The Bachelor star Arie Luyendyk Jr. insists he's nothing like the reality dating show's last star, Nick Viall, despite recently being compared to him.
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"I think we're just two completely different people, to be honest," Arie told Entertainment Tonight. "Watching Nick's season, I could really tell who he -- I mean, I don't know if he opened himself up as much as I did."
ABC executive Robert Mills told ET in September that the guys are "very similar," saying they were both "open to everybody" during the casting process.
But Arie apparently feels he couldn't be more different from Nick, a former software salesman turned aspiring actor.
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When citing one reason in particular, Arie said, "I feel like I felt really strongly for more than one person, and it's because I was just really, I think, open to the process. I think that's the biggest difference between us."
Arie, in fact, told two different women, "I love you," while filming the show.
"I'm a real person," the Scottsdale, AZ-based real estate agent explained, "and I feel I really know what I want. I want to get married! I want to start a family. That's important to me."
Nick fell in love with Vanessa Grimaldi on Season 21 of The Bachelor last year, and while the pair got engaged at the end of his televised journey to find love, they split five months later.
ET also reported that Arie will have an unexpected and problematic visitor on Season 22 of the series, which just premiered on January 1, 2018.
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"I didn't see it coming, obviously, because it was so unexpected, but there was a surprise visitor at one point," Arie revealed, before confirming his The Bachelorette ex, Emily Maynard, was not the surprise visitor.
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After walking a mile in Emily's shoes, Arie said he gained "a lot more respect" for the current mom of four.
"After going through this whole thing... I just understood how hard it was, and I could kind of see her side of things," Arie noted of Emily, who had dumped him in favor of The Bachelorette's eighth-season winner, Jef Holm.
The Bachelor fans can also expect to see Arie break some rules this season.
"Ultimately, it's my life and my decision at the end, so there are some things that I had to bend the rules a little bit, to be able to get that clarity," Arie told ET.
"[I have] no regrets. It was difficult at times, but I think it is difficult for any Bachelor... [and] I think that things really played out wonderfully for me."
During The Bachelor premiere, Arie eliminated eight bachelorettes, leaving 21 ladies in the running for his heart.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
