What’s next for Dylan Buckor? Elk Grove man talks life after ‘The Bachelorette’

Season 21 of “The Bachelorette” introduced millions of fans throughout the country to Dylan Buckor, 24, of Elk Grove.

Buckor grew up in the Sacramento area and graduated from Sacramento State. He joined 24 other men as contestants on Season 21 of “The Bachelorette” and, after making it to the top eight, was eliminated by Bachelorette Jenn Tran during the rose ceremony in the fifth episode.

Before joining, Buckor never thought he would have the chance to appear on such a show and did not think to apply at first.

Then, the opportunity to go on “The Bachelorette” “just happened to fall into (his) lap,” Buckor said during a Aug. 22 interview.

He decided to take the opportunity and “see what happens,” thinking it might be a valuable chance to find someone with whom he could connect and potentially envision a life together.

Since he had watched a few seasons of “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette” before, he said he came into the show thinking it might be “exactly like that on TV.”

When he started filming back in March, he realized that the contestants “get thrown a lot of curves” and felt that he had to adapt in order to thrive on the show.

For example, contestants usually travel to another country once the season is well underway in order to enjoy new experiences with the Bachelorette. This season, the trip happened immediately after the premiere, with the cast leaving the Bachelorette mansion in Southern California to fly to Melbourne, Australia, for the second episode.

Though he was never selected for a highly-coveted one-on-one date, a notable moment for Buckor was when Tran chose him for a brief dinner during the July 15 episode. He had stepped up in a group date competition on the Australian safari by volunteering to hold a snake so that Tran would not have to.

During the dinner, they shared a connection over their shared interest in medicine. Tran is currently studying to become a physician’s assistant, while Buckor is applying for medical schools.

Buckor has participated in reality dating productions before, albeit at a smaller scale than “The Bachelorette.” The premiere episode of Season 21 drew 2.8 million viewers, and the subsequent weeks each drew more than 2 million viewers.

Looking ahead

In July 2023, he made his first appearance in a YouTube video by nectar, where producers tested whether male contestants would choose a date based on the person’s physical appearance or personality. The channel produces videos with themes such as blind dates, 21 questions and speed dating.

His most recent appearance was in a video from October 2023 where a professional matchmaker observed his interactions with a set of 10 women and gradually narrowed down the pool in hopes of finding a suitable match.

Since he left “The Bachelorette,” Buckor has been keeping up with Tran’s journey by watching the show, he said.

He referenced Episode 6, where one of the contestants, Sam McKinney, tells Tran on a radio talk show that she “was not my type” and that he thought the Bachelorette would be one of two other girls from the last season of the Bachelor. Tran sent McKinney home after the event.

“I think the boys have been keeping it very interesting, very dramatic, especially that radio talk show,” Buckor said. “I’m happy to see how it’s playing out for the few guys that are left.”

Overall, Buckor’s experience on “The Bachelorette” cemented his belief in the process of searching for love through such productions. He would be open to going on another dating show or similar production in the future, he said, if offered the opportunity.

“I think the process does work, and you can kind of see that based off who’s left and it’s like, ‘OK, this person’s actually really feeling Jenn, and Jenn is really feeling them,’” he said.

Now that he has completed his time on the show, he is looking ahead to his future in medicine.

Since leaving the show, Buckor has focused on his medical school applications, submitting his last secondary application this past week. He hopes to specialize in anesthesiology, which he developed an interest in after having the opportunity to shadow some practicing anesthesiologists.

“I really liked the operating room, but I knew I didn’t want to be a surgeon,” he said.

If anesthesiology turns out not to be the right path for him, he said, he is also open to practicing emergency medicine.

And although he is open to moving wherever he is accepted, he said, his dream medical school is UC Davis. The University’s medical campus is located in central Sacramento and the future home of Aggie Square.

“If I got the opportunity to go there, I would definitely love to be in Sacramento,” he said.