Ever since the Paris Olympics, Ilona Maher has been climbing the stairs of stardom quite stunningly. It has reached a point where it seems like the rugby player is one of the most recognizable Olympians in her country. A lot of this can also be credited to her participation in Dancing with the Stars, which has earned her a lot of goodwill amongst people who have fallen in love with her quirky nature.

This has gotten to a level where the fans are now speculating where they can see Ilona Maher after the end of the DWTS season. One of them suggested quite an interesting idea. “She should definitely be the next Bachelorette!! I would start watching if they chose her! Great personality!” Soon, her other fans chimed in and said that this would be a great idea for the Bachelorette new season, as her screen presence is exactly what they need for their TV ratings. Now, it seems a former contestant of the show has come out and confessed his adoration of Ilona recently.

Mark Anderson, who was a contestant in this season’s Golden Bachelorette, was present during the shooting of the DWTS episode, which is set to air this week. He seemed to specifically be a huge fan of Ilona Maher, as he uploaded an Instagram post with a picture of them together.

He captioned it with, “And I’m still out there, fanguyin’!!! Bringing that beautiful high energy and putting in all that hard work to make it look effortless and easy. Wonderful performance, Ilona!” Thus, it seems at least one former contestant of the show will back Ilona’s bid to be a part of it. It also seems like the show is a match made in heaven for her, as it plays to her strengths.

The show’s format is that one woman is courted by 25 different bachelors. In the course of eight-ten weeks during the show, one of these 25 people is chosen by the woman as the winner and, technically, her romantic interest. It’s basically like a quest for love. Ilona’s personality would make the show interesting, as the bachelors would also have to up their game to match her energy.

But the catch is that Bachelorette is not chosen randomly but has to go through the Bachelor show first, which is basically a gender-reversed version of it and came earlier. The fan favorite female contestant in that show gets to become the Bachelorette.

However, looking at Ilona Maher’s fanbase should just make an exception and choose her, as it will make for great television. It remains to be seen whether this actually comes to fruition. But, thankfully for Ilona Maher, she has other options on the table too.

Ilona Maher is rumored to make a major career move in a different direction

On October 25th, The Telegraph published an article stating that Ilona Maher is in talks to make a major career move to the Premiership Women’s Rugby. Numerous teams in the UK-based league seem to be heavily impressed by her performance at the Paris Olympics and would thus like to add her to the roster. This could be beneficial for Ilona’s preparation for the next year’s Rugby World Cup.

The two teams that have already held talks with the Olympic bronze medalist to acquire her services are Bristol Bears and Gloucester-Hartpury. Another factor in this is the fact that Ilona Maher is arguably the most marketable athlete in the sport, as she has the most followers on social media among the rugby players.

Thus, any team that gets to recruit her will certainly find a boost in their revenue through sponsorships. This is why there is a lot of interest in her transfer. However, there are still concerns with the deal with visa issues bound to pop up. The defender has also not played any 15-a-side games since 2021. Thus, it remains to be seen whether a deal does happen.