Could Jordan Kimball be the Next Bachelor? Fans Petition for Swap Amid Jenna Cooper Cheating Scandal

Bachelor Nation devotees were crushed upon learning fan-favorite couple Jordan Kimball and Jenna Cooper called off their engagement due to the fitness coach's apparent cheating scandal. Fans, nonetheless, are campaigning for the male model via Twitter to have him replace Colton Underwood as Bachelor.

Kimball and Cooper proved to be one of Bachelor in Paradise Season 5's strongest couples. Rumors of Cooper cheating, therefore, shook Bachelor Nation. After the pair debuted as a newly engaged couple on the pre-filmed Bachelor in Paradise finale Tuesday, Reality Steve leaked three screenshots Wednesday that suggested Cooper was only romantically tied to Kimball to boost her business.

"You know how much I need the money," Cooper's text message to her apparent boyfriend read, according to Reality Steve. "Me and Jordan aren't even together for real. I don't even like him let alone love him. I'm better than him and once I'm able to, I'll break it off for good and make up some story to make him look bad."

Kimball, following the leak, took to Instagram to share how he intends to "remove myself from the relationship."

"When you're in love with even the experiences you've had with them it's something to respect," Kimball wrote Wednesday. "Being careless with someone that you give your heart to and reach milestones with isn't sensible no matter what the terms may be."

Cooper, however, affirmed Thursday via Instagram the "texts were completely fabricated" and she claimed to have "never sent them to anyone."

Underwood, as fans know, was selected as the next star of The Bachelor on September 4. In appearing on Good Morning America for the big reveal, he explained how his time on both The Bachelorette and Bachelor in Paradise allowed him "to get to where I am now, know who I am as a person and know what I want in a life partner."

Despite this announcement, fans have shifted their interest by backing Kimball for Bachelor on social media instead of Underwood. Big Brother 19 alum Jessica Graf, for one, questioned via Twitter whether it was "too late to change the #bachelor to @jordan__kimball."

Graf wasn't the only person to advocate for ABC to change it's mind, however. More tweets surfaced in support of Kimball landing the coveted role:

Before Underwood was announced as Bachelor, Kimball and the NFL alum's shared ex-girlfriend Becca Kufrin suggested how she'd be interested in seeing the Wilhelmina-signed model tackle the part. Kufrin, who dated Kimball on The Bachelorette Season 14, explained her stance to Michael Strahan on Good Morning America in August, saying: "I mean, I would say Jordan for his one-liners."

ABC has swapped stars of its respective franchises before. In 2016, Ben Higgin's former contender Caila Quinn was cast as The Bachelorette for Season 12—and Bachelor Nation devotees weren't fans of this pick. The network, however, swapped Quinn for runner-up JoJo Fletcher.