The creator of the Bachelor has taken a subtle swipe at Khloé Kardashian, saying that the newly-single socialite did not make his cut for the next season of the Bachelorette.
Mike Fleiss had previously intimated that Kardashian, who broke up with Tristan Thompson last month on the back of a huge cheating scandal, could make an appearance in the next season of the Bachelorette, where men duke it out amongst themselves to win the affections of one lucky lady.
"@khloekardashian is very much in contention… Stay tuned!" Fleiss initially said on Twitter, before adding that "Any decision regarding @khloekardashian as the new #TheBachelorette will need to be approved by my dear friend @KrisJenner …", saying he'd already been in contact with the Momager.
People had initially expressed doubt that Kardashian, 34, would appear on the reality show. Kim Kardashian tweeted: "Fake f****** news big time!!!!" before Fleiss said to the 38-year-old: "How would @KimKardashian know??? This is between me and @KrisJenner — and most importantly @khloekardashian !!!"
To that, Kim tweeted the following exchange between Khloé and her mother, 63-year-old Kris Jenner.
Khloé followed this up with a tweet last Saturday, slamming Fleiss for making her into "clickbait", and threatening legal action if he didn't stop teasing her as a potential on the next season of the Bachelorette. "Stop or you will be hearing from my lawyers. How insensitive!!" Khloé wrote, but Fleiss responded he was just trying to help "people find true love — nothing more!!!"
"One of the things we look for in choosing #TheBachelorette is a great sense of humor… Might be time to look elsewhere," Fleiss added, and in a further tweet, he confirmed that Khloé Kardashian didn't quite make the cut for this season.
Fans weren't impressed with Fleiss' transparent U-turn, with @Sarahtoland18 saying: "Your bitterness is getting the best of you." But while she's passed up the opportunity to appear on the Bachelor, Khloé won't be too disappointed - she's taking some time for herself.
A source revealed to PEOPLE that Khloé Kardashian is going to need some time to heal following the Tristan Thompson cheating scandal with Jordyn Woods, and says that the socialite may not date again for a while, instead choosing to focus on her career and on taking care of her baby True.
"It’s going to take so long for her to rebuild trust with anyone," explained the source, adding that "it will take her a long time to date again" after the problems she's had with Tristan Thompson. In a tweet following the fallout of the cheating scandal, Khloé announced that she's trying to move on from the whole thing.
"But Jordyn is not to be blamed for the breakup of my family. This was Tristan’s fault. I have to move on with my life & count my blessings, my family, my health, & my beautiful baby True," Khloe had tweeted at the time.