The Bachelor Arie Luyendyk: 3 things you need to know about season 22’s leading man

Arie Luyendyk, Jr is the Bachelor 2018 whether you like it or not. Here’s what you need to know about the guy who will be handing out roses in January.

Thursday’s Bachelor season 22 announcement was a shocker, especially for fans who thought Peter Kraus got the gig. Whether Peter turned the gig down or not, we have to move on and embrace Arie as ABC’s new leading man.

If you don’t remember Arie from Emily Maynard‘s season of The Bachelorette, let’s get you up to speed with three fast facts about the 35-year-old race car driver.

Arie was almost Bachelorette Emily’s final pick

Arie left Bachelorette Emily Maynard before the season 8 final rose ceremony. She picked Jef Holm instead (that didn’t last long), but it may have been her last resort.

After the finale aired in July 2012, In Touch Weekly reported that Arie was Emily’s final pick and their breakup was staged.

Why did Arie leave? Apparently, he wasn’t happy that Emily slept with Jef in the Fantasy Suite.

“Arie didn’t know that she had been sleeping with other people … once Arie (who is rumored to have slept with Emily on multiple occasions) found out he started to wonder how well he knew this woman.”

Truth or rumor? We may never know.

Arie was offered the 2015 Bachelor gig

Remember when Luke Pell thought he was the Bachelor but was replaced by Nick Viall hours before the big reveal? The same thing happened to Arie in 2015.

Arie told Us Weekly he signed a contract and was ready to go. At the last minute, producers changed their mind and picked Chris Soules instead. We’re not sure why they made the change but we think Arie will be a much better Bachelor!

I just knew two days prior … suit fittings; contracts that I signed, but they were delayed on signings on their end; booked flights,” Arie told Us last year when he addressed Luke’s situation. “Maybe this is a common practice now to throw off fans — I don’t know.”

Arie has been single for awhile

Arie is two-time Indianapolis 500 winner and also works as a real estate agent in Arizona. While he has had great success on the race track, his love has lagged behind.

After he left Emily’s season of The Bachelorette, Arie was spotted out and about with Courtney Robertson (winner/Ben Flajnik’s season). Although there were rumors that they were in a relationship, it appears that they were, and are still, good friend (with benefits).

Last year, they both Arie and Courtney appeared on a Bachelor fan favorites episode of Who Wants to Be A Millionaire. Robertson told Us Weekly that she adores Arie and he’s a “great friend” she likes to “make out with from time-to-time.” Interesting.

In 2015, Arie posted several pics with a girl named Kristina Marie who appeared to be his girlfriend. Some of the photos are still on his Instagram so it sounds like it wasn’t a brutal breakup. One thing we do know — she doesn’t have anything to do with the Bachelor franchise.

[Arie has now removed all images that include his ex …..]

Filming for Arie’s season of The Bachelor is expected to start within the next two weeks. We’re wondering how many girls who applied to be on the show were hoping to meet Peter Kraus. This is going to be interesting.

[Featured Image via Arie Luyendyk, Jr/Instagram]