The Truth About Peter Weber's Producer Julie LaPlaca

Peter Weber's producer Julie LaPlaca has been making headlines as fans wonder who the Bachelor ends up with. And we'll dive into that, but first a recap: Weber's season of The Bachelor premiered in January 2020, much to the delight of fans who fell in love with the charming pilot while watching him compete for Hannah Brown's heart on The Bachelorette. However, those tuning in to watch Weber find everlasting love on reality TV were likely disappointed to find much of the pilot's Bachelor season was devoted to drama between the contestants, each fighting their way to the top in hopes of leaving the show with a Neil Lane engagement ring on their finger and the key to Weber's heart in their hand. 

While Madison Prewett, Hannah Ann Sluss, and Victoria Fuller quickly emerged as frontrunners for Weber's heart, one viral Reddit theory (via Vulture) about a possible romance between Weber and Bachelor producer Julie LaPlaca immediately captured the attention of Bachelor fans near and far. Could Weber's season end with the Bachelor and his producer finding a happily-ever-after ending together? Here's the truth about Peter Weber's producer Julie LaPlaca. 

While the results of most Bachelor and Bachelorette seasons are spoiled by Steve Carbone via his popular Bachelor blog, Reality Steve, Peter Weber's season proved to be too puzzling to solve. Instead, Bachelor Nation fans were forced to try and sleuth out the much-anticipated ending themselves. And, in February 2020, one fan took to Reddit to reveal their personal theory about Weber's Bachelor finale, as reported by Glamour. 

"I feel 98% confident that Peter winds up with the producer, Julie LaPlaca," a Redditor with the username krallie posted to the site. After listing their reasons for thinking a romance could have blossomed between Weber and LaPlaca (including Weber being spotted in the background of LaPlaca's New Year's Eve picture), the Bachelor fan continued, "[Weber] doesn't even seem a little bit in love with any of [the contestants] yet. Not crazy since they don't get a ton of time together, but he gets tons of time with his producer." 

Added the Reddit user, "My guess is that [LaPlaca] leaves because she doesn't want to see him get engaged to someone else, and he winds up going after HER." Could Peter Weber's producer Julie LaPlaca have stolen the Bachelor's heart?

Once the theory about Peter Weber's relationship with his Bachelor producer, Julie LaPlaca, hit Reddit, the rumor began making the rounds in multiple news outlets. For a moment, it seemed plausible to fans that Weber could have actually fallen in love with his producer instead of one of his contestants — especially considering how the pilot had adamantly insisted that his finale would not be able to be spoiled. Peter Weber's producer Julie LaPlaca riding into the sunset with the Bachelor would certainly be a twist ending no one could have predicted. 

However, Steve Carbone was quick to shut down rumors of a Weber-LaPlaca romance. Linking a Women's Health article about the rumors surrounding LaPlaca and Weber, Carbone tweeted, "Gonna make this as simple as possible for [everyone] since it's all I get asked now: [This rumor is] garbage, there is absolutely nothing to this, it makes zero sense [and] people are desperately grasping at straws [because] the ending isn't out yet."

The blogger continued, adding to his Feb. 8, 2020 tweet, "Hope that clears things up."

Usually, when a blatantly untrue rumor about a celebrity begins circulating, the celeb and/or their PR team is quick to nip it in the bud — or "cut it in the butt," as Bachelor contestant Kelley Flanagan would say (via Us Weekly). However, as the Bachelor, Peter Weber is contractually obligated to keep the results of his finale as under-wraps as possible. And, considering the possibility of a producer romance would undoubtedly be a godsend for any reality show's ratings, Rob Mills — ABC's senior vice president of alternative series, specials, and late-night programming — made the careful choice to play coy when asked about the relationship between Peter Weber's producer Julie LaPlaca and the Bachelor. 

In a Feb. 10, 2020 interview with Entertainment Tonight, Mills addressed the rumor, saying, "Well, I hate to get in the way of a good rumor, so I'm not going to confirm or deny about whether he ends up with a producer!" The ABC exec continued, revealing, "I don't know how we'd ever top that though!"

Chris Harrison has been a Bachelor staple since the show's 2002 premiere, serving as host for The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, Bachelor in Paradise, and multiple other Bachelor franchise shows. He's always there to provide a knowing glance, chase after fence-jumping Bachelors, and assure viewers that this season will be the most dramatic season ever. And, of course, we always believe him. 

To put it simply, it seems Harrison loves Bachelor drama just as much as the fans. So, instead of squashing the rumors surrounding Peter Weber's producer Julie LaPlaca, the Bachelor host added a little fuel to the fire with an Instagram photo featuring himself alongside Weber and LaPlaca on Feb. 17, 2020. Addressing the photo during an interview with Access, Harrison commented on Weber's relationship with LaPlaca, saying, "I'll just say this: It's an intimate relationship." The Bachelor host continued, revealing, "You spend that much time together, we all get close. Sometimes, those lines get blurred."

Peter Weber signed up for a reality TV show to find love, but it appears Bachelor producer Julie LaPlaca managed to find it in the wild. Photos from LaPlaca's Instagram seemingly show she was in a longterm relationship with producer Joe Grano for years. On Feb. 9, 2015, LaPlaca even took to Instagram to post a sweet birthday message to Grano, writing, "Happy birthday to my main squeeze, partner in crime, and best friend!"

Grano has been largely absent from her Instagram since July 2017, when Peter Weber's producer Julie LaPlaca posted a picture of the two of them taken in Italy. According to Steve Carbone, LaPlaca and Grano were actually engaged for a period of time — but, contrary to the rumors, LaPlaca didn't break off her engagement to Grano for Weber.

"Julie was engaged this past summer and HER FIANCÉ called it off," Carbone wrote in a Feb. 11, 2020 blog post. He continued, writing, "While whoever threw that out there sure made the story sound juicier and probably got more people believing this nonsense, it couldn't have been more factually incorrect."

Peter Weber stomped grapes with contestant Kelsey Weier during her hometown date at a winery in Des Moines, Iowa; however, the most talked-about wine-related outing is perhaps the one Weber was spotted enjoying with none other than Bachelor producer Julie LaPlaca.

On Feb. 20, 2020, Page Six posted an exclusive video reportedly showing Peter Weber's producer Julie LaPlaca and the Bachelor enjoying a glass of wine while laughing and dancing in their seats at The Stonehaus winery in Westlake Village, Calif. According to the publication, the winery isn't far from the house in which Weber — and his parents — live. 

While Weber and LaPlaca certainly seem to be having a great time together in the short clip, the two weren't on some romantic one-on-one date. A woman who appears to be Weber's mother, Barbara Weber, can be seen sitting across from LaPlaca and the Bachelor, laughing along with the two with a glass of wine in hand. 

As fun as it might be to speculate about Peter Weber's relationship status — especially considering that the Bachelor's finale has seemingly been proven impossible to spoil — some sources insist that investing time imagining some sort of secret romance between Peter Weber's producer Julie LaPlaca and the Bachelor is completely pointless. 

"There really is no truth to Peter being with Julie," a source told Us Weekly in February 2020. Saying the two "act like colleagues and friends around each other," the insider added, "They were friends, but nothing romantic has ever happened between them."

Some Bachelor fans seem to agree that Weber and LaPlaca are nothing more than friends. One Reddit user insisted that Weber and LaPlaca hanging out was no big deal, writing in a comment, "It is pretty typical for the lead to travel and spend a ton of time with their producer while the show is ending." Added the fan, "I think it might just be obvious since social media is more popular now than ever."

Bachelor fans may not have heard of Peter Weber's producer Julie LaPlaca before rumors about her and the Bachelor started swirling, but the Bachelor producer has been making a career for herself in the television industry for quite some time. According to LaPlaca's LinkedIn, she graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology with a degree in advertising and marketing communications in 2007 . From there, LaPlaca worked jobs as a marketing associate, audience coordinator, and field associate producer, before finally landing a major gig as a producer for the popular CBS show The Doctors. In 2014, LaPlaca joined NZK Productions as a producer for The Bachelor. 

As one Reddit user and Bachelor fan noted, LaPlaca's career as a producer would likely prevent her from pursuing a romantic relationship with Weber, even if she did have feelings for the pilot. "Julie is a producer on one of the biggest TV shows ever, [and] she seems like a professional through-and-through," the user wrote in a comment. They continued, adding, "There is no way she is risking the career she has built to run off with the lead on the show."

Once the rumors surrounding the relationship between Peter Weber's producer Julie LaPlaca and the Bachelor began picking up steam, fans started searching social media for clues about the pair they might have missed. On Feb. 8, 2020, a Reddit user posted a picture featuring the Webers, LaPlaca, and her mother sharing a meal at Carmine's Italian Restaurant in New York City. However, the photo wasn't secretly snapped by a sneaky Bachelor fan; instead, it had been hiding in plain sight all along on Weber's father's Instagram.

On Jan. 2, 2020, Weber's father (also named Peter Weber), posted the picture of the smiling group to his personal Instagram account, captioning it, "New Years Eve lunch with the gang at Carmine's." While the picture seems innocent enough, some fans took it to mean Weber and LaPlaca were already at the "hang-out-with-the-parents" stage of their rumored relationship. However, other Bachelor fans didn't understand the commotion. 

One Reddit user asked, "[Do you] really think if this theory were true they'd even be taking pictures together?" The Bachelor fan continued, adding, "Give Julie some credit, she is a professional."

If, by some chance, Peter Weber did decide to end his budding relationships with the remaining women competing for his heart on The Bachelor and start a never-before-seen Bachelor franchise love story with producer Julie LaPlaca, it's safe to say LaPlaca's hangouts with former Bachelorette Hannah Brown are about to get pretty awkward. After all, Brown and Weber famously spent an ultra-romantic fantasy suite night in a Grecian windmill before Brown rejected the pilot for Tyler Cameron and Jed Wyatt, sending him away in tears. However, in addition to being the woman who broke Pilot Pete's heart on national TV, Brown seems to be one of LaPlaca's close pals. 

In an Instagram post on Sept. 25, 2019, LaPlaca posted a photoset from her time working with Brown on The Bachelorette. Peter Weber's producer Julie LaPlaca captioned the post, "Happy birthday, Mary Kate to my Ashley, queen beast." Added LaPlaca, "Remember though, I'll forever have 9.5 years of wisdom on you."

Brown responded to the sweet birthday post, writing, "I love you — thanks for hanging in there with me when I was so Beastly."

Obviously, while his Bachelor season is still in the process of airing, Peter Weber is not at liberty to say whether or not the rumors about himself and producer Julie LaPlaca are true. As any reality TV lover knows, rumors about a vicious love affair involving the show's leading man and a producer are bound to draw people to their television screens on Monday nights to see how Weber's season of The Bachelor all plays out. 

However, Weber did briefly address the rumors in a February 2020 interview with Entertainment Tonight before filming the Women Tell All special. Discussing the various theories surrounding his highly-anticipated Bachelor season finale and who he's engaged to now (if anyone at all), Weber told Entertainment Tonight, "A lot of people think it's Hannah Brown now coming in." The Bachelor continued, mentioning LaPlaca and even revealing his nickname for the producer, saying. "[It's] possibly Jules LaPlaca!"

The pilot jokingly added, "Who knows? There's so many choices!"