season of The Bachelor, was 29 when she was chosen and turned 30 during filming.
Trista Sutter
The very first Bachelorette was 30 years old when she handed out the roses.
Rachel Lindsay
The first woman of color to hand out the roses was also one ABC’s older leads. Rachel was 32 during Season 13.
Clare Crawley
The hairstylist is currently 38 years old, but will turn 39 by the time she starts handing out the roses this season, making her the oldest Bachelorette the franchise has ever had.
Well, it’s official, Clare Crawley is the new Bachelorette. The hairstylist was announced as the Season 16 lead on Good Morning America on Monday, and she seems eager to finally get her happy ending after several failed attempts on the ABC franchise.
“This is about me now,” she said of her upcoming journey. “I’m ready for it.”
During the interview segment, the 38-year-old addressed her age, which is significantly older than the typical Bachelor contestant of late. “I feel like a lot of people put it out there as this negative thing. For me, it’s just more years under my belt. More years learning and knowing what I want and what I won’t settle for,” she said.
Now, with an older lead in the driver’s seat for the upcoming season, fans are left wondering: Is Clare the oldest Bachelorette we’ve ever had? Click through the gallery to see the ages of all former leads when they handed out the roses in order from youngest to oldest.
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