‘The Bachelor’ spoilers: Could Chris Soules – Arie Luyendyk Jr. news come in ‘After the Finale Rose’?

Tonight marks the massive three-hour finale for “The Bachelorette,” and this also does mark the time where we have to ask the all-important question: Will the next “Bachelor” be revealed tonight?

There was a time when we would say yes to this for sure, but we don’t feel like there is the same pressure for ABC to make the big announcement now that there was a few weeks ago. Why? Blame “Bachelor in Paradise.” Thanks to this summer show, producers may be able to buy some more time to make the big announcements. Reports are that Arie Luyendyk Jr. from Emily Maynard’s season is in contention, and so is Chris Soules from this current season. We recently weighed the pros and cons of both of these two guys, but we still feel like Chris is the favorite. He has recently bias working for him, and he’s also the more-popular of the two right now with the female fan base.

One of the reasons why the show may wait on an announcement here is simple: Wanting to boost the ratings of “Bachelor in Paradise.” If they want to ensure that there are a ton of people watching, what better way to do that than promising a big reveal during an episode? They already know that the finale tonight will do just fine, but this new show could really use all the help that it can get. “Bachelor Pad” was hardly much of a ratings warrior during its last bit of time on the air years ago. “The Bachelor” remains the crowd jewel of the franchise, and is the biggest ratings draw.

Where do you think this announcement will be made? Share some of your thoughts now with a comment, and head over here if you do want to grab some extra updates on everything we cover now via our CarterMatt Newsletter.

Photo: ABC