If you’ve been following The Bachelor Spoilers, you have a pretty good idea of how this season of the hit series is going to end.
But there was a time when even Arie Luyendyk Jr. didn’t know which contestant would be the winner.
And, by his own admission, he took a page out of Ben Higgins’ book — and ended up falling in love with two different women.
While a lot of The Bachelor fans think that they know the name of the winner … thanks to, believe it or not, some math and maybe some tongue-in-cheek reasoning,
The one thing that everyone knows for sure is that Arie was pretty determined to become the leading man on this season.
So much so that Arie dumped his real-life girlfriend to become The Bachelor … just two days before the big announcement.
But now Arie says that he was totally taken aback by his own feelings. Maybe being the star of The Bachelor isn’t as easy as he’d imagined?
Arie Luyendyk Jr. spoke to People, where he admitted to being caught off-guard by his own feelings.
“I fell in love with two women, and I didn’t know I was capable of that.”
If he’d been in real life and both women had been open to it, they might have been able to work out some sort of polyamorous option. Alas, The Bachelor doesn’t give that much leeway. (Maybe one day!)
In real life, people feel conflicted all of the time. But apparently this was a first for Arie.
“I’ve never been in that situation, and it was really hard.”
That line is not, we think, intended as a double entendre.
Arie provides a single hint, saying: “And they were two very different women, and that’s what made it even harder.”
We’d imagine that two deeply similar women could be just as challenging, sure.
“I didn’t know I was really capable of having strong feelings and being in love with more than one person, but that happened.”
It can be a shock when you’re no longer a hormonal teen but you still end up catching feelings.
“The end was really difficult for me. And I think that it’s because it’s such a huge decision, and it’s my life.”
It absolutely is. (Though, to be fair, most post-Bachelor relationships seem to either crash and burn or to fizzle out within a few months)
“But I’m happy, and I wouldn’t have changed anything,” Arie says.
He speaks of the many women who were courting him.
“There were so many different types of women and so many different personalities.”
Yep. That’s how people work.
“I think I learned that I can be very open and that I can be attracted to a lot of different types of people.”
And, overall, he enjoyed being the center of attention for more than a dozen beautiful young women. Surprise!
“I’m very happy. I have no regrets. It was an amazing experience.”
If we’re being entirely honest, this reads as more of a tease for the upcoming season than a confession.
Maybe we’re just projecting the tone that we imagine Arie striking. We’re totally willing to admit that possibility.
But teasing the season is, you know, part of the job.
We also think that, because it’s so widely believed that Arie is going on the show to boost his social media standing (despite Arie’s age and supposed maturity) rather than to find love, he’s probably trying to soften his image.
That, too, goes with the territory. He wants people to tune in, folks. And love triangles attract viewers.