The Bachelorette bachelor Ben Scott, a 28-year-old entrepreneur from Dallas, TX, is still in the running for Desiree Hartsock's heart.

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Ben, who followed his adorable four-year-old son Brody out of the limo on the first night, has made waves in The Bachelorette mansion amongst his fellow suitors. Ben has taken an aggressive approach to dating Desiree, stealing her away from intimate conversations with other bachelors to spend time alone with her and allegedly acting like a frontrunner ever since he got the season's first rose.

During a Thursday conference call with reporters, Ben talked to Reality TV World about the season thus far and the drama that surrounded him in the house. Click here to read what he had to say.

Below are some additional highlights from Ben's call. Check back with Reality TV World on Monday for more.

Previews for next week's episode show you going off with Des for a little impromptu one-on-one time together. What can you tell us about that? How did you pull that off?

Ben Scott: I think that's something you're just going to have to watch and see. It's something that's pretty exciting and we both enjoyed it, so I think that's just something you'll have to watch and see.

What can you tell us about Michael Garofola? He seems to really have it out for you.

Ben Scott: Well Michael is, he wears his heart on his sleeve. He's a great guy, and what happened between us was unfortunate timing. When he had an issue with what happened, he confronted me. He's not afraid to confront somebody when he has any type of issues, so unfortunately, that's what happened between us and I think you're going to see that things like that may continue to happen.

What did you think about the comment made Monday night that you're a "politician" -- always searching for the right answer and saying what people want to hear or maybe that you couldn't be trusted. What do you think of that being an assessment of your personality?

Ben Scott: You know, I think that's an incorrect assessment of me. I'd say what I need, and I'm not trying to say the exact right thing or say something that I think people want to hear or do something that I think somebody's exactly going to want me to do.

As you saw, I did something that unfortunately hurt somebody's feelings. And I felt very bad about that, but it's something that in the moment, I felt was the right thing for me to do. I do not think the assessment of me being a politician is the correct one of me at all.

Was there any part of you that was worried Des maybe wasn't ready to be a mother or stepmother right away to someone, or did you have a feeling she'd be the type of person to welcome a child into her life right away?

Ben Scott: That's a good question. The main reason I brought my son was to see how Des reacted when she knew that I was a father and when she saw my son in person. That can either go two ways -- one, she's just going to love the fact that I'm a father and that I'm so proud of my son, or, it's going to show me that she's not ready to jump into that type of relationship where she has to also step in and become a mother figure to somebody.

So that's one of the main reasons I brought my son -- to see if she's ready for that. And as you all could tell, Des was 100% percent open to the fact that I already have a son... so she was totally okay with that and it made me extremely happy, and I think that's one of the reasons our relationship grows so fast.

You got some criticism from the other guys in the house for bringing your son along that first night to meet Des. Have you gotten any heat from any outside parties as well?

Ben Scott: Everybody's going to have their own opinion on why they believe I brought my son, but I know exactly why I brought him and it was a big risk because it could've gone one of two ways -- she could've loved it or she just could've thought of it as, "I'm not ready for the situation this guy's in right now with already having a kid."

But it never once occurred to me, "What is everybody else going to think?" It just occurred to me, "How is this going to affect Desiree," and also, "Is my son's mother going to be okay with it?"

So of course I confirmed with her before the season happened and she was 100% percent okay with everything that happened on the show. In the end, it really didn't matter to me what everybody else thought. It just mattered, "How is this going to affect me and Des?"

You started to be portrayed as the villain this season. Do you think you've been unfairly targeted at all?

Ben Scott: That's for each and every person to decide on their own, but I think I did come in with the idea that I'm here 100% percent to find out if Desiree is the one that I'm going to marry.

And that approach may not have been the way the other guys had initially come in, and I focused all my attention on trying to build the relationship that Des and I had. And some of the guys saw that and you saw some of their reactions.

How was it watching conversations unfold about you on TV between guys kind of trash-talking you? Because obviously you weren't aware of those conversations while you were filming.

Ben Scott: Going into this, you realize you're going to hear some things that you may not have expected. And that's one of the things about being on the show. You don't know what's happening with the other guys when you're not around. You don't know what they're saying. You don't know what they're doing. You don't know about their time with Des.

And I've gone through this process with the understanding that some things may be said and I may see things that I may not like and I may see things that would surprise me. I respect the guys for doing what they did and I'm not one who worries about what other people said, how I appear.

I was exactly who I was, and although some things didn't happen the ideal way as I wanted them to, I don't have any regrets. It was a great experience and I don't hold anything against the other guys. They have their own opinions and have a right to those opinions.

You had this little "secret" with Des about how you were the first one who knew how great of a kisser she was. But apparently, you weren't the first guy to actually kiss her...

Ben Scott: I mean, one thing about me is I didn't ask a lot of questions about how they other guys' dates went. It wasn't something that I really wanted to hear -- how dates were going with somebody that I like. So I questioned, "Has anyone else kissed her?" But that thing was more of that the guys didn't understand that, "I know you're a good kisser," like saying that nobody knows about it yet, that's kind of our secret.

And I am pretty private with my relationships, even though I'm on a dating show the nation is going to see, I don't necessarily want the guys who are still around in that moment knowing everything about my relationship with her. So I enjoyed, since everything is so public, having some things that were just private between us. It adds some romance to it and it adds some excitement to it.

Above are some additional highlights from Ben's Thursday conference call with reporters. To read what he had to say to Reality TV World specifically, click here. Check back with us on Monday for more. 


About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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