California cutie Austin Ott may be gone from our television screens, but he will never be forgotten within Bachelor Nation. After all, his superior sense of humor and his good looks made him the total package!
Nonetheless, for those who are unfamiliar with his journey on The Bachelorette season 21, after failing to receive some alone time with leading lady Jenn Tran — being one of three men (alongside Dylan Buckor and Jeremy Simon) who had yet to receive a one-on-one date by episode 5 — Austin felt as though he was falling behind, questioning whether or not he could reach the point of proposing to Jenn come finale night. After realizing some of the other men were better suited to pop the question to the New Jersey native, Austin took it upon himself to self-eliminate from the show, ultimately breaking the hearts of Bachelor Nation with his untimely departure.
While his story seemingly ended there, the plot thickened yesterday, Aug. 8, as the 28-year-old took to social media to spill the real reason why he left the show. “There’s something that ABC did not show,” he admitted to his nearly 100k followers.
“So I’ve been getting tons of questions this week about why I left The Bachelorette so early, and to be honest, there’s something that ABC did not show, so I’m here to clear the air and break it down for you guys,” he teased in a TikTok video, before inserting a previously-used clip in which he performed the viral dance to Charli XCX’s “Apple” that has been trending all over the platform.
Obviously his prank worked, amassing 300k views in less than 24 hours, as well as dozens and dozens of comments from Bachelor and Bachelorette fans who fell for the joke:
“I was like ‘Ok teaaaa’ 🤣 You play too much”
“I paused Love Island for the tea 🤣”
“You’re so unserious 🤣 I love it 💀”
Even Bachelor Nation got a piece of all the action, with Bachelor season 28 winner Kelsey Anderson commenting “Got me,” as well as recently eliminated Bachelorette season 21 contestant Dylan Buckor, who commented, “Never let them know your next move 🤫”
In a turn of events, other Bachelor and Bachelorette fans took to the comment section of the post to advocate for Austin to be the next lead, and we are not complaining whatsoever. Given how attractive he is, we have been yearning for his picture-perfect face to return to our television screens ASAP!
“No bc I actually need you to be the Bachelor”
“Sir please be the Bachelor”
“Austin for Bachelor 2025 🥹🗣️”
Will Austin become the lead of The Bachelor season 29, or at least make an appearance on Bachelor in Paradise next summer? While we will just have to wait and see, to find out for yourself who Jenn picks at the end of The Bachelorette season 21, catch brand new episodes every Monday on ABC.
While a majority of her seven remaining suitors — Devin Strader, Jonathon Johnson, Grant Ellis, Spencer Conley, Jeremy Simon, Sam McKinney, or Marcus Shoberg — are seemingly husband material, we cannot help but hope that Marcus is the one who pops the question. Well, at least anyone but Sam…