Olympian Ilona Maher is all-in on the chance to be the Bachelorette, and she wants to enlist Dancing With the Stars partner Alan Bersten for assistance.
“He’s gonna be my producer of The Bachelorette when I’m on, so he’s gonna work his magic on that end,” Maher, 28, exclusively joked to Us Weekly after the Tuesday, November 19, semifinals of Dancing With the Stars season 33.
After Maher denied that Bersten, 30, would be one of her Bachelor Nation suitors, the pro dancer chimed in to add that they will “be in each other’s lives forever.”
“I’m gonna be the producer making sure we got good guys for Ilona,” Bersten noted.
According to Maher, she can already picture Bersten calling the shots.
“He’s gonna bring his director chair in there,” she joked. “‘Right, cut, we need a new one!’”
The rugby sevens athlete has not formally been appointed as the next Bachelorette lead, nor has she watched the show “recently.” While speaking to Us on Tuesday, Maher was unsure whether she’d actually accept the reality TV gig if offered.
“I don’t know if I can date 30 men in front of a camera. I’d just rather do it outside,” Maher said, joking that her season would “revamp” the program. “I don’t want to go in with expectations if I do it. I just want to go in, and they tell me, ‘OK, you have to choose one.’ What do you mean I gotta choose? What are you talking about I gotta do this?”
Maher further quipped that “there’s no way” she could get married — or remember 30 men’s names — if she found The One on The Bachelorette. Maher also concurred with Bersten that a potential partner should be at least six feet tall, but she isn’t picky about whether he’s seen their DWTS performances.
“I don’t know if he needs to be watching me on Dancing With the Stars,” Maher admitted. “Maybe if he’s watching, hopefully he’s just watching tonight’s dance. Not that jive.”
Bersten, meanwhile, wants to see his dance partner date “somebody [who’s] caring and cares about her.” He should also enjoy food, because “food is important.”
Maher’s DWTS competitor Joey Graziadei, who got engaged to Kelsey Anderson on the latest season of The Bachelor, also thinks that she’s ready to take over the mantle.
“I think Ilona will do great at anything she does,” Graziadei, 29, told Us in a separate interview on Tuesday. “If she gets that opportunity, I think everyone knows she would crush it. We’re going to support Ilona in whatever she does moving forward. She’s just the best.”
He added, “I think that she is one of the most caring people, and it’s just very obvious that when she’s with someone, she’s just, like, with them fully. It just has to be a really good person. I don’t have a certain characteristic, but I will kill someone if they ever hurt Ilona — that is for sure.”
Graziadei’s pro partner, Jenna Johnson, concurred and noted that she would “fight for” Maher.
“Someone who better love and adore her because she’s the best human ever,” Johnson, 30, added.
Before a potential Bachelorette season, Maher and Graziadei are each focused on the DWTS season 33 finale. They will face off against Chandler Kinney, Danny Amendola and Stephen Nedoroscik.
The Dancing With the Stars finale airs on ABC Tuesday, November 26, at 8 p.m. ET and streams concurrently on Disney+.
With reporting by Carly Konsker
