Arie Luyendyk Jr. didn’t expect to be the Bachelor, and the weight of perhaps not being what fans were expecting fell heavily on his shoulders.
“In the moment, I was cast really late. I feel like a lot of people were expecting a different Bachelor,” the 36-year-old real estate agent exclusively told Us Weekly at the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour in Pasadena, California, on Tuesday, January 9. “I am fine with that.”
However, being compared to Peter Kraus, who fans expected to be the season 22 lead, was not always easy for Luyendyk to handle. “It also gave me a little insecurity that first night,” he admitted. “I wanted to make sure whoever was there was there to meet me and if they weren’t there to meet me, they’d just give me a chance to let them know who I was.”
While speaking to Us last month, Luyendyk shared similar sentiments about his casting. “I wasn’t what everyone was expecting. I totally realize that and that’s something that I’m fine with that, you know?” he said at the time. “I’m really grateful for the opportunity to be the Bachelor and I was really nervous and excited that first night and yeah, I did sort of have togged through and see if the women were there for me. But that’s just part of it and I was really thankful that I was put in this position.”
A source previously told Us that Luyendyk laughs off the Kraus comparisons. “Arie is very self-deprecating and has a sense of humor about the whole thing,” the insider said. “He would probably call himself Not Peter. He gets it and he doesn’t care.”
As previously reported, Kraus told Us in October 2017 that he was never officially offered the Bachelor gig after breaking up with Rachel Lindsay on her Bachelorette season 13 finale.
Reporting by Emily Longretta
The Bachelor season 22 airs on ABC Mondays at 8 p.m. ET.
