Fans of “The Bachelor” know the typical type of girls selected to be on the show: thin, tall, beautiful hair and most likely, white. Even if there is some racial diversity on the show, they are rarely the ones who make it far enough to be remembered by fans.

Jimmy Kimmel announced Rachel Lindsey as the next Bachelorette on Feb. 13, making her the first African American lead the franchise has seen. This news came as an early surprise to fans because Lindsey is still a contestant on the current season of “The Bachelor.”

Lindsey is one of four remaining girls vying for Nick’s heart, but it’s safe to say that she must not be the one to win it.

In its 15 years of airing, neither “The Bachelor” nor “The Bachelorette” has had an African American lead. This has been criticized by many celebrities including Whoopi Goldberg.

“I think the executives feel that if there was a black Bachelor, if there was a female Bachelorette who was black, the numbers would not support—the ratings (would be bad),” Goldberg said.

Lindsey is a 31-year-old lawyer from Dallas, Texas, who was a standout from night one, impressing viewers with her humility and poise.

“For some crazy reason, I just got the first impression rose,” Lindsey said, “and there are no words.”

Fans of the show know that getting that first impression rose was important in her path to finding love on the show but that clearly doesn’t work out. Now that she has been announced as the next Bachelorette, former stars of the show have been showing their support on Twitter.

“But seriously CAN NOT WAIT!!!” Carly Waddell said in reference to an article about the announcement.

Former Bachelor Ben Higgins and his fiancee Lauren Bushnell have been tweeting about the show each week and showing support to several girls, including Rachel.

“…congratulations! Know @LaurenBushnell3 and I will be wishing (and watching) you the best!” Higgins said.

With all of this added pressure of being well liked as well as the first African American lead, “Good Morning America” asked Lindsey if she felt nervous about the upcoming season. She said that she only felt honored and hoped that she would gain the support of Bachelor nation just as Nick had.
“Even though I’m an African American woman, it’s not different from any other Bachelorette,” Lindsey said.