UPDATE: Yes, JoJo is the new Bachelorette! Chris Harrison announced the big news during "The Bachelor: After the Final Rose" special. (JoJo's parents were there for the live finale, which was a clue that she had her own good news, even after Ben proposed to Lauren.) JoJo had clearly recovered from her heartbreak, which was taped months ago, saying everything happens for a reason. And now she gets to be the one to hand out roses and break some hearts.Read more about JoJo in her ABC bio. Congrats, girl, and good luck!

Original post:

"The Bachelor" is ending tonight, with Ben Higgins ultimately choosing Lauren Bushnell, Joelle "JoJo" Fletcher, both, no one, or just a series of Mesnick poses on a balcony.

According to serial spoiler Bachelorette, and she was even seen shooting footage for the new season. That seemed to fit with the previous tease from (now former) ABC boss Paul Lee who said, "I'd be very surprised if 'The Bachelorette' in the summer isn't diverse. I think that's likely."

Since Caila is half Filipino, and she made it farther than anyone else (like Jubilee Sharpe) who might qualify as "diverse," she fit the bill. But spoiler followers were NOT pleased when that news made the rounds, since Caila is hardly a fan favorite. But hold up, 'cause Steve returned with a new report, saying Caila was switched out as Bachelorette in favor ofrunner-up JoJo. (Plus, JoJo is apparently half Persian, for anyone who is counting.)

Steve had tweeted Friday about "rumors" he was waiting to have confirmed, but returned to his website on Monday to say he still just heard the news from that one source but he's passing it on anyway. Here's the scoop (emphasis added):

"I'll tell you now what I was told and what led me to tweet what I did on Friday morning. Earlier that morning I received correspondence from someone telling me that Caila received a phone call Thursday night from producers who told her they were changing their mind and decided to go with JoJo as the "Bachelorette." Obviously this goes against what I reported on March 3rd on Twitter, which was then parroted by numerous media outlets the following day. So not something I take lightly and definitely wanted to make sure I got this confirmed by more than one source. It sounded legit based on what I was told, but having been burned a couple times in the past, I'm not gonna run with something (especially when it's to change a spoiler I currently put out there) unless I get it backed up. All weekend I tried to see if it could get it backed up by a second or third source – but to no avail.

[...] Honestly, I still don't know how it's gonna look to announce JoJo as the "Bachelorette" tonight within the same hour of her coming out and talking to Ben about the dumping. Yes, I know that this happened four months ago and of course she's over it, BUT, a majority of this show's audience doesn't grasp that concept and they want her to feel devastated and asking for answers tonight. Then to turn around in the same show and say, "And by the way, JoJo is our Bachelorette" is just bizarre. But whatever the case, it sure looks like JoJo is getting the gig and it'll be interesting to see how they play it tonight.

As for Caila and why she was filming in Ohio on March 3rd? Basically, she got played. They led her to believe it was her, she was convinced it was her, they shot her intro package that day in Ohio, then they told her at pretty much the last minute, "We decided to go with JoJo." From everything I've heard, Caila is not happy, nor should she be..."

Read his full post for more.

Did ABC change the pick due to fan outcry? Many viewers made it clear that they didn't want to watch Caila (still another #3 choice for Bachelorette) and it's possible that made a difference. Either way, if Caila was given the impression that she'd be the one and the rug was pulled out from under her, that's harsh. Like, Olivia harsh.

Still, if the spoilers play out as billed, JoJo should have the bulk of fan support after her heartbreak, so she's an excellent choice for the next season, which airs after "Dancing With the Stars" this spring.

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