The Truth About The Bachelorette's Michael Allio

Despite all the controversy surrounding the franchise at the moment, Bachelor Nation must be thrilled with the way ABC is bombarding us with nonstop Bachelor-related content. Quick on the heels of the previous, explosive Bachelor Season 25, with the series' first Black bachelor Matt James looking for love, the next season of the Bachelorette is quarantining together and will likely start shooting this week, according to Reality Steve. Steve also correctly predicted that Katie Thurston, who was eliminated from Matt's season early on, would be the next single lady. Now, The Bachelorette has announced on Facebook the 30 or more men who will be under Katie's scrutiny in her new season.

The 30-year-old, sex-positive Katie Thurston is a bank marketing manager Washington, and was announced as the next Bachelorette at the March 15 "After the Final Rose" special that closed The Bachelor Season 25. Katie's Season 17 will air in the summer of 2021, followed by Season 7 of Bachelor in Paradise, as per Reality Steve. Then there'll be yet another season of the Bachelorette, Season 18, with 27-year-old Minnesotan Michelle Young handing out roses.

But before we get to all that, let's take a look at one of the handsome young men vying for Katie's hand: Michael Allio.

One of the many potential suitors on Katie Thurston's summer season of The Bachelorette is Michael Allio, who, according to Reality Steve, is a 36-year-old widower and single dad from Akron, Ohio. A self-described "aspiring do-gooder," Michael started a volunteer-run organization called the L4 Project that helps a number of different charities, in the name of his late wife Laura, who died from breast cancer in 2019. She was only 33 years old.

The pair met while students at Loyola University in Chicago (per the L4 Project website), and married in 2012. They had a son, James, in 2016. The couple were advocates and philanthropists and decided after her diagnosis to turn their bad news into good. "Laura inspired thousands of people with her messages of advocacy, self-care, and awareness," they explain on the site's About Laura page. "Despite Laura's two-year battle, she remained positive and used her illness as a platform to positively impact the lives of others." They're still encouraging people to live life to the fullest, as the name "L4" implies: "Live Life Like Laura."

Michael's private Instagram bio has a quote that could be his life's motto: "Pick apart the day & put the pieces back together your way." Based simply on what we know so far, the other bachelors are going to have their work cut out for them.