A Nation Divided: Arie is the Next Bachelor

Mike Fleiss, the creator of The Bachelor franchise, started tweeting out clues as to who the next Bachelor would be three days ago. Obviously, my friends and I were playing Nancy Drew, with the clues given, to figure out who the next leading man would be.

I quickly realized that the odds of it being a man from Rachel’s season of The Bachelorette were very slim. Fleiss had even said that it would not be Dean or Peter. Peter, I was surprised about. However, Dean basically dug his own grave with his behavior on Bachelor in Paradise, so I was not shocked ABC chose not to give him the lead.

Fleiss had even tweeted out that it wouldn’t be someone from JoJo’s season (The Bachelorette season before last), which left me stumped because my money was on Wells Adams. After that, my predictions were: Ben Zorn, Jared Haibon, or the newly single—Ben Higgins; all of them were standout men from Kaitlyn Bristowe’s season. My reasoning stemmed from Fleiss tweeting out that this contestant had never had a hometown date, which would be accurate since only the top two had hometown dates during that season.

However, this morning I woke up to the announcement that Arie Luyendyk Jr. would become the 22nd Bachelor to grace our television screens. Arie was on Emily Maynard’s season of The Bachelorette, and came in second to Jef Holm. For those who are unfamiliar, this was the Bachelorette season that Bachelor Sean Lowe was on. Back in 2014, Arie was in the running against Chris Soules to become the Bachelor—but they went with Prince Farming instead.

Bachelor Nation is now more divided than ever. Most were hoping it would be Peter, since Reality Steve had notified us that they had offered it to the salt and pepper-haired beauty. However, I think that might have fallen through because production worried about his ability to fall in love quickly and wanted someone they could trust. Others thought Ben Zorn, with his dog by his side, would be handing out the roses, but in all honesty—his edit on Bachelor in Paradise didn’t showcase him as lead material. Some, including myself, were hopeful that the hilarious Wells Adams would win the title.

However, while this announcement is a shock—it is the best thing this franchise could do at this point in time.

Back in 2012 when fans were first introduced to Arie, Instagram wasn’t a big deal. People went on the show for the experience and the hope that they would be the next Trista and Ryan Sutter. This is evident when you look at the success of seasons before the social media boom.

Evan Bass, who found love with Carly on season three of Bachelor in Paradise, chimed in on the decision via Twitter. “I like Arie as #thebachelor. He represents a purer time before gummies and laxative tea,” Bass wrote, in reference to Arie appearing on the show before the social media boom. Bass also managed to poke fun at how many contestants end up becoming social media influencers.

Kaitlyn Bristowe’s season was when social media really started to come into play. People realized that going on the show gave you a lot of opportunities to make money through social media. However, I don’t think the show suffered until JoJo’s Bachelorette season. JoJo and Jordan are still engaged, however, most of the other guys were all pretty boring and fake. (I mean, even Bachelor Queen Ashley Iaconetti has discussed this on her podcast). After all, no one from that season was chosen as the Bachelor. I think that’s because Fleiss knew that no one was strong enough to carry a season and be a mix of genuine and entertaining.

Nick Viall’s season was the most recent. I think a lot of the girls casted did the show so they could sell hair gummies on Instagram. Now, I am not judging anyone for monetizing their social media accounts. If it puts food on the table, who am I to judge? However, ABC has started casting people who are only after the fame instead of people that are there for the experience. Rachel’s season brought out a couple of standout guys, but it seems as though most of them just wanted to make it to Paradise to drink with the boys on the beach. Once again, this is only my opinion. These people might be genuine, but that is definitely not how they are coming off. I think many will agree that this is very evident by this current season of Bachelor in Paradise. Many contestants act as though they’re playing musical chairs with roses each week. This is also evident with the amount of bullying, cattiness, and trashiness that has happened this season, which is higher than past seasons. There are also not as many genuine connections. Most people say Paradise is about fun, and I agree—it’s a more light-hearted show. However, in the light-hearted and fun nature of the show, some of the best Bachelor love stories have come out of Paradise, such as Carly and Evan Bass and Jade and Tanner Tolbert. This season of Paradise has lacked one very important ingredient needed in a Bachelor show—love. Fleiss has seen this play out during Bachelor in Paradise and has realized he needs a new era to begin.

I can see why people are skeptical about Arie. A lot of newer Bachelor fans aren’t familiar with him and he is seen as irrelevant. Many don’t find him attractive, however, I think if you watch some clips of him kissing on YouTube—you might feel differently. He was entertaining to watch on Emily Maynard’s season. Fans may even know him as “The Kissing Bandit.” Also, he’s a race-car driver, which means he is quick at making decisions. In fact, he comes from a famous race-car driving family. This shows how if he wanted to be famous, he very well could be because of his last name. I think this displays how Arie really is in it for the right reasons, and his season might actually contain love.

I think choosing Arie shows how Fleiss is trying to get the show back to classier times. He is trying to start a new era of the show. While people may be upset now, the positives will come to light with a strong group of girls this season, an entertaining Bachelorette pick, and this will all result in a better cast for Bachelor in Paradise. I don't know about you, but when I saw Sean and Catherine’s proposals or even Desiree and Chris’s proposals—I had happy tears. Jade and Tanner made us believe in love at first sight. Carly and Evan showed us that it is possible to get out of the friend zone. Dammit, even Ben and Lauren made me believe in love. I felt something! The last couple proposals have just felt fake. I know for a fact I’m not the only one who feels that way.

If you’re not a Bachelor fan, you probably think that none of these people are actually in love, and maybe you’re right in some cases. However, I think it is completely possible for people to find love on the show. People HAVE found love on the show. After all, there is no rulebook that states how long you have to know someone before you know it’s true love. There are people out there who have known each other for years and still don’t have a strong marriage. Love on the show is possible, but I think it comes down to casting the right people, and having a lead that is there for the right reasons.

I think that choosing Arie was risky for ABC. Fans of the show are unfamiliar with him, and he doesn’t have a strong following on social media. However, this risk may pay off in the long run. This casting decision may lead to better casting for future Bachelor shows.

See members of the Bachelor Family react to the news below: