Grant’s Bachelor Cast Breaks Franchise Tradition In A Surprising Way

For those who live by the Bachelor Nation calendar, a new year hasn’t officially started until many beautifully dressed women step from a limo onto the glossy driveway of Bachelor Mansion — each hoping to secure a rose (and, ultimately, the heart) of the man in front of them.

Grant Ellis’ Bachelor season will premiere on Jan. 27, and it’s sure to be a buzzy one. As Jesse Palmer told Grant at Jenn Tran’s Men Tell All, “Since you were announced as the next Bachelor, there have been over 10,000 new women who have applied to be on the show. And that number every day is going up, and it’s growing.”

Despite the impressive turnout, only so many women got the chance to meet Grant on The Bachelor — 25, to be exact. This already makes Grant’s season stand out in a significant way, as he’s the first lead in seven years (since Arie Luyendyk Jr.’s season) to have less than 30 women vying for his heart.

This sounds like a refreshing change of pace from the notoriously crowded Night 1 at the Bachelor Mansion. Hopefully, it will give Grant and his contestants more time and space to cultivate meaningful connections.

Meet Grant’s Bachelor Cast

From attorneys and models to healthcare professionals, here’s the full lineup of women competing on The Bachelor Season 29:

• Alexe, 27, a pediatric speech therapist from New Brunswick, Canada
• Alli Jo, 30, a boxing trainer from Manalapan, New Jersey
• Allyshia, 29, an interior designer from Tampa, Florida
• Bailey, 27, a social media manager from Atlanta, Georgia
• Beverly, 30, an insurance salesperson from Howard Beach, New York
• Carolina, 28, a public relations producer from Guaynabo, Puerto Rico
• Chloie, 27, a model from New York, New York
• Christina, 26, a marketing director from Fargo, North Dakota
• Dina, 31, an attorney from Chicago, Illinois
• Ella, 25, a luxury travel host from Los Angeles, California
• J’Nae, 28, an account coordinator from Colorado Springs, Colorado
• Juliana, 28, a client service associate from Newton, Massachusetts
• Kelsey, 26, an interior designer from Brooklyn, New York
• Kyleigh, 26, a retail manager from Wilmington, North Carolina
• Litia, 31, a venture capitalist from Salt Lake City, Utah
• Natalie, 25, a Ph.D. student from Louisville, Kentucky
• Neicey, 32, a pediatrician from Blythewood, South Carolina
• Parisa, 29, a pediatric behavior analyst from Birmingham, Michigan
• Radhika, 28, an attorney from New York, New York
• Rebekah, 31, an ICU nurse from Dallas, Texas
• Rose, 27, a registered nurse from Chicago, Illinois
• Sarafiena, 29, an associate media director from New York, New York
• Savannah, 27, a wedding planner from Charlottesville, Virginia
• Vicky, 28, a nightclub server from Las Vegas, Nevada
• Zoe, 27, a tech engineer and model from New York, New York

Grant Teased His Journey

As you can see, Grant’s suitors come from all across the country (and beyond). However, as he shared in an Extra interview before filming, the 31-year-old day trader isn’t worried about finding a match who’s local to his hometown of Houston, Texas.

“I’m pretty mobile. So if she can’t come to Houston, I’m going to go to wherever she is. If she’s in Alaska ... we’re definitely not going to stay in Alaska,” Grant joked, “we’re going to be back and forth. But I want to make her comfortable, and I also want to be comfortable. So we’ll make it happen.”