Who Is ABC’s Next ‘Bachelor’? Everything to Know About Zach Shallcross (2024)

Though Season 19 of The Bachelorette came to an end on Monday night, Season 27 of The Bachelor is just beginning.

After Rachel Recchia and Gabby Windey’s Bachelorette finale, host Jesse Palmer kicked off After The Final Rose by announcing that Season 19 contestant Zach Shallcross would be ABC’s newest Bachelor lead.

“What I learned from that experience was that it didn’t change how ready I was,” Shallcross, who was one of Recchia’s final men, told Palmer during the live taping. “I am now more ready — that’s almost fuel to the fire. I’m ready to find my person. My best friend.”

Before Shallcross stands outside the Bachelor Mansion, let’s get to know him a bit better. If you’re wondering why Zach and Rachel broke up, who his famous uncle is, how to follow him on social media, or what his interests, occupation, and zodiac sign are, look no further. We even know who got his first impression rose.

Here’s everything you need to know about Zach Shallcross, America’s next bachelor.

Why Did Zach Shallcross and Rachel Recchia Break Up?

Before we talk about Shallcross as the bachelor, let’s discuss how he got the gig. For those who weren’t watching, Shallcross was one of Recchia’s three final men. He made it to Fantasy Suites week, and it looked like he could be the one proposing at the end of the season, but after their time alone together, Shallcross was torn up about a conversation he and Recchia shared while the cameras weren’t rolling.

During Part 1 of The Bachelorette finale, viewers watched Shallcross pull Recchia away from a rose ceremony and excuse himself from the show. While he and Rechhia didn’t part on the best note in Mexico, they eventually cleared the air in the studio and gave viewers some insight into their relationship’s demise.

According to Shallcross, Recchia questioned whether or not he was really ready — at age 25 — to get engaged. This upset him, because Recchia was 26, and wasn’t even a full year older than him. Even if the age concerns weren’t brought up, the two likely would have hit a bump in the road pre-finale. They both agreed that their time off-camera in the Fantasy Suite was super awkward. Shallcross said they felt like strangers, and Recchia admitted she didn’t know if she could see herself getting engaged to him before the end of the show. Recchia got engaged to Tino Franco in the finale, but she called the relationship off after he reportedly cheated on her. And now Shallcross is starting his own televised journey to find love.

Zach Shallcross’ Age, Job, Height, Hometown, Education, and Zodiac Sign

As we know from Shallcross’ Bachelorette bio, he’s a tech executive from Anaheim Hills, California. Per LinkedIn, he’s a senior cloud technology account executive at a company called Oracle, in Austin, Texas. Shallcross graduated from California Polytechnic State University in 2019 with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. His 2018 Cal Poly football bio also reveals that he’s 6 foot 4 inches, and his birthday is July 31, 1996. That means he’s currently 26 years old (not 25 like his Bachelorette bio states) and also a Leo. You’re welcome!

Zach Shallcross’ Family (Including Uncle Pat)

Shallcross’ football bio notes he’s the son of Chapman and Megan Shallcross and has two sisters, Sammy and Payton. It also…says he “claims to be a descendant of Abraham Lincoln.” Yes, really. No, we don’t know what to do with that.

We met some of Shallcross’ family members during his hometown date with Recchia, and one relative in particular stood out: Uncle Pat. If Shallcross’ uncle looked or sounded familiar it’s because he’s…actor Patrick Warburton!

As noted in a previous article, Warburton has been racking up credits onhis IMDb pagesince 1986. He’s best known for his role as David Puddy onSeinfeld, and he’s also starred in The Tick, Less Than Perfect, Rules of Engagement, A Series of Unfortunate Events, and Netflix’s Space Force. He’s also known for voice work as Kronk on The Emperor’s New Groove, Steve Barkin on Kim Possible, Brock Samson on The Venture Bros., Joe Swanson on Family Guy, and more. You can follow Uncle Pat on Instagram and Twitter ahead of The Bachelor. And here’s hoping we see more of him on his nephew’s season.

What are Zach Shallcross’ Interests and Hobbies?

While we hope Shallcross has developed new interests and hobbies since 2018, his old football bio says he “enjoys going to the beach and listening to music.” It also notes he “played guitar in a rock band for two years” and “mixes and produces music under the name of Verzacky.” Is this your Soundcloud, Zach?

Per his Bachelorette bio, we also know the next Bachelor lead “loves his mama, his dogs and football,” would love to be Spiderman for a day, and loves beach volleyball. Two things Shallcross doesn’t love? Breakfast and eggs.

How To Follow Zach Shallcross on Social Media

You can follow the next Bachelor lead on Instagram @zachshall, where he currently has 48,200 followers. He appears to have a Twitter account under the same handle with 302 followers and a bio that reads “howdy,” but his tweets are protected so only approved followers can see them.

Who Got Zach Shallcross’ First Impression Rose? Meet Brianna Thorbourne

DuringThe Bachelorette‘sAfter The Final Rose episode, Palmer informed Shallcross that he’d be meeting his first five ladies on stage that evening, and that America would decide who got his First Impression Rose thanks to a new texting initiative. Shallcross met contestants Brooklyn Willie, Brianna Thorbourne, Bailey Brown, Catherine “Cat” Wong, and Christina Mandrell. After the meet and greets, America dubbed Thorbourne worthy of a rose, which means she’s automatically safe the first night of filming in the mansion.

So who is Thorbourne? According to her intro, she’s a 24-year-old entrepreneur from Jersey City, New Jersey, who owns a Polaroid camera. We know that last part because she made her first impression of Shallcross by taking a Polaroid selfie of the two and slipping it into his suit pocket as a keepsake. Smooth, Brianna. Real smooth.