It's been a long, hard road, but this season of "The Bachelor" finally comes to a close with a three-hour broadcast on March 15. Along the way, we had to endlessly watch the unwatchable drama of the contestants (opens in new tab) - much of which was overshadowed by their relatively unexciting interactions with the literal Bachelor, Matt James (opens in new tab). Of course, even more disappointing was that the rumored frontrunner, Rachel Kirkconnell (opens in new tab), "liked" the racist behavior It was a scandal that erupted when social media posts surfaced that appeared to The situation was further exacerbated when longtime moderator Chris Harrison defended Kirkconnell's behavior (despite her own (open in new tab) request that people stop defending her indefensible behavior) and made repeated references to the "woke police."

Harrison's comments were met with immediate backlash, and he announced that he would "step down" from the franchise (opens in new tab) for an unspecified period of time. Since then, ABC has announced that the next season of The Bachelor (rumored to be headlined by Katie Thurston (open in new tab) this season) will be co-hosted by past Bachelorettes Tayshia Adams (open in new tab) and Caitlin Bristowe and announced that Emmanuel Acho will be the host of After the Finale Rose, a special post-finale show that will conclude this season of The Bachelor. Bachelor Nation already knows a lot about Adams and Bristow, but not much about Acho.

Acho was born and raised in Dallas and set records for his high school football and track skills. After being named the state's best linebacker in high school, he was recruited by the University of Texas and continued to excel on and off the field, graduating in 2011 with a bachelor's degree in sports management. After graduation, he cycled through the Cleveland Browns, Philadelphia Eagles, and New York Giants before returning to the Eagles in late 2013 and racking up a solid bit of official game time, joining the NFL.

While in the NFL, Acho spent the offseason returning to the UT campus to pursue a graduate degree in sports psychology; he was fired by the Eagles as a free agent in 2015 and graduated with his master's degree in 2017.

After his time as a professional football player ended, Acho didn't stay off the field much; in 2016, he began working as an analyst for his alma mater's designated longhorn network. He then spent two years as an analyst on ESPN2's college football show before being hired by Fox Sports in June 2020 to co-host "Speak for Yourself," a talk show focused on starting conversations at the intersection of sports and politics.

Around the same time he joined Speak for Yourself, Acho began hosting his own YouTube series, "Uncomfortable Conversations With a Black Man." In each episode, the 30-year-old often invites well-known guests to join him for discussions that, yes, often delve into traditionally "uncomfortable" but incredibly important territory. Recent episodes include a conversation about police brutality and accountability with an actual police officer, a conversation about cancellation culture with Chelsea Handler, and a conversation about NFL anthem protests with the league's commissioner Roger Goodell.

"The only way we can really empathize is with these conversations. A lot of people have really good intentions, but not a lot of great direction. And I think the conversation helps guide the direction of everything," he told Texas Monthly (opens in new tab) about the spirit of "uncomfortable conversations."

Acho introduced himself to Bachelor Nation in an Instagram post at the end of February." It's a pivotal season, and we hope this episode will be one of the most historic shows in television history. Empathy is needed and change is coming. I love building bridges of reconciliation." Our world is disconnected and divided.

The day before the Bachelor finale aired, Acho continued to hype the live special, writing on his Instagram Story, "Get ready to witness conversations like you've never seen on linear television. We are honored to be of service to all of you."

The "live special" was a "live" event, and the "live special" was a "live" event.

In a conversation with former Bachelor Rachel Lindsay on Extra (open in new tab) a few days before his Bachelor debut, Acho opened up about his main goals in his hosting career. 'The number one thing is to reconcile. There's so much tension between the pictures that are circulating around Rachel Kirkconnell that it's like, let's first seek understanding before we seek tension. And second, to tell these love stories properly." Matt is on a journey, and instead, to some extent, everything is overshadowed (by his being the first black bachelor). So let's honor Matt and his love journey, especially this last couple of women."