He almost got the gig years ago! Sean Lowe revealed that Bachelor-to-be Arie Luyendyk Jr. was meant to be the franchise’s season 19 lead instead of Chris Soules.
“I’ve been lobbying for Arie forever,” Lowe, 34, who competed alongside the race car driver, 36, on Emily Maynard’s season 8 of The Bachelorette told Entertainment Tonight on Monday, December 18. “I think they actually told him he was going to be Bachelor the year they told Chris Soules. They even filmed some of [Arie’s] intro package in Arizona and ultimately pulled the rug out from underneath him in the end.”
Lowe gushed about his pal’s journey to find love while speaking exclusively to Us Weekly in October. “I told him to stay open minded and not to find the most attractive girl the first night and only have eyes for her,” The Bachelor season 18 star recalled. “Then I told him after the show is the hardest part. That’s when you have to commit and make it work and block out all the bright lights that come your way. Hopefully he takes my advice.”
While speaking to Us, the For the Right Reasons author shared why the real estate agent is well equipped to front the ABC dating series. “Arie has got a great personality,” Lowe gushed. “He’s kind of quirky. He knows he’s nerdy, which I think is endearing. He definitely doesn’t play the cool guy part. He knows who he is and doesn’t put on any fronts. He’s just a nerdy race car driver.”
The forthcoming bearer of red roses recently opened up about his time on the show, revealing that his heart belonged to two contestants. “The journey obviously was a great experience and I did fall in love,” Luyendyk told Us and other reporters on Thursday, December 14. “I actually fell in love with two people.”
Having taken Lowe’s advice, Luyendyk added: “I think my game plan was not to lead with chemistry. I think in the past I’ve done that before and I think as a mean it’s easy to do that. Also for me, I just tried really hard to envision how that person would fit into my regular life and if I could fit into their life.”
The Bachelor season 22 premieres on ABC Monday, January 1, 2018 at 8 p.m. ET.
