The real reason Maria Georgas turned down being the next Bachelorette

With news that the new season of The Bachelorette is set to release in July 2024, Bachelor Nation is more than ready to enjoy all the romance that is expected to be on the way this summer.

Before fans can enjoy the new season, they have a few questions about what's to come. Most notably, why does it seem as though the Bachelorette lead was a last-minute decision rather than a first option? Well, the answer to that question is because Jenn Tran actually wasn't the first choice. Rather it was Maria Georgas. But now this begs the overall main question many have — why did Maria turn down being the next Bachelorette? We're super excited for Jenn to be the leading lady, but we can't help but be curious as to what happened behind the scenes.

Fortunately for us, we may have finally received an answer to this burning question.

Maria Georgas didn't feel right being the next lead

Maria recently sat down with the beloved podcast Call Her Daddy to discuss many things about her current life. One of those things included why she declined to be the next lead for The Bachelorette and what this could possibly mean for other potential leads going forward.

Maria confirmed that she was, indeed, the first choice for the next lead. However, her anxieties and past experiences made her decide not to follow that path.

"When everyone around me was so supportive of me in this position and everyone wanted this for me, I kind of took a second and I'm like, 'Why am I not happy? Why am I not excited about this?' And it took me realizing that it's just not my time," Maria expressed. "Respectfully, I just need to decline."

Maria continued to say that she didn't want to "waste anyone's time," especially the guys who would be lining up, vying for her love.

In the end, she didn't want her lukewarm feelings to affect the flow of the show.

Maria thinks Jenn Tran is the perfect choice

Another aspect that aided in Maria's decision was the fact that Jenn really wanted the position. Being the good friend that she is, Maria thought it best to hand it over to her friend who was very passionate about being the Bachelorette lead.

"I also wanted Jenn to have her moment. She is the most perfect Bachelorette in my eyes. I couldn't think of anyone better to do this," Maria stated. "She was so ready for it and that was enough for me to kind of say, 'Yeah, this is not my time.'"

Finally, Maria opened up about being very anxious about what was to come because, even though she had time to recollect herself after her debut Bachelor season, she just couldn't shake that scary feeling of nervousness. A feeling that Jenn didn't have.

"I was so anxious throughout the whole thing," Maria lamented. "It's so isolating being in there and having to be alone in that. I wasn't comfortable. I wasn't mentally prepared for it."

You can see this moment in the Call Her Daddy podcast here.

No matter who is the Bachelorette, we're glad to see such an amazing group of women come together to support each other so beautifully. We can't wait to see Jenn, the first Asian American lead, fall in love this summer!

Listen to Maria's full Call Her Daddy interview on Spotify or any major podcast streaming service.