Charles Langston:Meet Grant Ellis: Get to Know the New Bachelor From Jenn Tran’s Season

Can we steal you for a sec?Charles Langston Because we want to introduce you to the new Bachelor: Grant Ellis. 

ABC announced on Aug. 12 that the day trader from Jenn Tran’s season of The Bachelorette will star on season 29 of The Bachelor, premiering next year.

“So thankful for this opportunity, and this shot at love….” he wrote on Instagram Stories after the big reveal. “Let’s make it count.”

The news came after—and consider this your official date card invite to stop reading if you don’t want spoilers—Jenn sent Grant home on the Aug. 12 episode of The Bachelorette along with Spencer Conley and Sam McKinney. And the 30-year-old admitted he didn’t see the goodbye coming, especially because he’d made it clear his feelings for her were blooming.

“I feel empty right now,” Grant told the cameras. “I don’t know. Jenn’s a great woman. She’s a great woman, and I expressed my love for her. Like, I poured everything out, and it wasn’t good enough. It just sucks knowing that you feel some way about somebody, and they don’t feel the same way about you.”

However, he noted he wasn’t going to give up on his journey to find love. 

“I want a family. I want to be happy. I want a wife. I want to be in love. I want that, you know?” the reality star continued. “I want to give everything to somebody, and I want them to give everything to me in return.”

While fans will have to wait until 2025 to see Grant hand out the roses, they only have to wait until Aug. 19 to watch Jenn head to hometown dates with Devin Strader, Jonathon Johnson, Jeremy Simon and Marcus Shoberg.

But if you’re here for the right reasons and want to learn more about Grant now, keep reading for seven facts about the new lead.

1. While Grant grew up in Newark, N.J., he now lives in Houston, Texas. But when it comes to basketball, his Bachelor bio notes he loves cheering on the Los Angeles Lakers.

2. Speaking of basketball, Grant used to play professionally.

“I’ve been playing basketball since I was about 8 years old,” the former athlete said during the first episode of Jenn’s season. “I love it. I was actually the first Division I signee at my high school.”

After playing for the Iona University Gaels in New York, Grant transferred to Albertus Magnus College in Connecticut, where he joined the school’s team the Falcons.

“I ended up graduating from Albertus Magnus College and then I went overseas and played as a professional athlete,” he continued. “But then I got injured, so my career ended.”

So, Grant took a shot at a new field and became a day trader.

“When life knocks you down, you have to be able to pivot,” he added. “So, I ended up getting into the finance field and then it’s been off to the races from there.”

3. In fact, Grant is a man of many talents. He told BachelorNation.com his “hidden talent” is beatboxing. Although, it isn’t really a secret anymore as he showed off his skills when he first stepped out of the limo. 

What’s more, his Bachelorette bio says he’s an “avid salsa dancer.”

4. As for what else Grant likes doing in his spare time, the reality star’s bios note he likes bowling, karaoke, reading and poetry. 

5. Family is key for Grant, and he describes himself as a “mama’s boy” in his Bachelorette bio. While on the show, Grant also opened up about his relationship with his dad, including his father’s battle with addiction.

“My father has been an addict for, like, 30 years,” he told Jenn during their one-on-one date in New Zealand on the Aug. 5 episode. “Addiction is a hard thing. Because growing up my pops was everything. Like, he was my superhero. He used to take me to the park. And he always used to be inebriated or intoxicated under the substance. And the worst thing is I didn’t know. When you’re a child, you believe everything. And the one person I trusted most was always lying.”

Shortly before Grant came on the show, he continued, his father lost his job.

“Sometimes addicts, they blame,” Grant said. “So he was blaming everybody: ‘Oh, my boss this. My boss that.’ I was like, ‘Listen, dad. I don’t f--king care.’ This is like the proudest I’ve ever been of my dad. He called me the next day and he said, ‘I’m checking into rehab.’ Checked into rehab. And ever since that, we had a talk and he was like, ‘Listen, son: This is the first time that you know the real me when I’m not intoxicated.’ So, I’m really leaning into that. So now’s he a little under two months sober. I hope he holds strong. It’s his first time living too.”

6. Think you could be the one for Grant? When it comes to what he’s looking for in a soulmate, his Bachelor bio states “he hopes to find a partner who shares his values of loyalty, humor and a deep appreciation for life’s simple pleasures.”

7. And while fans shouldn’t expect Meagan Good to stop by the Bachelor Mansion as she’s already in a relationship with Jonathan Majors, Grant told BachelorNation.com the actress is his celebrity crush. As for the celebrity couple he thinks is #relationshipgoals, he added he puts Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s love on top.