It’s the most wonderful time of the year: no, not the holidays, but the announcement of the new contestants we’ll be seeing on the next season of The Bachelor — and things are already shaping up to be especially interesting.
Of the 29 contestants we’ll be seeing compete to win over Arie Luyendyk Jr.’s heart, fans are already taking note of one, who may actually be the youngest-ever contestant on the show. Bekah (Rebekah) Martinez, a nanny from Los Angeles, is the only Season 22 contestant whose age was not released with her name and headshot. Instead, her age is simply listed as “N/A.” So what gives?
According to Reality Steve, Bekah is actually 22 years old and a UC Irvine student majoring in art. Some sleuthing done by Elite Daily seems to confirm this — as her Instagram would indicate, she celebrated her 21st in February of last year. It’s unclear why The Bachelor‘s producers (or Bekah herself) would have opted to keep mum about her age, but considering she’s a full 14 years younger than Luyendyk, it’s possible that they were worried about facing backlash for the age gap.
In any case, regardless of her age, it’s pretty clear already that Bekah (not to be confused with another Season 22 contestant Becca, a 27-year-old publicist from Minneapolis), is going to be one to watch. Reality Steve is hinting that she’s “very outspoken,” and will likely be the Corinne of Arie’s season — apparently, the producers already told the audience to “boo” her on a group date, meaning there’s definitely some drama brewing.
Stay tuned for when our fave show comes back on January 1, 2018.