ABC/CRAIG SJODINFirst comes the limo, then the rose, and maybe, after a appropriate number of episodes, love and marriage! And thus, Sean Lowe's journey on The Bachelor is about to begin.
To celebrate season 17 of the hit ABC reality series, Lowe talked to reporters today and covered topics from the "mystery contestant" that appears in the premiere, to how he feels about Emily Maynard after she broke his heart on The Bachelorette, and finally, what we can expect from the new season of The Bachlor. Here's a Bachelor preview, in the words of Sean Lowe:
On the Mystery Contestant: "I think America will be surprised to see who it is. I know I was certainly shocked when she stepped out of the limo on the first night," Lowe said. "I'm glad she did come the first night. I probably would have done the same thing Ben [Flajnik] did, just so I wouldn't infuriate the other women that had been there the first several weeks." Any guesses as to who this lady is?
On His Time on The Bachelorette: "My feelings for Emily were very real, and most of the people who watched the show could definitely recognize that," he said. "I wouldn't have accepted The Bachelor unless my heart was definitely mended. I realized over time she's not the one for me, and I knew she had her doubts about me. The woman I spend the rest of my life with, I don't want her to have any doubts."
On Emily and Jef Holm's Breakup: "I heard about their split at our final destination [on the show], but I think even before we did The Bachelor I knew she wasn't the one for me. Jef's a good guy, and I hope for happiness for her in her future."
On Front-runners in the Season Premiere: "There was definitely one girl in the first episode that catches my eye, and she does receive the very first rose," Lowe revealed. "You'll see that that first feeling and those initial sparks, they're going to play out over several episodes, and it's going to be an interesting relationship."
On Drama Among the Ladies: "There's going to be drama and a little cattiness. It's almost inevitable for it to happen, but it always irritated me when girls got caught up in the drama and lost focus on the reason we were all there. I just wanted them to focus on the relationship," he said. "It's tricky, because you hear women say certain things about certain women, and I would think to myself, Well, I haven't seen that, so I'm gonna make my own judgment and draw my own conclusions. But then I would hear multiple women talk about that same woman, and then you start to think, Well, maybe there is something there and you have to investigate."
On the Women Vying for His Love: "The producers did an excellent job. I told them I wanted girls who were well suited for me, and I got to know [the producers] really well while I was on The Bachelorette and they got a good sense of who I am, but I was blown away by the amount of wonderful women," Lowe said. "I had no idea I would become so attached and so emotionally invested in multiple women. I'd heard about that happening on past seasons from people who'd done the show, but I thought that would be so hard. But it can happen, and it did happen."
The Bachelor's new season kicks off Monday, Jan. 7 on ABC.