Something big is happening in Bachelor Nation (and we don’t mean this Bachelor in Paradise couple’s surprise engagement). For the past two days, Bachelor boss Mike Fleiss has been teasing a “shocking” announcement about the franchise, and while he has yet to actually announce anything, fans are having fun just speculating about the supposedly huge reveal.

Fleiss has been amping up the excitement over the past 48 hours with a string of teasing tweets. “OK, stand by for shocking news regarding #thebachelor,” he tweeted on Wednesday, August 30. More than 24 hours later, when there was still no news, he wrote, “Ok, SIT by for truly shocking news regarding #thebachelor.” He followed that with: “Hoping to make unbelievably shocking announcement today regarding #thebachelor. Waiting for final approval…”

When someone asked, “Aren’t YOU the final approval? Just say it!!!!!” Fleiss joked, “Waiting to give myself final approval for #thebachelor announcement. Hopefully, I’ll call myself back before the end of the day…”

Alas, the end of the day came and went with no Bachelor-related news except a (now-deleted) tweet from Good Morning America promoting an announcement about the franchise’s next leading man on Friday morning. The tweet disappeared shortly after it was posted, but fans tuned in anyway — only to be disappointed once more.

So… what. Is. Happening? Some people are looking to Fleiss’s other recent tweets for clues, which has led to some (probably unwarranted) concerns about the franchise’s future.

But most of the speculation is around the identity of the next Bachelor.

Perhaps recently single Nick Viall?

Or fan-fave Eric Bigger?

Or maybe even Wells Adams, the (new) Bachelor in Paradise bartender?

Not surprisingly, most people think the next Bachelor is Rachel Lindsay’s runner-up, Peter Kraus — but some wonder if the announcement was delayed because he had a change of heart.

One fan proposed an idea to turn the mystery into a good deed.

In any case, we’ll be sure to bring you the big news as soon as the announcement has been made.

What do you think the “shocking” Bachelor announcement will be? Let us know @BritandCo!

(Photo via ABC/Craig Sjodin)

Desiree O
Desirée O is a ‘Professional Bohemian’ who loves anything and everything related to the arts, entertainment, and pop culture. She ADORES being a ‘Newsy’ for Brit + Co, covering all of the latest tidbits of awesomeness that you want to read about. When she’s not writing, she’s either making messy art, going on long adventurous walks with her camera, or poking around over at bohemianizm (http://www.bohemianizm.com/). You can find out about Desirée O and her work at http://DesireeO.com/ or follow her on Twitter @DesireeO.