No hard feelings here! Peter Kraus broke his silence on Arie Luyendyk Jr. being named the lead of season 22 of The Bachelor.
“Peter is very happy about the way things turned out and is happy for Arie,” the Bachelorette alum’s manager Joe Yuasa said in a statement to E! News on Thursday, September 7. “He thinks ABC made a great choice.”
Instead of returning to the Bachelor mansion, Kraus, 32, plans to continue working with his Worth Personal Training business in Madison, Wisconsin. “Peter is going to focus on his passion, helping people through fitness and wellness,” the statement continued. “He is very thankful for the opportunity he was given with The Bachelorette. Things are going to be great for Peter Kraus fitness and his boot camps moving forward.”
The Wisconsin native was a fan favorite when he vied for Rachel Lindsay‘s heart on season 13 of The Bachelorette earlier this year. He finished in second place after an emotional breakup with the Dallas attorney, also 32, who ultimately chose to spend the rest of her life with now-fiancé Bryan Abasolo.
Kraus also weighed in on Thursday’s surprising announcement on Instagram. “As I sit here writing this, I struggle to hold back the tears as I am overcome with emotion one last time,” he wrote. “First and foremost.. @therachlindsay, there are so very many things that I’ve wished I could say to you since the day we parted ways in Spain, but for everyone’s sake, I’ll keep it short… You gave me a chance and all that I can say is thank you. I have a heart filled with love for you now and always and wish you nothing but the best in your life and love ahead.”
After thanking ABC for treating him “with such love and kindness,” the business owner concluded his post with a valuable lesson he learned this year: “When you let uncertainty or fear guide your decisions, you risk missing out on what could potentially be the greatest opportunity of a life time. So live dangerously, live without the fear of the unknown, and continue to live and love with a heart that is truly open to anything.”
The Bachelor returns to ABC in January 2018.
