The Bachelorette 2014 is over and fans are wondering who will be the next star of the next Bachelor for 2015.
It’s down to Chris Soules and Arie Luyendyk Jr. The latter confirmed that he’s in the running.
“No hiding it anymore! Would love to share my journey with all of you, but it’s up to #bachelornation. Open, hopeful and more than ready,” he told fans via Twitter.
MORE: Next Bachelor? Marquel Martin, Chris Harrison Apparently in Running with Chris Soules, Arie Luyendyk for Bachelor 2015
Many fans thought that host Chris Harrison forgot to announce the next Bachelor during the After the Final Rose ceremony following the Bachelorette finale, but Harrison took to his blog on Entertainment Weekly to address the criticism.
“Believe it or not I didn’t forget to announce something that big. The truth is we haven’t decided 100 percent on whom that is yet. Obviously we take this decision very seriously and a lot goes into this process,” he said.
“There are endless discussions and heated debates on which direction to go and what to do. We are very close to making that decision, but the only big mistake we could really make is to rush this and try to get it done in time for last night’s show.”
Arie Luyendyk Jr. with former Bachelorette Emily Maynard. (ABC)
“I know you’re all anxious, and I wish I could tell you exactly when we'll make that announcement, but I just can’t because the decision hasn’t been made. I do love reading the ’stories’ that claim one thing or another but I am a part of these heated debates, and I can promise you one took place last night after the show, so it’s still not a done deal.”
Soules looked like he had the gig wrapped up but then somehow Luyendyk Jr. came into the picture. The latter was rejected by Bachelorette Emily Maynard, while Soules was rejected by Andi Dorfman.
The producers are looking for “a really nice guy,” a source told Entertainment Weekly. The source said that ABC is looking for “the anti-Juan Pablo,” referring to the last Bachelor.
Pablo rankled many people for his views on a range of issues as well as some of his actions toward contestants.
