Why Emmanuel Acho Never Wants To Be The Bachelor

Emmanuel Acho may be joining Bachelor Nation as the host of the After the Final Rose special, but hosting is probably going to be the extent of his involvement with the franchise. Acho has made it clear that he doesn't want to be the Bachelor.

He's even turned down not one but two opportunities to compete on The Bachelorette after catching the attention of producers first in 2017 and again in 2020 after the success of his video series Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man. "I don't think I could do it," he said on the Talking It Out podcast (via Us Weekly).

As for being the Bachelor, Acho is worried "people would judge" him for taking on the role, explaining, "Like, 'You were just kissing her and now you're kissing her? Why are you so grimy? I thought you were about uncomfortable conversations, not uncomfortable makeouts."

Acho says he already has everything he needs. "I ain't got no time for that," he explained. "I'm like, let me just have my conversations. I don't need no dream suites, no home visits."

Acho's career doesn't need the boost that Bachelor Nation would give him, either. The former NFL player made it to Forbes' 30 under 30 in 2019, which noted that, after hanging up his cleats, Acho joined ESPN "as the youngest national football analyst" for the network.

Last year his video series, Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man made him even more well known and inspired a book of the same name. The New York Times bestseller, per its description on Amazon, "takes on all the questions, large and small, insensitive and taboo, many white Americans are afraid to ask — yet which all Americans need the answers to, now more than ever." A similar title, Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Boy, is aimed towards younger readers and is set to be released in May.