The Guessing Game - Updated/Mariska Hargitay

What will be on the cover of People this week? My guesses, in no particular order:

Prince Harry: Recreated the Abbey Road picture with Bon Jovi; Prince William cheered for his favorite team at a soccer game; Harry and Meghan didn't bring Archie to London; Princess Beatrice's wedding is being downscaled because of Prince Andrew's troubles
Maria Sharapova: Announced her retirement from professional tennis at
age 32
Hunter Biden: Back in the news with an article in the New York Times; dad Joe Biden scores a big win in the South Caroline primary (but I don't really think they'll put Joe Biden on the cover)
Oprah: Fell onstage:

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Empieza el show de #Oprah en L.A. con una inesperada caída que, sin embargo, no interrumpió la presentación. Afortunadamente ella está bien... el show debe continuar @oprah

A post shared by Los Angeles Times en Español (@latimesespanol) on Feb 29, 2020 at 10:58am PST

Lori Vallow: The Idaho mom whose two children are missing, she's now in jail in Hawaii
Vanessa Bryant: Upset by pictures of the crash site, taken by first responders
The new Bachelorette: The announcement will be made tomorrow morning on Good Morning, America: 

JUST ANNOUNCED: We're revealing the new @BacheloretteABC, LIVE MONDAY on @GMA! 🌹

Have questions for her? ASK in as a reply below! #TheBachelorette pic.twitter.com/EsNgiHvXgV

— Tony Morrison (@THETonyMorrison) February 28, 2020

So who will it be? Word on the street is that they're bringing back Clare Crawley. Who?? She came in second on Juan Pablo's season, which aired January-March, 2014. She's also been on Bachelor in Paradise and Bachelor Winter Games. (Truthfully, I barely remember her.) In a big change for the franchise, in which both the leads and the contestants have been getting younger and younger, Clare is 38, turning 39 on March 20. Are they really going to cast 25-30 men in their mid-20s? To put it a different way, are there really a whole bunch of late-30's men sitting around with nothing better to do than go on The Bachelorett? We'll see.

One more name: Pete Buttigieg. Within the last few minutes he ended his campaign for president. As a barrier-breaking candidate, and now that he's out of the race, I could see People running a story on him and his appealing husband Chasten.

Stories that appear on the new cover will be highlighted in green.

Update on Monday morning: It's Clare, age 38, soon to be 39, and I want to plead with ABC, please, please, please, don't fill the mansion with 20-something-year-old aimless men who want to be Instagram influencers. It just won't work. In an article at People.com titled "New Bachelorette Clare Crawley, 38, Says Her Age Is 'an Asset' In Search for Love," Clare says this:

“People always talk about, ‘Why would you go on the show again?'” she says. “But it’s common for people, especially my age, to go through relationships. And whether they are good or bad, you take something from them. [Each experience] has propelled me into a different level with myself.”

This time around, “I feel like my age is really an asset,” says Crawley. “I’ve gone through twists and turns and I know what I will and won’t put up with. Twenty-three-year-old Clare had no clue what I wanted. And I’m glad that wasn’t the end of my love story because I’m such a different woman now.”

When it comes to her suitors, fame-seekers need not apply.

“I get that there are a lot of perks that come along with The Bachelorette,” says Crawley. “But in the end, I want a man who I can bring home and watch TV with on a Friday night who doesn’t want to be in the spotlight.”

And ultimately, Crawley feels hopeful that this time, she’ll find The One.

“There have been plenty of times where I’m sitting alone on a Saturday night, thinking, ‘Am I ever going to find anyone?’ But I know what I want and what I’m looking for. And I’m ready to start the next part of my life.” 

Call me skeptical.  You can read more here and here.

Update #2. Apparently ABC is releasing some of the 25-year-olds, due to a "change in direction." Interesting: 

Another one of the 25 year olds that was on my list and originally told he was cast has now been removed from the show bc of his age. Casting is still happening this week. pic.twitter.com/L3hGx6PQgV

— RealitySteve (@RealitySteve) March 2, 2020

Update #3 on Tuesday morning. Hillary Clinton: A new documentary premieres on Hulu this month
Chris Matthews: The MSNBC star abruptly resigned live on air after criticism about the way he treats women
Rachel Lindsay: On the Women Tell All show last night, former Bachelorette Rachel delivered a powerful statement about bullying
James Lipton: The long-time host of Inside the Actor's Studio, died at age 93

Update #4 on Wednesday morning. It's Mariska Hargitay, her third cover story in less than two years, this one tied to her work as an advocate for victims of sexual assault. The logo titled "Women Changing the World" looks new to me, and as of about 9.30 Wednesday morning, I don't see any other articles at People.com that appear to be tied to the theme. Maybe we'll see more going forward. Nothing on this cover was on the Guessing Game list, and for the second week in a row, there are no headlines about the royal family. Next week's cover should feature Bachelor Peter Weber and one, both or neither of his final two women, Madison and Hannah Ann. 

Issue dated March 16, 2020: Mariska Hargitay


Mariska's previous covers:

Issue dated June 24, 2019


Issue dated April 9, 2018



Last year at this time: Issue dated March 18, 2019