The Youngest 'Bachelorette' Will Surprise You

Now that The Bachelor is beginning to wrap up — we only have the Women Tell All episode and the finale left! — Bachelor Nation is looking toward the leading lady who will set out on her own journey to find love on The Bachelorette. Everyone may have their picks for who The Bachelorette should be, but it seems Caila is a frontrunner for the position. At 24 years old, Caila would be the youngest Bachelorette in the history of the show (that is, of course, if she's chosen) but who currently holds the record for youngest Bachelorette?

That would be Season 6's Ali Fedotowsky, who was 25 when she set out to find love on reality television as ABC's The Bachelorette. Aside from Fedotowsky, the other leading ladies have been between the ages of 26-31, with 27 the average age of Bachelorettes according to A Dash of Data. At the end of her season, Fedotowsky chose Roberto Martinez, who was a year older than her at 26 — which is the norm for The Bachelorette. According to the numbers crunched by A Dash of Data, "the average Bachelorette tends to choose someone who is 1 year older than herself." So who are the other youngest Bachelorettes? There's a four-way tie for that honor and I've rounded them up here for you.

DeAnna Pappas, Season 4

Pappas was 26 during her season and she ended up going against the average and choosing 25-year-old Jesse Csinscak. However, the two broke up in 2008.

Ashley Hebert, Season 7

Also 26 during her time on The Bachelorette, Hebert chose 34-year-old J.P. Rosenbaum as the recipient of her final rose. According to Hebert's Twitter account, the two are still together and living happily ever after post-Bachelorette.

Emily Maynard, Season 8

As with the other ladies on this list, Maynard was 26 when she appeared on The Bachelorette, and she chose the 27-year-old Jef Holm, though the two have since called it quits.

Andi Dorfman, Season 10

The final 26-year-old Bachelorette is Dorfman, who ended up choosing the closer-in-age Josh Murray (29) over the 33-year-old Nick Viall. However, Dorfman and Murray couldn't make things work and split.

So, if there's one thing to glean from The Bachelorette's youngest leading ladies, it's that age may not particularly matter in finding love! Caila could be the youngest Bachelorette and she may find happiness, or she may not, but it probably won't be dependent on her age — or the age of whoever the next Bachelorette will be.

Images: Craig Sjodin/ABC