Much of Bachelor Nation is surprised and maybe even disappointed by the new Bachelor choice: Arie Luyendyk Jr. Newer fans of the show never saw him on Emily Maynard's season five years ago in 2012. So who is this guy and will this be a good season or not? Here is everything you need to know about Arie:
1. He was the runner-up on Emily Maynard's season of "The Bachelorette" five years ago.
Talk about a "throwback." Emily's season aired a little over five years ago. After rejecting Arie at the end and getting engaged to Jef Holm, Arie was completely heartbroken (Jef and Emily did not get married and Emily is happily married to another guy now). He cried during the finale and tried to reach out to her after they finished filming but she refused to talk to him.
2. Bachelor Nation liked Arie back then.
Arie was generally liked by the fans. He was nice and people definitely felt bad for him after Emily broke up with him. He was one of those guys who went on the show "for the right reasons" and did not get involved in petty man drama. He was also really honest with Emily throughout the show and was one of the frontrunners the whole time.
3. He was a professional race car driver (seriously).
Arie has retired from his racing career but he was a legitimate professional race car driver for years. He competed in the Indy 500 and other events. His father was also an extremely successful race car driver. He is now in real estate according to his Instagram page. This was interesting when he was on Emily's season because her previous fiancé was also a race car driver and he died from a non-racing accident.
4. He is 36 (as of September 18th).
Arie is taking this seriously. He is more than ready to settle down. Although the "older bachelor" thing did not work with Nick Viall earlier this year, Arie is a much better guy than Nick is (in my opinion). Hopefully, there won't be any twenty-one-year-olds on this season (take note ABC) because it would be great for this to actually work out for Arie this time.
5. Popular bachelor Sean Lowe approves of the decision and is friends with Arie.
6. Producers have been considering Arie for a long time.
In 2014, producers were deciding between Arie and Chris Soules for the next bachelor. Chris ended up getting picked of course (but he never married the woman he got engaged to on the show). After this past season of "The Bachelorette," it was unknown who the next bachelor would be. Producers felt like fan-favorite Peter Kraus wouldn't propose at the end if he got the job so they didn't pick him. Dean Unglert was another possibility but Bachelor Nation is no longer fond of him after he juggled two women throughout this season of "Bachelor In Paradise." So, that left virtually no possibilities. Since they had considered Arie before, the timing seemed right to finally give him the job now. Clearly, it has been a long time coming for Arie and Bachelor Nation is hoping for a happy ending (finally) for Arie!
