The rumors have been swirling, swirling, but the news was finally revealed on Good Morning America on Thursday (Sept 7). Arie Luyendyk Jr. a fan favorite from The Bachelorette Season 22 will be the next Bachelor.
The race car driver had stepped away from the franchise since he came in second on Emily Maynard’s season in 2012.
“We’ve kept in touch over the last few years but this just fit perfect, the timing of this really fit,” Luyendyk said of his relationship with the ABC franchise’s producers “I was a little skeptical just because we’ve been in talks for a few years about doing it. But I just kind of went in with an open mind and an open heart and it kind of just hit me right now that I’m here.”
Luyendyk was considered to join the franchise a couple of times, but it didn’t work out. After the Maynard season, Luyendyk was rumored to be the next Bachelor. However, the role went to third place finisher Sean Lowe instead.
The following year, Lowe admitted that Luyendyk was ABC’s first pick for the 2015 season, but that ABC ultimately went with Chris Soules because Luyendyk. hadn’t been on the air in two years. Luyendyk eventually spoke out, revealing that he only found out he didn’t get the gig two days before Soules was announced.
And now that Luyendyk is even further away from his original stint, why has ABC chosen him? Well, according to People magazine, Peter Krause, who famously refused to propose to the latest Bachelorette, Rachel Lindsay, played super hard to get:
“Peter was honestly never their first choice; they’re still mad at him because of the whole Rachel situation. But they knew he’s who the fans wanted. And the fact that they went to Peter even after they’d initially said they wouldn’t? That let Peter know he had a ton of power going into this situation.”
Fans assumed Krauss would be the Bachelor, and that producer Mike Fleiss playing coy with the details was just him trolling for publicity. In fact, Bachelor spoiler, Reality Steve, who usually gets these things right had reported that Krauss would be the next Bachelor.
According THR’s source:
Kraus was put in a similar situation to both [Luke] Pell last year and Lyendyk the year prior. The JoJo Fletcher castoff had his bags packed and was ready to fly to make the official announcement on his journey when ABC called him and told him Nick Viall was taking his place. Kraus only found out this week that he wouldn’t be getting the gig.
ABC had also approached former Bachelor Ben Higgins for a second shot, according to THR, but he turned down the gig explaining the timing wasn’t right on his podcast. Luke Pell, runner-up from Jo Jo Fletcher’s season, was also in the running.
Watch the GMA announcement below.
https://youtu.be/qWJFIop8kXA
