She may be overshadowed by Corinne Olympios, but Raven Gates is a serious Bachelor contender (as The Bachelor spoilers predicted).
A big reason for that? From the moment she stepped out of the limo at the iconic mansion, she hasn’t been afraid to speak her mind.
Even when it comes to calling out Nick Viall over Corinne.
The 25-year-old boutique owner from Hoxie, Arkansas, has definitely caught Nick’s eye, and her bluntness is something Viall admires.
Even if she criticizes him for enabling Corinne Olympios‘ sexual antics and dramatics, Nick can’t help but admire her honest sincerity.
Asked by Glamour why she tried out for the show, Raven said “my parents have been married for 30 years, so I have really high expectations.”
Someone doesn’t watch The Bachelor online apparently.
While you might think looking for love on TV is looking for love in all the wrong places – or with the right people – Gates begs to differ.
“Somebody that’s going on national television is really ready for love and has their stuff together when they are looking for a wife,” she says.
“When I first applied, I came out of a terrible breakup and didn’t think I’d date again, but … I still want to be a wife and a mother.
“So I’m crazy to go on an adventure on national television, but I’m really that desperate for love! [Laughs.] I’m excited, though!”
“I think I’m a little bit crazy, but it’s going to be awesome!”
What made her want to embark on this crazy journey?
“I was sad and broken-hearted and all alone in my bedroom, and I thought, I’m going to put myself out there. So I applied,” she said.
“I didn’t know the Bachelor was going to be Nick, but I was excited when I found out it was going to be him,” Raven says of the star.
Gates says she wanted to go into this with an open mind:
“What’s funny is that my best friend is obsessed with him.”
“When I found out it was Nick, I was like, ‘Please don’t tell me anything about him, ’cause I want it to be super organic when I meet him."”
“I mean, as organic as it can be! [Laughs.]”
Raven says that when it comes to love, she values “Loyalty, loyalty, and loyalty. In past relationships I’ve never found a true loyal person.”
“I probably wouldn’t settle for someone who didn’t love their mother or [who] treated a waitress or someone that was serving them badly.”
Luckily, Nick Viall loves his mom, and treats all the women he meets very well these days … if you know what we’re talking about here.
(If you don’t, see below gallery.)
As for her Bachelor franchise #couplegoals?
“Carly and Evan [from Bachelor in Paradise], 100 percent! I cried. OK, first of all, I laughed at the one episode,” Raven tells the magazine.
“Me and my mother were watching it together … I was dying laughing because Carly was so icked out by him, but she loves him.”
“She’s falling in love with him! I feel like I might be the same way with that, I’m not sure. But I’m really digging it! And then I cried.”
“When they got engaged, it was so genuine, so heartfelt. They’re my favorite, favorite couple! If they walked in the door, I might fan-girl!”
“And I’m not a fan girl, you know, if I saw a celebrity” on a regular day, she says, but with Evan Bass and Carly Waddell, “I would fan-girl.”
Wouldn’t we all over CarlVan, though?
