Sean Lowe's The Bachelorette experience came to a heartbreaking end when Bachelorette Emily Maynard rejected him in favor of Arie Luyendyk Jr. and winner Jef Holm during this summer's finale of the eighth season of the ABC reality dating series.

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However, Sean received a second shot at finding love on television when The Bachelor producers selected him to serve as the star of the show's seventeenth edition, which filmed this fall and will premiere Monday, January 7 at 8PM ET/PT on ABC.

During a Wednesday conference call with reporters, Sean, a 28-year-old business entrepreneur from Dallas, TX, talked to Reality TV World about his The Bachelor experience. To read what he had to say to us, click here.

Below are some additional highlights from ABC's transcript of Sean's call with reporters. Check back with us soon for more from the call.

When Emily announced her split from Jef, did you ever consider reaching out to her to see if she'd give you another chance or was being the Bachelor and starting from scratch definitely the way to go for you?

Sean Lowe:  I think being the Bachelor is definitely the way to go for me, and I believe I heard about their split actually in our final destination. And so, that's when I was invested in other women. 

Even before I decided to do The Bachelor, I knew that Emily wasn't the one for me, and that became clear over time, and while I certainly wish her the best and, you know, I want nothing but good things for her, I know she's not the one for me. I'm sorry it didn't work out with Jef, because I know he's a good guy, and I really like Emily as well.  And, I certainly hope for happiness with her in the future.

In promos, ABC has teased a familiar face from a previous season is going to be on the show.  I know you can't reveal whom exactly she is, but do audiences view her as a villain or as someone America will be happy to see again?

Sean Lowe:  I think, without giving anything away, I think America will be surprised to see who it is.  And, I know I was certainly shocked when she steps out of the limo on the first night.

What can I expect out of the 26 women this season, and did the producers do a good job in the selection process?

Sean Lowe:  Yeah, let me answer that part first.  The producers did an excellent job, and I told them before I accepted their invitation to be the Bachelor that, you know, I obviously want girls that are well-suited for me. And my experience on The Bachelorette, I got to know the producers really well, and I think they got a sense of who I am. 

And I was blown away by just the amount of wonderful women that we had this season. I mean, smart, well-accomplished, funny -- and I think you'll see that causes internal problems for me as the season progresses, because I get to a point where I think, "Wow, I've got so many wonderful women, I don't know what I'm going to do.  I don't know how I'm going to sort this out."  So, yes, I was very happy with the selection of women and, forgive me, I forgot the first part of that question.

Can we expect anything, like, are the women catty or is there the usual kind of crazy one? Will there be any big surprises with the women?

Sean Lowe:  You've got 26 women in a house, of course there's going to be drama and there's going to be a little cattiness.  I think that's inevitable when you put that much estrogen into one house.  And I think you will, you'll see a lot of excitement.

You'll see, you know, drama as I just alluded to, and I think you'll see women who really -- one of my fears going into this was that women wouldn't be there for the right reasons. But I was so pleasantly surprised to find that these women, really, they've put their hearts out there, and you're going to see them develop really strong feelings for me.  And, that is good and bad for me because I started to develop strong feelings for them as well.

So, when viewers see you, they're still going to be a little stuck on you and Emily.  Can you go back to the process you had to go through to get over her, and would you say that she broke your heart?

Sean Lowe:  Yeah.  I would definitely say that she broke my heart, and I kind of mentioned it on The Bachelorette that that was the first time I've ever really had my heart broken. But being able to watch her relationships with Jef and Arie play out on TV, I think that helps me get over it a lot faster. 

And then, of course, I've got a great support system here in Dallas with friends and family and, just over time, I've realized that, you know, she's not the one for me, and she certainly had her doubts about me. 

And the woman I want to be with and spend the rest of my life with, I don't want her to have any doubts about me.  And, like I said earlier, I really respect Emily and I've got nothing but positive feelings for her, and I hope the best for her, but I know she's not for me.

Going into The Bachelor, did you view this as kind of your fresh start with your heart totally mended?

Sean Lowe:  Yeah.  I wouldn't have accepted to be the Bachelor if my heart wasn't totally mended, and so, when I started the show, I was in a very good place, and I was certainly ready to find love. And, yeah, a fresh start is a great way to put it.

Is there anything that you were particularly looking for in a woman?  Was there anything you went into the show thinking, "I really want them to have this or this."

Sean Lowe:  Yeah, there's a few things.  And first, I really wanted to find my best friend.  You know, someone that I can really see myself spending every day with and just enjoying being with them and being their partner for life, so to speak.

And so, a few attributes I was looking for is, I was looking for someone who was smart, you know, a woman's intellect is probably the sexiest thing for me.  And, then, I wanted someone who was funny and then I really wanted someone who just had a good heart, you know, someone who is genuine and caring and loving and possesses all the qualities that you would want in a wife.

We saw your fun side on The Bachelorette when you punk'd Emily, are we going to see more pranks on The Bachelor?

Sean Lowe:  You know, I wouldn't call myself a prankster.  I think I'm funny, but I don't go around pranking people all the time, but you might see a prank or two this season, just because I think people have come to expect that from me now.

I know this is jumping the gun a little because you haven't even told us if you're in love, but do you want to have kids, and if so, how soon?

Sean Lowe:  Yeah, of course, I want a family, you know, I obviously value family very much, but I could take my time with having kids. So when I get married, ideally, I think I would like to give it a couple years so that I can just enjoy being with my wife before we start having kids and introducing children to the family.  But, obviously, as you saw with Emily, I would be prepared to take on that situation right now if I needed to.

Sean, why did you decide to go on The Bachelor?  Were you hoping to find someone you would propose to and be married to, did you just want to start a relationship, or did you just want to have fun or go on TV or something else?

Sean Lowe:  No, I wanted to -- I was hoping that I would find the woman I want to marry and, you know, as I said earlier, my feelings for Emily were very real, and I think most of the people who watched the show could recognize that and go ahead with The Bachelor.  I was just hoping that I would have those same feelings, if not stronger, for one of the 25, or in this case, 26 women.

In the back of your mind, were you thinking, "I want to propose to one of the 26?"

Sean Lowe:  Well, actually...

At the end of the show, I mean.

Sean Lowe:  You know, I went into it open-minded hoping that I would feel that way, but you know I'm not going to propose to anyone if I'm not ready or if I have any doubts about our relationship.

And I actually, I went into, I think, with a very realistic mindset, and I told myself, "If I have any doubts at all, there's no pressure to propose. We can obviously continue a relationship in the real world until I feel like it's appropriate to propose to her or I could say no to both the final two women." 

What will viewers see this coming season and what will they learn about you that they may not necessarily have seen on the previous season of The Bachelorette?

Sean Lowe:  Well, I think the people will see my personality shine through a little bit more.  You know, with Emily, it seems like everything they aired, it had me being a little bit more serious outside of the prank, and I think maybe part of that was because Emily is very proper, and she's this Southern lady. 

But, I think this season people are going to see my sense of humor shine through, and they're going to see me a lot more relaxed and goofy, so to speak. And you know, I think you're not going to see all the serious conversations that I seemed to have with Emily.  You're going to see those, of course, but you're not going to see every conversation I have with every woman be so serious in nature.

Were there any hesitations when you were first asked to be the Bachelor?

Sean Lowe:  Yeah.  In fact, when they called me and initially approached me about being the Bachelor, I told them I needed time to think about that.  And, I took a week, and I talked with family, and I prayed about it, and, you know, at the end of the day, I knew that I am in a position where I want to find the love of my life.

And, as crazy as it sounds, I think that you can find that person on The Bachelor if the stars align.  And, you know, I just felt like I owed to myself to give it a try.

How many rules are you going to break this time around?

Sean Lowe:  You know, I've never been one to really conform to rules that are set, so you're going to see me break quite a few rules, and I did The Bachelor for a specific reason.  It was to find the love of my life, and I feel like there were certain points in the season where I couldn't follow the rules.  I had to follow my heart as opposed to the rules, and so I think you're going to see me breaking quite a few rules this season.

What's the best advice your parents have given you about participating in this process?

Sean Lowe:  You know, my parents know me better than anyone else, and they told me, "Just be yourself and stay true to who you are and then, you know, of course, stay in prayer and everything's going to work itself out."  And, they trust me and they trust my judgment and so they knew that, you know, I would follow my heart. And they knew that I'd represent the family well and ultimately make the decision that's best for me.

What's your pet peeve, stuff that you've found with this whole process with these ladies?

Sean Lowe:  Oh, biggest pet peeve.  Like I said earlier, it's almost inevitable for this to happen, but it always irritated me when girls would get caught up more in the drama and then they would lose focus on the real reason that they were there.  And, you know, of course, I want them to focus on the relationship that we're developing and not focus on all the other BS going on with the other women in the house.

Above are some additional highlights from ABC's transcript of Sean's call with reporters. Check back with us soon for more highlights. To read what Sean had to say to Reality TV World specifically, click here.


About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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