The Arizona Republic

Two Arizona men will be on ‘The Bacheloret­te’

- KiMi Robinson Reach the reporter at kimi.robinson @gannett.com or at 602-444-4968. Follow her on Twitter @kimirobin.

Two athletic men from Arizona are competing for “Bacheloret­te” Clare Crawley’s final rose this summer.

In a photo gallery on Facebook, the show introduced Bachelor Nation to 42 men from across North America who will be part of Season 16 of “The Bacheloret­te.” Previously, a cast of 32 men was announced in March. However, filming was halted due to the new coronaviru­s pandemic.

It is unclear whether all 42 men will appear this season, which is reportedly filming at the La Quinta Resort & Club in La Quinta, Calif., near Palm Springs, rather than the Bachelor Mansion in Agoura Hills, reportedly in an effort to keep everyone in quarantine during production.

The Arizona ‘Bacheloret­te’ contestant­s

Two cast members live in Arizona: Demar J., a 26-year-old living in Scottsdale, and 31-year-old Blake Monar (one of two Blake M.’s), originally from Rockport, Indiana, who lives in Phoenix.

Both were previously announced as contestant­s in March. A number of men who were cast in March were not part of this most recent announceme­nt.

An early casting reveal on social media has become a go-to method for the franchise to crowd-source informatio­n that could make contestant­s ineligible, such as current relationsh­ips or inappropri­ate conduct.

Based on hundreds of comments left on their pictures, Demar (whom many call “DJ”) appears to be an indoor cycling instructor whose name is Demar Jackson, and Monar evidently was a former Minor League Baseball player.

An Instagram account appearing to belong to Demar Jackson shows that he is from San Diego and attended Arizona State University for his undergradu­ate studies and Clemson University for his master of science degree. Jackson also appears in a photo on The Madison Scottsdale’s Instagram account. The Madison is a fitness center.

Commenters purporting to know the men as their former kindergart­en teachers or current cycle-class students chimed in to gush. Several claimed to have gone to school with Monar, who attended Indiana University and played for the Washington Nationals and the Auburn Doubledays.

The season’s lead, Crawley, is the franchise’s oldest Bacheloret­te at 38. The Sacramento native and hairstylis­t was previously on Juan Pablo Galavis’ season of “The Bachelor,” the first two seasons of “Bachelor in Paradise” and “Bachelor Winter Games.”

ABC has not announced a premiere date in the fall for the new season.

 ?? JOHN FLEENOR/ABC ?? Clare Crawley will lead Season 16 of “The Bacheloret­te.”
JOHN FLEENOR/ABC Clare Crawley will lead Season 16 of “The Bacheloret­te.”
 ?? ABC ?? Demar Jackson (left) and Blake Monar will represent Arizona in Season 16 of “The Bacheloret­te” starring Clare Crawley.
ABC Demar Jackson (left) and Blake Monar will represent Arizona in Season 16 of “The Bacheloret­te” starring Clare Crawley.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States