The 28-year old winemaker from Sonoma, Calif., has been tapped as the next "Bachelor," according to various reports on Wednesday.
Early in the day on Wednesday, Life & Style reported the casting news, followed later in the day with sources confirming to both Us Weekly and Entertainment Weekly.
When contacted for an official comment on the news, a spokesperson for ABC would only tell Access Hollywood that, "We have nothing to announce right now. "
On the "Bachelorette" season finale, Ashley chose JP Rosenbaum over Ben - however, romance rumors quickly swirled for the rejected suitor with another notable name: Jennifer Love Hewitt.
The actress caused quite a stir on Twitter in July when she wrote, ""Watching 'The Bachelorette'! I love u Ben!! Take this rose I have for u! Choose me!!!!:)."
However, the former "Ghost Whisperer" star quickly shot down any whispers of a blossoming romance.
"I was looking for something pop culture to sort of tweet about -- I'm new to the Twitter situation. I wanted to have fun with the tweeters out there in the world," Jennifer told Ryan Seacrest in an interview last week, when asked if she and Ben were dating. "So, I sent out funny tweets about Ben F., and then it got all sort of like, blown out of proportion or whatever, and now it's like -- the rumor mill is crazy."
Despite her denial, Jennifer and Ben were spotted in San Francisco in early August - a meeting which Jennifer claimed was "totally by coincidence."
Coincidence or not, it appears his encounter with the actress may have sealed the deal on his newfound "Bachelor" status.
"They think he'll be ratings gold," a source told Us Weekly of why ABC chose Ben. "His date with Jennifer Love Hewitt was icing on the cake!"
No word on when ABC will make the official announcement of the new "Bachelor."
Source : OMG Yahoo