The New Bachelor Says He’s ‘Open to Therapy’ Since Filming the Reality Show

After not making it to hometowns during Jenn Tran’s season of The Bachelorette, Grant Ellis insists he’s still looking for love, escalating his search for a wife as the star of the upcoming season of The Bachelor. As the new season premieres on Monday, Jan. 27, following Ellis as he romances a group of 25 women who are all fighting for his heart, viewers will see him in a whole new light. But what do we know about Ellis heading into this journey?

Before joining Bachelor Nation, the 31-year-old Newark, New Jersey, native played basketball at Iona University in New York and Albertus Magnus College in Connecticut, and even professionally in the Dominican Republic. Today, Ellis is a day trader who resides in Houston.

As only the second Black male lead in the show’s history, Ellis knew the scrutiny would be intense, but ultimately, he stayed focused on building relationships with the women. “Yeah, there’s added pressure,” he says, “but I’m built for that, so I think that’s something that wasn’t too hard for me.”

Ellis spoke with Rolling Stone about important advice he got from Bachelor alum Joey Graziadei before filming, why he’s a “mama’s boy,” and what he learned about himself through this process.

When you were approached to be the next Bachelor, did you have any hesitations?
Honestly, I didn’t have any hesitations. I had a brief conversation with my parents and they said, “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” and I agreed, so I jumped on it.

At a time when many thirtysomethings are hesitant to settle down, what made you sure you wanted to find your wife?
I think that finding somebody to commit to through different situations, both good and bad, is a testament to character. It also helps in life. At this phase in my life, I’m stable in my career and my health, and I really want to find somebody to build with instead of my mind being everywhere and dating around. 

Did you ask any former Bachelors for tips going into this?
Joey [Graziadei] gave me some really good advice. He told me to be careful because you’re dealing with people’s hearts, and to know whoever you end up with is going to watch [the show] back. He said, “Make your decisions, but be careful and think about everybody.” It is something that you think about. In the moment, I wasn’t thinking that far into the future, but during the season I tried to develop relationships and maintain them with women that I could be friends with first, so we could have that understanding.

Editor’s picks

In your bio from Jenn Tran’s season of The Bachelorette, you mentioned how you’re a “mama’s boy who loves poetry and reading.” What does being a mama’s boy mean to you?
A lot of times, being a mama’s boy has a negative connotation. I think it just means that I love my mom. We’ve been through some pretty tough times and she’s always been there, so when she calls me, I answer. I talk to her often. I don’t talk to her every day, but when I do, it comes from a place of love and understanding. Everybody knows that sometimes parents can be a lot. My mom is a lot sometimes, but she understands that I have a life and that I’m a man, and I think that we developed a relationship where we understand each other but we also have our own separate lives. Being a mama’s boy just means that you love your mother. Because you only get one. 

And you like poetry. Does that mean you like to read or write poetry, or both? 
I’m more of a writer. Poetry could mean music, whether it’s a rap, a poem, or spoken word. It’s just being able to express how you feel and be good with your words and put it down on paper, that’s something that’s important to me. I don’t sit there and write poetry a lot but I’ll write music sometimes and that’s a form of poetry. I write lyrics a lot and however I’m feeling. I don’t take it seriously, I just think it allows me to express myself. Otherwise, it’ll just be inside of me.

Related Content

You’ve also said you love karaoke. Do you have any go-to karaoke songs?
I like “All of Me” by John Legend. That’s a good song. I tell everybody, “Just have a couple of drinks and I sound a lot better.”

Do you still follow college basketball?
Not really. I’m a Lakers guy, I definitely follow the Lakers a lot. 

How do you feel about their season so far?
All I can say is, go LeBron [James]. I’m not going to speak on how they’re doing because they’re doing alright but LeBron is doing great when he plays.

After you stopped playing pro ball overseas, how did you get into day trading? 
When I was overseas, a lot of guys would make really good money, but they didn’t know what to do with it. I came across somebody who was a trader in the market and I was skeptical at first but he divulged certain information to me and I looked at it as a puzzle. I realized it’s possible. I think a lot of people look at it as gambling or risky, and it can be risky, but if you know what you’re doing, it’s a really good way of investing your money.

What is something you learned about yourself through the process of The Bachelor?
Such a big part of me held a lot of things in, like my upbringing and a lot of feelings that I just pushed down. I used to feel like I just had to move forward. But being in front of a camera and being asked certain questions by people that are seeing your story unfold, it was like a therapy session for me which was really, really cool because I wasn’t really the biggest advocate for therapy. I was like, “I’m just going to go to the gym more.” But now I’m like, “You know what? Therapy is cool.” It’s definitely something that’s good. It allows you to talk about things and then you understand yourself better. I’m definitely open to therapy now. I think that is something that I’m going to do once this whole crazy experience is over.