The Bachelorette will return with Charity Lawson's season this summer, and ABC has formally announced its premiere date.

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ABC has announced The Bachelorette's twentieth season is set to premiere Monday, June 26 at 9PM ET/PT.

RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)

The Bachelorette, once again hosted by Jesse Palmer, will feature Charity looking for lasting love following her heartbreaking departure from Zach Shallcross' season of The Bachelor, which wraps March 27 on ABC.

The 26-year-old child and family therapist from Columbus, GA, will be handing out roses of her own to men she deems worthy of her attention and affection.

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On March 23, Reality Steve spoiler blogger Steve Carbone tweeted that Charity's season had already begun filming at the famed Bachelor mansion in California.

"I'm a little giddy," Charity told Entertainment Tonight after filming Night 1 of the show and meeting her bachelors.

"Definitely smitten. I have a good batch of boys... I was laughing the whole night. I'm so grateful and so fortunate to be here."

Carbone shared on Twitter that Charity's first date filmed on March 23.

"Charity's dates started yesterday with a group date at the Hollywood sign," he tweeted on March 24. "Then whoever got the group date rose got a private concert at the Los Angeles Theater."


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Charity was officially announced as The Bachelorette's Season 20 star during The Bachelor: The Women Tell All special, which aired earlier this month.

"I am truly so happy, so grateful, and I'm so ready to get engaged to the right person. Where are you?! He's coming, he's coming!" Charity said at The Women Tell All taping in late February.

"I can't wait to show little girls that look like me being in a position like this. It's awesome. I know I'm going to make a lot of people proud. I'm the next Bachelorette!"

RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' COUPLES NOW: WHO DID 'THE BACHELOR' STARS AND THEIR BACHELORETTE PICKS ACTUALLY END UP MARRYING? (PHOTOS)

ABC then teased the identities of 29 potential bachelors who hoped to compete for Charity's heart in a since-deleted March 18 post on The Bachelorette's official Facebook page.

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Charity's potential lineup of men range in age from 24 through 38-years-old.

ABC has yet to officially announce Charity's lineup of bachelors.

Rumors of Charity's The Bachelorette casting began swirling in early March.

"She knows what she wants. She is so confident, she's so sweet and, you know, she has a great heart," Zach told Us Weekly of Charity.

"She's someone from the very beginning that -- I don't know what exactly it was -- but [she] was just trustworthy. She was someone that I asked to, like, get her take on things and while there was some drama in the house early, she was always someone that I believed in [and] I trusted it too."


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"She's a very trustworthy person," he added, "and I think she [will] absolutely kill it as Bachelorette."

Many The Bachelor fans had been rooting for Charity to be the franchise's next leading lady, including The Bachelorette alums Becca Kufrin and Michelle Young.

Charity, who was nominated for The Bachelor's cast last year, finished Zach's season in fourth place. She was denied a rose in Los Angeles, CA, after introducing Zach to her family and closest friends during her hometown date in Georgia.

RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW: WHOM DID 'THE BACHELORETTE' STARS AND THEIR BACHELOR PICKS ULTIMATELY END UP WITH?! (PHOTOS)  

In terms of what she wants from her future husband, Charity recently said on the "Bachelor Happy Hour" podcast that she's looking for honesty, confidence, and a man who doesn't play games -- which are all qualities she found and loved in Zach.


Charity opened up on the show about how she had been cheated on, multiple times, in her past long-term relationship, which left her feeling embarrassed and unable to fully trust her own decisions.

Charity, however, has clearly come a long way in the healing process since then and is ready to find her man.

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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade.