The Bachelorette season 21 lead is not who fans were expecting

Heading into The Bachelor finale, there were a lot of questions on the minds of fans. Of course, all eyes were on Joey and his final two women, but in the back of Bachelor Nation's mind, the burning question we all wanted an answer to was the identity of who ABC would be tapped to lead the next season of The Bachelorette.

There were so many amazing women this season and thus an amazing number of candidates for ABC to choose from to lead the next season. Over the course of The Bachelor's run, there were many frontrunners but it's safe to say that there were two particular women who fans were hoping might be tapped to lead the next season: Maria Georgas and Daisy Kent.

Maria was a favorite all season among fans who praised Maria as being a true girl's girl, always sticking up for other women and never putting their relationships with Joey down when discussing her struggles with the process. Then there was Daisy, many fans were eager to see Daisy get a second chance at love when we discovered she was not who Joey ended up with. Fans adored Daisy all season long and fans fell even harder for her in the season finale for the way in which she handled herself.

Between the two women, we knew we'd be in store for an amazing lead as both would make an phenomenal choice to lead season 21 of The Bachelorette. Still, we have to admit that we weren't quite prepared for how ABC announced the news of the next Bachelorette

Daisy Kent is not the next Bachelorette

During The Bachelor finale, ABC brought Daisy Kent out and seemed to hint that she was about to be named the next lead of The Bachelorette. However, that was not the case and the moment was a bit of a misdirect.

When Daisy was called out to rejoin Jesse Palmer, he asked about what was going to be next in her journey after The Bachelor, and Daisy confirmed that she was not going to be leading the next season of The Bachelorette. As Daisy told Jesse, she's finally reached a place in her life where she feels happy and healthy and is not in a place to step back into the spotlight as the lead of the next season.

"I'm healthy and I'm happy and I haven't had those two things in a really long time. Right now is a time for me to focus on the things I love and the people I love. Right now, no, I'm not ready and that's okay. I'm really proud of myself for realizing that," Daisy told Jesse as she confirmed she would not be leading the next season of The Bachelorette.

Our next Bachelorette is not Maria Georgas

When it was announced that Daisy was not the next Bachelorette, everyone thought it was going to be Maria Georgas who ABC would tap as the next lead and honestly that's what many fans thought. Maria had been a favorite all season long and many anticipated that she might be tapped as the lead if Daisy didn't lead the franchise.

As Charity Lawson joined Jesse Palmer on finale night to announce the next Bachelorette, many thought she was about to bring Maria out as we had seen Maria in the audience mic'd up early in the episode. Twitter was ready for Maria to be announced as the next Bachelorette but that was not in the cards as Maria won't be leading the show!

Jenn Tran makes Bachelorette history as lead of Season 21

So if Maria and Daisy aren't our Bachelorette, who is leading season 21? That would be Daisy and Maria's fellow season 28 contestant Jenn Tran who will be the next Bachelorette! Jenn makes Bachelorette history as the first Asian American lead in the show's history and that representation is something Jenn is very grateful to have the chance to provide viewers at home.

“It’s honestly incredible and I feel so, so grateful and honored to be the first Asian Bachelorette in this franchise. Growing up, I’ve always wanted to see Asian representation on TV. I feel like it was really sparse. Any time Asians were in the media it was to fill supporting character roles or stereotypes," Jenn said of the opportunity to lead The Bachelorette. "I always felt boxed in by that as I didn’t see myself as a main character. Now to be in this position, I am going to be the main character in my love story, I can’t help but think how many people I’m inspiring.”

While we don't yet know when Jen's season of The Bachelorette will premiere, we're so excited to get to see Jenn step into the spotlight and begin her search for love! Jenn was so amazing during Joey's season of The Bachelor and we're sure to be in for an amazing new season when The Bachelorette season 21 finally arrives on ABC later this year!