“Bachelor” creator Mike Fleiss is leaving the franchise after 21 years.
He announced the news Tuesday in a statement congratulating Season 27 lead Zach Shallcross and fiancée Kaity Biggar on their engagement.
“First and foremost, congratulations are in order for Zach and Kaity. I wish them a long and happy life together,” the television producer, 58, said in the statement, per Variety.
“I want to thank WBTV and ABC for 21 extraordinary years. They’ve found the perfect creative team for me to entrust ‘The Bachelor’ franchise and keep this lightening in a bottle bold and moving forward.”
He concluded, “Let the journey continue.”
According to the outlet, Fleiss will be replaced by new showrunners Jason Ehrlich, Claire Freeland and Bennett Graebner — who all have lengthy ties to the reality show.
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The “Bachelor” launched in March 2002 and has since spawned multiple spinoffs, including “The Bachelorette” and “Bachelor in Paradise.” Show execs have already started production on Season 20 of “The Bachelorette,” which stars Charity Lawson and premieres in June.
Aside from “The Bachelor,” Fleiss has been involved in several horror films, including “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning,” “Hostel” and “Shark Night,” in addition to reality shows “Who Wants To Marry A Multi-Millionaire” and “High School Reunion.”
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While Fleiss did not share many details about his decision to leave the series, Deadline reports that he has not “been involved in the day-to-day operations” of each series in “about a decade.”
Additionally, Fleiss has had his fair share of controversy surrounding his time with the show.
In 2019, a Los Angeles County judge ordered Fleiss to stay 100 yards away from his estranged wife, Laura Kaeppeler, and their family dog — just days after she filed for divorce from the TV producer.
Kaeppeler — who was pregnant with Fliess’ second child at the time — filed a complaint alleging that he physically and verbally assaulted her during an altercation in their Hawaiian home — claims he denied.
Fleiss and Kaeppeler, 35, settled their divorce in July 2019, and she dropped the restraining order against him.
The former Miss America was granted $10 million and joint custody of their oldest son, Ben, who is now 7.
She gave birth to their youngest son, George, in 2020.
