Former Bachelor Contestant to Return & Compete For Matt James

Matt James is a new face who will be the first lead of The Bachelor in 13 years who didn’t previously appear on The Bachelorette. But the season won’t be completely made up of strangers. According to spoilers expert Reality Steve, a former contestant will show up to compete for Matt’s heart.

Reality Steve hasn’t yet revealed the identity of the mystery woman, but did say that she was a contestant during one of the last three seasons of The Bachelor.

While a few obvious candidates can be ruled out (Tayshia Adams, Lauren Luyendyk, Krystal Nielsen, Kelley Flanagan, and Bekah Martinez, to name a few), there’s still dozens of women who are potential candidates.

In November, Reality Steve reported that Hannah Brown was on the set of The Bachelor, but he confirmed that she wasn’t there to be a contestant. That feels obvious considering her prior relationship with Matt’s best friend, Tyler Cameron, and the fact that Hannah has referred to Matt as her “BFF.” Hannah will likely make a quick appearance to help with a group date, something Bachelor Nation alumni do frequently.

The Mystery Woman Won’t Be the First Bachelor/Bachelorette Returnee

We’ll have to wait and see if the woman has any luck crashing an already crowded group of contestants on Matt’s season. Previous returnees have had mixed results at getting a shot at love on a second try.

When Chris Bukowski, a final four contestant on season eight of The Bachelorette, tried to join the cast on season 10, he was turned away by Andi Dorfman who didn’t want another man added to the mix. Nick Viall, on the other hand, returned for season 11 of The Bachelorette after finishing as the runner-up on season 10.

During season 20 of The Bachelor, two contestants from season 19 — Becca Tilley and Amber James — both returned.

Most recently, Hannah Brown seemed to legitimately consider the possibility of joining Peter Weber’s cast of women on season 24 of The Bachelor. After a lengthy conversation that included Peter asking Hannah if she’d be interested in being a contestant, the pair agreed that it was best they go their separate ways.

Matt James’ Season Will Be Filmed in a Bubble

This season of The Bachelorette has looked pretty different as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead of extravagant dates in incredible places all over the globe, the group of men competing for Clare Crawley and Tayshia Adams have been sequestered at La Quinta Resort & Club in Palm Springs, California.

Matt James’ season will be similar, even if it’s a change of scenery. The Bachelor was filmed at the Nemacolin Woodlands Resort in Farmington, Pennsylvania beginning in September.

The timeline and location are just about the only clues Bachelor Nation have for now. That has led some to believe the woman could be Maurissa Gunn. She was eliminated night one of Peter’s season and recently disappeared from social media for most of September and October.

One other possibility is Alexa Caves, another woman eliminated early on Peter’s season, who joked she “picked the wrong season” when Matt was announced as The Bachelor.

READ NEXT: Former Bachelor Winner Announces Pregnancy