In a somewhat surprising announcement, after Joie handed out the final rose, ABC named Jennifer Tran the next Bachelorette.
The Vietnamese American placed sixth in the latest Bachelor episode. She is bilingual and a physician assistant from Miami. Host Jesse Palmer described her as intelligent, fun and super kind.
“Just yesterday, I was in an emergency room in my scrubs working and here I am in stilettos and this little gown,” she said shortly after the announcement.
She wasted no time declaring her ultimate goal appearing on the program.
“I hope I have a ring on this finger,” she said, Parade reported. “I hope that I find my person, someone that I truly feel like is 100 percent my perfect match. Someone who I’m compatible with…I think I’ll know when I find him.”
She is the first Asian American Bachelorette since the Bachelor premiered 22 years ago.
“Growing up, I’ve always wanted to see Asian representation on TV. And I feel like it was really sparse. Any time Asians were in the media, it was to fill a supporting character role, to fulfill some sort of stereotype, and I felt really boxed in by that because I was like, ‘I don’t see myself on screen. I don’t see myself as a main character.'”
The Bachelorette will return this summer on ABC and Hulu.
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