Maria Georgas' Bachelorette campaign began long before she was eliminated from Joey Graziadei's season of The Bachelor . So fans were surprised when the 29-year-old wasn't named the next lead in Joey's After the Final Rose special on March 25, especially since she was rumored to be the Top contender for a position.
During a May 1 appearance on Alex Cooper's Call Her Daddy podcast, Mariah revealed her upcoming casting, confirming that she's not just a contender, but a real one competitor. "I was asked to do this role. I mean, it was mine until I said it wasn't," she said, adding that she even got to the stage of doing fittings for her Bachelorette debut. "It's set in stone," she said. "This is how I am."
So what happened?
Mariah isn't happy with The Bachelorette
Mariah pointed to her friendship with Jenn Tran, who was named the next Bachelorette, as a key factor in the show's success. "She was one of the closest girls in the family and she always said how much she wanted this," Maria recalls. "When everyone around me is so supportive of me being in this position...I'm kind of hesitant, like, why am I not happy? Why am I not excited about this?"
She realizes that it's not her time yet and she's not in the "right mind" to continue her journey. She said that while Mariah's season of The Bachelorette "would be great," she would rather go home and spend time with friends and family and get back to reality.
Mariah also reiterated her praise for Jenn's casting, echoing her shout-out in The Final Rose when she told her friends how "amazing" she was. "She's the perfect bachelorette in my eyes," she said on "Call Her Daddy." "I can't think of anyone better than her to do this, and she's ready for it. That's enough for me to say, this is not my time. "
Why did Maria say no thank you?
When asked why, the Bachelor Canada alum explained that she was "very anxious" throughout Joey's season and wasn't ready to give up any level of freedom for another fast-paced production.
"It was so isolating to be there... I was uncomfortable having to be there by myself," she said. "I wasn't mentally prepared."
Mariah also used her podcast to counter criticism from Bachelor Nation alum Wells Adams, who shared rumors on his podcast that Mariah "asked too much" of producers and lost the opportunity. (He said, "That's stupid... You're not going to be cared about here any time soon, you know? I think you're going to miss that.")
"At the end of the day, I have to do what's best for me," Maria said. "It's so frustrating to hear someone who understands this process... say something like that. Like, shut the fuck up. Like, you don't know me."
