ABC's "The Bachelor: The Women Tell All" special featured a surprise proposal, but it didn't involve Neil Lane's engagement ring. After filming wrapped, host Jesse Palmer set a new precedent for The Bachelorette series by having Zach Shallcross' ex Charity Lawson Lawson surprised her backstage by inviting her to be the new Bachelorette for Season 20. Pretending they were filming a promo for "This" or in the "games section" of the show's social media accounts, Jesse ended up giving the prompt, " Bachelor in Paradise or Bachelorette ?" Charity, still not sure what was going to happen, replied, "Oh my God." Let’s just say The Bachelorette . "
She finally caught on just in time after Jesse dropped some not-so-subtle hints and announced, "I want you to be our next Bachelorette." The 27-year-old child and family therapist initially refused to believe the suggestion , but ultimately gave the answer: "Yes! Absolutely! 100%, like, absolutely. Wait, I'm going to cry. I'm shaking right now."
Charity also shared the good news with her parents on speakerphone, and she slowly began to think about all the changes that were about to happen in her life. "I had been waiting to find the love of my life, and to my shock I was able to meet my love, get engaged, and live happily ever after," she explained in an interview on the March 14 episode of the show. "I have a lot of emotions. I'm really happy and grateful and I'm ready to get engaged to the right person."
At the same time, Charity has not forgotten that she is now only the fourth black lead character in 20 seasons. "I can't wait to show little girls like me that it's possible to be in a position like this," she added. “I know I’m going to make a lot of people proud.”
As she prepares to find love, here's everything to know about Charity's season of The Bachelorette .
The Bachelorette Season 20 Premiere Date
The Women Tell All special was taped on February 24, and Charity began filming her season on the weekend of March 18. Ahead of Zach's The Bachelor finale, ABC announced that Chatiti will debut in a new time slot on Monday, June 26, 2023. The new season will air Mondays at 9-11pm ET.
The Bachelorette Season 20 Cast
In her first interview as the new Bachelorette on the March 16 episode of "Good Morning America ," Charity revealed the qualities she's looking for in a future husband. "I do look for someone who is compassionate, someone who is very kind and treats other people well. I think, for me, that's something that I value and that's something that I have in myself, so I want my Partners can have something like this,” she explains. "Also, I love to laugh and have a good time, so a sense of humor, I think that's important. So, anyone who can come up with a good joke or two is a winner."
On June 1, ABC announced the official cast, releasing the photos, names, ages and hometowns of the 25 men who will compete in the charity Bachelorette season.
Aaron B.
Aaron B. is a 29-year-old software salesman from San Diego, California.
Aaron S.
Aaron S., 33, is a firefighter from San Diego.
Adrian
Adrian, 33, is a real estate agent from Northridge, California.
Braden
Brayden is a 24-year-old travel nurse from San Diego.
Caleb A.
Caleb A., 29, is a resident physician from Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Caleb B.
Caleb B., 24, is a professional wrestler from Orlando, Florida.
Christopher "Chris"
Chris is a 27-year-old high jumper from White Plains, New York, who holds two Guinness World Records.
Duotun
Dotun is a 30-year-old integrative medicine specialist from Brooklyn, New York.
james
James, 28, is an attorney from Chicago, Illinois.
Joe
Joe is a 32-year-old Director of Technical Operations from San Francisco, California.
Joseph "Joy"
Joey is a 27-year-old professional tennis player from Lawai, Hawaii.
John
John, 27, is a data scientist from New York, NY
john henry
John Henry is a 30-year-old underwater welder from Virginia Beach.
Josh
Josh, 28, is a graduate student at Harvard University from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
Caleb K.
Kaleb, 26, is a construction salesman from Norcross, Georgia.
Ahmed Khalid "Khalid"
Khalid is a 28-year-old technology recruiter from Dearborn, Michigan.
Michael
Michael, 28, is a yacht captain from Chicago.
Nicholas "Nick"
Nick, 32, is a human resources executive in Bayonne, New Jersey.
peter
Peter is a 33-year-old airline pilot from New York City.
Sean
Sean is a 25-year-old software sales representative from Tampa, Florida.
spencer
Spencer, 32, is a medical sales director from Moorpark, Calif.
cobbler
Tanner is a 30-year-old mortgage lender from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Taylor
Taylor, 32, is a loan officer in Springboro, Ohio.
warwick
Warrick, 27, is a construction manager in Nashville, Tennessee.
Xavier
Xavier is a 27-year-old biomedical scientist from Carrboro, North Carolina.
The Bachelorette Season 20 Filming Locations
Although Charity explained on GMA that she doesn't have "a lot of say" in where the filming takes place, she's "kind of given away" some of the destinations she hopes to visit. "Greece is one of them, so we're going to make it public and hopefully we can go there," she shared. "But I'm open to anything. I think with the right person, any date can be fun."
What types of dating are prohibited? "I don't like swimming with sharks in a cage. . . . No, that didn't happen," Charity joked. "But other than that, I'm ready."
The Bachelorette Season 20 Trailer
The official trailer will be released closer to The Bachelorette's June 26 premiere date, but ABC did release a brief promotional video teasing that Charity's "reign" is about to begin.
The network also debuted the first night of filming for "Charity" during the March 27 live finale of "The Bachelor " and the "After the Final Rose" special. As the first limo pulls up to the Bachelor Mansion, Jesse reveals the man she wants to meet is someone she already knows and has a history with: her "undercover brother" Nehemiah, who 's mission involves dressing up in disguise to find out if his sister's contestant is there for the right reasons.
This article will be updated as more details are announced for The Bachelorette Season 20 .
