Zach Shallcross didn't find lasting love as one of 32 contestants on the last season of “The Bachelorette,” but he's ready to give romance another shot.
In September, ABC announced that Shallcross, who connected with Bachelorette Rachel Recchia, will once again be searching for his soulmate and will return to the reality show franchise as the next star of the “Bachelor.” He will lead the franchise's 27th season.
Season 27 of the hit franchise premieres on Monday, Jan. 23 at 8 p.m. ET, and we're already counting down the days. Eager to know more about Shallcross before binge watching this season? Here’s are a few facts about him to tide you over in the meantime.
Lucky for us, we don’t have to wait long to watch the 26-year-old tech executive begin his quest for romance. The 27th season of “The Bachelor” premieres on Monday, Jan. 23 at 8 p.m. ET and from the looks of the trailer, there will be plenty of romance and drama.
Counting the days until the next season premieres?
He works in the technology field
Per his bio on the ABC website, Shallcross is a tech executive from Anaheim Hills, CA. His LinkedIn lists him as a Senior Cloud Technology Sales Executive at Oracle.
The 26-year-old graduated from California Polytechnic State University in 2019 and said the experience was "absolutely worth it" in an Instagram post at the time.
Shallcross is based in Austin, Texas but is originally from California, according to his football bio. These days, he splits his time between Texas and Orange County.
His zodiac sign is Leo, if you're curious
Shallcross' football bio lists his birthday as July 31, 1996, making his Sun sign Leo.
Zach considers himself an 'old-fashioned romantic'
When he competed on "The Bachelorette," Shallcross described himself as an "old-fashioned romantic" in his bio.
“Zach’s perfect woman is compassionate, kind and ready for romance because Zach is excited to lay it on thick. He loves to plan thoughtful surprises, and nothing makes him happier than seeing the look of excitement on his partner’s face when his meaningful gifts are appreciated,” the bio reads.
It also looks like he's eager to settle down.
"Zach is serious about finding a love that will lead to marriage, so whatever grand romantic gesture it takes for him to get there, he’s ready to go!" the bio reads.
An athlete, his hobbies include football and beach volleyball
The 26-year-old appears to live an active lifestyle. He enjoys beach volleyball and football, per his "Bachelorette" bio. In fact, Shallcross even played college football while attending Cal Poly.
He's close to his family
Shallcross won over viewers over during Season 19 of the “Bachelorette” with his charismatic personality and his polite manners. And it looks like he's a huge softie at heart.
Case in point? The 26-year-old’s “Bachelor” bio describes him as “a family man at heart” and says that he "strives to find a love that echoes the standard (his parents) have set for him." The couple, who has been married for over 30 years, showed Shallcross "what true love looks like" and he intends to "keep them in mind while looking for a life partner."
The tech executive clearly admires his parents and he's not afraid to show his mom a little bit of love on social media. In 2020, he called her an "incredible woman" in a birthday tribute on Instagram.
Shallcross also has two sisters, per his football bio.
Zach almost made it to the end of 'The Bachelorette'
While competing for Rachel Recchia's affections during the latest season of the "Bachelorette," Shallcross almost made it to the end of the season.
Alas, he eventually made the decision to leave the show, explaining that he didn't feel like he'd met the real version of Recchia during the fantasy suite experience.
He describes himself as a 'lovey, huggy boyfriend'
In a recent promotional video for "The Bachelor," Shallcross was asked what kind of a boyfriend he is and said he's "lovey" and "huggy." When it comes to his love language, the 26-year-old gravitates towards words of affirmation and physical touch.
Asked whether he believes in love at first sight, the tech executive said, "Yeah."
In a new video for The Cut, Shallcross plays a game of Truth or Drink with "Bachelor" host Jesse Palmer and spills some secrets about the new season of the show.
The 26-year-old wouldn't reveal if he found love or how early into the show his first kiss occurred, but he did say that there were days when he kissed over seven of the contestants.
Shallcross also spoke about getting his heart broken on the last season of "The Bachelorette."
"That was the closest thing to heartbreak that I've felt where I'm just in disbelief," he said.
Here's what he has said about being the next Bachelor
Shallcross was announced as the new Bachelor during the "After the Rose" live event on Sept. 20. He expressed his excitement after host Jesse Palmer named him as the new lead.
“There’s no words. I’m just taking this in right now,” he said. “This is pretty incredible.”
Even though his journey for love didn't pan out on the "Bachelorette," the 26-year-old said he's ready to give things another try.
“I’m ready to find my person and my best friend,” he said. “That breakup didn’t deter it.”
In an interview with People, Shallcross described what he's looking for in a relationship.
“There’s really two main things that I look for and first is how kind and compassionate they are. I think that’s something that’s pretty rare nowadays,” he said. “The other thing is having someone that loves to do fun, adventurous stuff with me, whether it’s traveling, trying cool foods.”
The reality star plans to be “a little initially cautious" while dating the new women on the upcoming season of the "Bachelor." But he does plan to show them his romantic side when he gets closer to them.
“One of the biggest lessons I learned was I’m a guy that typically wears his heart on his sleeve,” he said. “If you can show your emotions and not be scared about it, I really think that’s an important attribute, but in my case, I think I fell in love really hard and really fast and I didn’t necessarily take a step back and look at the entire situation from her perspective.”
He says age shouldn't be a factor in his search for love
Shallcross's age, 26, came up on "The Bachelorette" — Recchia questioned whether he was too young.
Speaking to People, Shallcross said he is ready for marriage.
“My take on that is when you know, you know,” he said. “I don’t think that there’s anything where there’s an age limit on when you decide you want to fall in love and get married. if you are ready and you feel well equipped with yourself, you love yourself, you trust yourself and you want to share that with someone else, it doesn’t matter how old you are.”
Zach has a famous uncle
Fun fact: Shallcross's uncle is actor Patrick Warburton, who is known for his work on "Seinfeld," "Rules of Engagement" and "A Series of Unfortunate Events."
Warburton appeared on the hometown visits episode of "The Bachelorette," and joked about his experience on Twitter.
"I’m being asked 'why are you on The Batchelorette ?' It’s my favorite show? I’m addicted..? I have a crush on that Zach Shallcross fellow? Or…all of the above? Or…Zach is my nephew? Or…all of the above?," he wrote.
Last but not least, he's a musician
Shallcross's football bio says that he played guitar in a band for two years and mixes and produces electronic music under the name Verzacky, which you can access on Soundcloud.