With no particularly palatable candidates for Bachelorette from Peter’s current season of The Bachelor, we have a feeling ABC may go retro with a newly single Kendall Long.

We smell a Bachelorette narrative. Alas, we’re still mourning the end of our favorite Bachelor Nation couple, JoKen. While we try to recover, we couldn’t help but notice that Kendall has been surprisingly open about the breakup; she has admitted recently that she thought the pair would get married, and that she was “blindsided” by Joe’s sudden desire to move back to Chicago.

It’s a bit surprising to see this new press, as the two have been (bizarrely) commenting on each other’s Instagrams and putting on an amicable front. Not that she’s dissing him now, but this sudden switch has piqued our interest. We’re still rooting for the kids to get back together, but in lieu of that, may we add an addendum to our potential Bachelorettes?

As a Bachelorette lead, Kendall checks all the boxes for us. Not only is she is beautiful, smart, generous, and quirky, she’s also 28 years old, so we’ll have a crop of older men for her season. Recent heartbreak is pretty much a requirement for a Bachelorette, and Kendall certainly fits the bill.

Joe and Kendall became fan favorites after getting together on Bachelor in Paradise season 4, after which they moved in together, and recently adopted an adorable Dachshund named Pistachio. Bachelor Nation is still not over the breakup, but if we can’t have our first choice (a reconciliation), then we’ll be cheering for their happiness regardless. The recent press their breakup has gotten, especially the bit about her thinking they’d get married, seems like a tailor-made Bachelorette edit.

Kendall would make an excellent Bachelorette: imagine the taxidermy group date. Her season would be a great balance of fun and a genuine (and real) pursuit of love. Kendall is also very perceptive and emotionally intelligent, so we’d love to see her read the men on her season.

Lastly, Kendall is from/lives in Los Angeles, which the show seems to enjoy. Given the negative edits gifted to most of the women on Peter’s season, could the producers be setting us up for a Nick Viall/Arie style pick? If so, we’d love to see our girl Kendall take up the mantle.

As for Joe: may we suggest a recently single local Chicago lawyer who also loves to travel and be bougie (we mean this in the nicest way possible)?

Are you equally sussed by this new heartbreak confession? Could we see Kendall as our next season’s lead? Let us know what you think – Xoxo, bachsleuthers.