Arie Luyendyk Jr. secured his infamy by dumping The Bachelor winner Becca Kufrin after a few weeks and crawling back to runner-up Lauren Burnham, as The Bachelor Spoilers had revealed.
Some say that Arie just followed his heart. Others, however, call B.S. on the whole situation.
But Arie’s famous ex, Emily Maynard, who once dumped him, is finally speaking out about Arie’s on-air antics.
Emily Maynard Johnson was the winner of The Bachelor‘s 15th season.
After she and Brad Womack split and went their separate ways just a couple of months later, that wasn’t the end of her time with the Bachelor Nation.
She ended up being the leading lady on Season 8 of The Bachelorette.
And that’s where she met Arie Luyendyk Jr. … though she chose Jef Holm. Still, Arie is her ex.
And now Emily Maynard (now married to Tyler Johnson; and she gave birth to baby #4 last year!) is speaking out about Arie’s controversial ditching of Becca Kufrin to date his runner-up, Lauren Burnham.
Even though Emily Maynard said she wouldn’t watch Arie’s season, claiming that it “wouldn’t be watched in her house,” it looks like she’s kept up with things.
Yes, including the scandal of Arie choosing Becca Kufrin only to ditch her a few weeks later for runner-up Lauren Burnham.
Now, Emily tells People what she thinks about Arie’s finale.
“I felt really bad for everybody involved.”
There’s a difference between feeling bad for most people and feeling bad for everyone.
She says that she didn’t have any clue that it would happen.
“I was shocked like the rest of America, but it was so sad.”
She lists the relevant people for whom she feels this sympathy.
“I felt so bad for Becca, she was totally blindsided.”
Of course — most of America feels the same way. But hey, at least Becca will be The Bachelorette. That’s a decent consolation prize.
“And I feel bad for Lauren for having to feel like she’s second place.”
Absolutely. Lauren Burnham is in a complicated place, but none of this is her fault. And she did suffer a breakup on screen.
“And I feel bad for Arie, because that whole situation is so crazy.”
That’s … very compassionate of Emily.
“I wish he would have handled it differently, but I’m sure he wishes he had handled it differently.”
Does he, though? Is he capable of feeling regret?
It’s worth noting that Emily isn’t just some random ex from reality television.
Arie had previously stated that she was his last great love.
“Before the show, the last time I ever really loved anyone was Emily.”
That’s arguably a huge insult to any woman he’s dated since 2012.
“The breakup was really difficult.”
Clearly, not difficult enough to dissuade him from signing up to star on The Bachelor … ditching his real-life girlfriend just a couple of days before the announcement.
It’s probably safe to say that most of the Bachelor Nation doesn’t share Emily’s sympathy for Arie.
They saw a man who not only decided to ditch his girlfriend for his ex after just a few weeks, but decided to call ABC and have them film the whole thing.
That struck many fans as a calculated move for ratings … though some struggle to think of how it could possibly help Arie’s brand for him to be despised by such a large viewing audience.
Still, maybe he and Lauren will last and be very happy together.
Only time will tell.
