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EXCLUSIVE | 'The Bachelor' Season 27: Meet the 5 women ready to compete and win Zach Shallcross' heart

The three-hour finale of 'The Bachelorette' offered fans a sneak peek when Zach was introduced with five contestants for his season

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Every ending ushers in a new beginning. And, following one of the most emotional 'The Bachelorette' finales ever,' Bachelor Nation is already moving forward, revealing preparations for Season 27 of 'The Bachelor' on September 20.

The host, Jesse Palmer, revealed Zach Shallcross as the new "The Bachelor" for season 27 at Tuesday night's finale of 'The Bachelorette.' "There's no words, I'm just taking this in right now. I'm obviously really nervous right now but this is once in a lifetime," after the announcement, Zach stated.

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Zach stated that he would like to "find my best friend, fall in love with my best friend, and really walk away with someone for the rest of my life." When asked what Zach had been doing to prepare, the lead stated that he had been taking "time to center myself and figure out what I want and who I am and go out there and find my person. And I also went to the gym a lot." Based on his experience, Zach gave his suitors the following advice: "Let yourself be true, be open — be open to finding love, then it can really happen. I saw it firsthand."

As fans are aware, 26-year-old Anaheim Hills, a California-based software executive, last contended for Rachel Recchia's heart in Season 19 of 'The Bachelorette.' Despite making it to the final three, Zach and Rachel eventually split up after experiencing a shift in their relationship on their Fantasy Suite date, which Zach attributed to Rachel being "very unauthentic." "I really needed to take some time away and reflect and heal that broken heart," Zach said to Jesse. "But really what I learned from that experience was that I didn't change how ready I was. I'm now more ready. That's almost fuel to the fire ."

During the finale of 'The Bachelorette,' Zach also got to meet five of his suitors.

Brooklyn

First up, Brooklyn, 25, who told Zach she wanted him to be the reason she moved back to her hometown of Texas, where he lives. She had already captured the hearts of the fans by cursing on national television. The fact that it was live added to the thrills for the viewers.

Brianna

Then came Brianna, 24, from Jersey City, New Jersey. She marked the occasion by snapping a picture with Zach and gave him the Polaroid. "I literally almost fainted on the way in," she said.

Bailey

Bailey, a 27-year-old executive recruiter, gave Zach a mantra to remember her name: "On the daily, I'm going to be thinking of Bailey." This didn't help when Jesse subsequently asked Zach whether he recalled the names of any of his suitors.

Cat

Cat, a 26-year-old professional dancer from New York City, was the next to meet Zach. She attended the University of South Carolina at the same time as Davia (another contestant) and competed against her for Miss South Carolina in 2018.

Christina Mandrell

Content creator Christina Mandrell, 26, joined Zach for a whiskey shot as she wrapped up. The Tennessee native said that it "tastes like home." According to Reality Steve, Christina does have a relationship with the Mandrell family. Her aunt is the well-known country musician Barbara Mandrell. She has a daughter named Blakely and is a divorcee.

For the first time, viewers at home could vote for their favorite woman to receive America's First Impression Rose. After Zach had met all five females, Jesse revealed that Brianna had won, and Zach gave her his first rose.

Reality Steve also revealed some of the identities of other women who would participate in Zach's season of 'The Bachelor', including Davia Bunch, 26, of Charleston, South Carolina. The digital marketing manager is also a graduate of the University of South Carolina and a former Miss South Carolina. Unfortunately, her mother died in 2013. Her father reportedly remarried that same year. She then moved to Russia on a dancing scholarship and suffered an eating disorder. After coming back, she won the pageant.

Sonia Sharma from Long Island, New York is up next. According to Steve, the soon to be 29 year old attended Hofstra Law School and is now a project manager.

Brianna Thorbourne, 24, of Jersey City, New Jersey, is the next in line. The now-entrepreneur originally participated in Miss Jersey.

A different cat to join this season is 26-year-old Kat Izzo from Tampa, Florida. Reality Steve claims that she graduated from the University of Central Florida and is now a registered nurse.

Madi Johnson, 26, arrives from Fargo, North Dakota to meet Zach. According to Steve, she runs MJM Consulting, a marketing and consulting firm in the medical aesthetic sector. The "sister-mom" anecdote in her Instagram bio is one that fans hope she'll reveal on the show. She also has a TikTok (private) account with a significant following and 2.4 million likes (madi_johnson_1).

Vanessa Esparsen, 25, of Scottsdale, Arizona, will appear on the show, as reported by Steve.

Genevie Mayo, 26, from Baltimore, Maryland, is up next. She is a Towson University graduate and presently works as a NICU nurse.

Then there's Olivia Lewis, 24, from Churchville, New York, and Sloan Clay, 24, from Santa Monica, California. Sloan graduated from the University of Arkansas with a degree in Hospitality and Event Planning. According to Steve, she moved to Hawaii immediately after graduation but has since returned to California.

Holland Parsons, 24, of Boca Raton, Florida, graduated from Clemson University. Currently, she works in insurance sales, marketing, and consulting.

Alyssa (Aly) Jacobs, 26, of Smyrna, Georgia, is a Northwestern St University graduate and current Braves cheerleader.

According to Steve's reports, the show has another Vanessa! V Dinh, 23, is from Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Ariel Frenkel, 28, from New York, NY, and Kaitlyn (Kaity) Biggar, 27, from San Antonio, TX, will also join Zach's season next.

Cara Ammon, 27, from New York City works as a Lateral Recruiter at JP Morgan. In 2017, she graduated from Penn State University.

Gabriella Elnicki, 25, graduated from the University of Mississippi in 2019. She is presently employed as a Senior Account Executive at Calculated Hire.

Anastasia Keramidas, 30, is originally from Baltimore, Maryland, but currently resides in San Diego, California. She is a lifestyle blogger and Mint Mobile's Content Marketing Manager.

30 years old Victoria Jameson from Dallas, Texas, is a professional makeup artist to join the cast.

Kylee Russell is a Wingate University graduate from Charlotte, North Carolina. She is supposedly a Charlotte Hornets NBA dancer.

Charity Lawson, a native of Auburn, Alabama, graduated from Auburn University. She is a Child and Family Therapist intern.

Mercedes Northup graduated from Middle Tennessee State University in Nashville, Tennessee. She is now a BRND Social Media Marketing Intern.

Greer Blitzer, 24, graduated from the University of Mississippi in New York. She works at Insperity as a Business Performance Advisor.

Lekha Ravi, a Miami, Florida native, graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She works as a Senior Investor Relations Associate and also competed in Miss World America in 2019!

Jessica Girod, 23, of Orlando, Florida, graduated from Florida State University in 2021. She is currently employed at Neiman Marcus as a Merchandise Coordinator.

Olivia Miller, 25, from Cincinnati, Ohio, is the final contestant. She was previously crowned USA National Miss 2019. Olivia also participated in Miss Ohio USA in 2022, finishing fourth.

Zach's season of 'The Bachelor' will premiere on ABC on January 23, 2023.