Did Colton Think Tia Would Be The Next 'Bachelorette'?

The only thing worse than finding out that a guy you’re seeing has previously dated one of your friends is finding it all out on national television. Such was the case for Becca Kufrin on The Bachelorette Monday night, June 4, when Colton Underwood admitted to having a previous, if short, relationship with former Bachelor contestant, Tia Booth, ahead of The Bachelorette season 14. Sadly, it makes you wonder, did Colton think Tia was the Bachelorette?

Since they knew each other outside of the franchise and met before the season officially began and, likely, before Becca was announced as The Bachelorette for season 14, it’s entirely possible that Colton had thought, or at least hoped, that it would be Tia he met when he stepped out of the limo. Up until now, Colton has seemed like one of the only things good and pure about this season so in a way, I’m inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt, but some things just don’t add up.

If Colton and Tia met and spent a weekend together, as he explained to Becca, then it would have had to have been before the After the Final Rose special that aired on March 6 when Becca was announced as the next Bachelorette and a handful of men had already been cast for her season. If filming for Arie Luyendyk Jr.’s season of The Bachelor ended in November and the next Bachelorette was announced in March, then that left a few months in between for Colton to have met Tia and possibly held out hope that she would be the next Bachelorette. I’d love to say that’s impossible, but clearly, it could have been the case.

Well, before any information about the outcome of Arie’s season of The Bachelor was leaked, it was rumored that Tia was actually being seriously considered for the next Bachelorette and that her edit on the season reflected as such. She was shown for the sassy, but mature and down to earth person she is and clearly, viewers and producers alike enjoyed watching her. Back in February, Tia spoke to E! News and admitted to having an interest in continuing to be part of The Bachelor franchise. "Honestly, I wouldn't want to get my hopes up too much about being the next Bachelorette because I know there are some amazing women obviously in the running for it," she said at the time. "But I think it would be great to continue in the Bachelor family, whichever outlet that may be."

If that was in February and the official announcement of Becca being the Bachelorette was yet to come, there’s a chance that her fling with Colton could have happened around this time, leading him to have hopes that she would indeed be the Bachelorette whose heart he would be able to compete for this season. He did seem to have a soft spot for her as he tweeted during The Bachelor season 22, so there’s that too.

Honestly, I would have probably kept my head in the sand and hoped for the best with Colton’s thoughts and motives on The Bachelorette if Becca herself hadn’t brought up the possibility that he went on the show hoping she would be Tia. After Colton assured Becca that the timing wasn’t right for him to pursue something more with Tia, she said that because of the revelation, she couldn't help wondering if it meant he’d applied to be a contestant because he’d hoped that Tia would be the Bachelorette. It does make you wonder if when Colton said the timing wasn't right for them, that was because at that time, Tia was in negotiations to be the next Bachelorette, but those plans were later squashed when Arie flipped the switch and broke off his engagement with Becca.

If Colton somehow manages to find himself in Becca’s good graces once again, I can only hope that he’ll be able to redeem himself and prove that he’s here — all together now — for the right reasons.