After "The Final Rose" live special on Monday, March 14, JoJo Fletcher was announced as the new Bachelorette for season 12. Fletcher is Ben Higgins’ runner-up. On the Bachelor finale, he broke up with her and instead proposed to Lauren Bushnell. Fletcher appeared devastated after getting dumped, but that was taped in November and she is now ready to start her new journey.
"It's overwhelming," she said as the audience applauded her. "It's so weird! It's crazy. ... I am so excited."
Although Caila Quinn was slated to be the lead on the upcoming season of the hit show, it was never confirmed even though she was already spotted filming in her Ohio hometown. Quinn was was the third-to-last girl left who tried to win Higgin's heart.
The official announcement that the 24-year-old real estate developer from Texas will be the 2016 Bachelorette for season 12 came from the show's host, Chris Harrison, after Fletcher had the chance to confront Higgins over their failed relationship.
The 27-year-old Bachelor broke Fletcher's heart by telling her that although he loves her, his heart is with Bushnell.
"I came into this not knowing if I was gonna find love. I didn't know if this would be real... but with you it was real, always," he told her in their tearful goodbye. "I found it with you but I found it with somebody else more."
Fletcher follows in the footsteps of Kaitlyn Bristowe (season 11), Andi Dorfman (season 10) and Desiree Hartsock (season 9).
Surprise! The next #TheBachelorette is @JoelleFletcher: https://t.co/MUKQitdn9g #TheBachelor pic.twitter.com/uHDXY8HDB0
— Glamour (@glamourmag) March 15, 2016
