Bachelor producers ‘set up’ Charity Lawson to be next Bachelorette and ‘convinced Zach Shallcross to keep her on show’

BACHELOR producers set up Charity Lawson to be the next Bachelorette at the very beginning of Zach Shallcross' season, an insider has exclusively told The U.S. Sun.

At the end of Tuesday night's Women Tell All special, host Jesse Palmer surprised contestant Charity, 26, with the news that she would be the season 20 Bachelorette.

"I'm the bachelorette, like, I can't even say that without crying, screaming!" an excited Charity told Jesse.

The top four contestant became a favorite throughout the season of The Bachelor, and was eliminated after hometown dates on March 13.

The U.S. Sun has learned that not only was she a fan favorite, but she was also "a producer favorite" from the get-go.

"Charity was set up by producers to be the next Bachelorette from the beginning," a source revealed.

"They purposely convinced Zach to keep her around until close to the end."

The source said that their plan worked, because at the same time, the 26-year-old tech exec "developed feelings for her," but "producers definitely played a part in keeping her there for a while."

Fellow contestants picked up on Charity being a producer favorite, per the insider, and some even "had a feeling from night one" that she was going to stick around.

The insider shared an example of producers setting up the Charlotte, North Carolina, based family therapist with Zach.

During the January premiere episode, ABC viewers didn't see that Zach was "told by producers to steal time with her."

"Zach walked into the room and stole Charity from the other girls surrounding her as instructed to do so by producers," the insider claimed.

"He avoided eye contact with the other girls, who were begging for his attention, and grabbed Charity to talk to her.

"It was a totally staged moment."

SPOTLIGHT ON CHARITY

The source noted that there were many "signs" throughout the season that Charity would become the next Bachelorette.

"She had a lot of shining moments this season, and a lot of screen time. It was purposely orchestrated like that by producers," the insider further claimed.

For one, Charity had Zach's back when calling out the girls who were there for the wrong reasons.

She was the one who dished to another contestant, Kylee Russell, that she had overheard Anastasia Keramidas talk about growing Instagram followers.

This lead to Zach sending Anastasia home during the February 13th episode because he believed she had "ulterior motives."

Then, the Auburn University alum received sympathy from Bachelor Nation after her one-on-one date got canceled in London because of Zach having COVID.

However, she was able to finally have her date the following week in Estonia, where she and Zach explored the country's capital and enjoyed a private dinner at the stunning 18th-century Kadriorg Palace.

'THE HARDEST DECISION'

Finally, Charity's hometown date was filled with uncontrollable tears of joy when the Anaheim Hills, California, native met her family in Georgia.

But, at the end of Monday night's episode, was sent home.

As she cried on the bench before saying goodbye, Zach told her: "I hope you know from my heart this is the hardest decision I've had to make.

"I want you to know it wasn't till right before this and I might be making the wrong decision."

In her confessional, she told cameras: "Sometimes that's the way life goes and it sucks. But it means I'm one step closer to finding who I need to be with."

ZACH'S FINAL THREE

The Bachelor continues on March 20 when Zach takes the final three women - Gabi Elnicki, Ariel Frenkel, and Kaity Biggar - to the fantasy suites.

In a preview for what's to come, Patrick Warburton's nephew is seen telling host Jesse that he's implemented a "no sex" rule.

"This week is viewed as 'sex week,'" Zach said. "This is the week where sh*t can hit the fan. It's not conventional, but I decided that there'll be no sex of any kind for fantasy suites."

The U.S. Sun previously spoke to former Bachelor Peter Weber who weighed-in on Zach's values.

"Probably it's in the best interest of the lead to not have an overnight, honestly, or be intimate with any of the people just from what I've seen from the past and what I've experienced... jealousy and not being able to control things," Pilot Pete confessed.

However, the reality star added that since the lead is focused on building relationships on the show, it's only "natural" to become intimate.

Peter shared: "You get to the point where you're very close with someone and you have a lot of feelings. It's natural to want to express [those feelings] and take that relationship to the next level with that. So, you know, to each their own."

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