Arie Luyendyk Jr. has opened up about the current status of his relationship with Courtney Robertson, whom the Season 22 The Bachelor star had an on-again, off-again romance with.
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The pair's confusing dynamic has had Bachelor Nation talking for years, but Arie insists their bond is completely innocent and platonic now -- with a little business mixed in!
"We're actually still really good friends!" Arie, a pro racing driver turned real estate agent who lives in Scottsdale, AZ, revealed to E! News. "I'm her landlord, randomly."
After letting out a big laugh, Arie continued, "We've known each other obviously for years and years. And the romantic side of our relationship, that was way in the past, so we're just really good friends."
In fact, Arie sought Courtney out for some advice before filming The Bachelor, which premieres Monday, January 1 at 8PM ET/PT on ABC.
"It's fun to talk to her about this whole experience because she's been through it," Arie explained.
"She's been engaged [via the show], so before I left we had a good conversation about it. But yeah, we still talk. I own the place that she lives in, so I'm her landlord."
Courtney got into great detail about her history with Arie in her 2014 memoir I Didn't Come Here to Make Friends -- Confessions of a Reality Show Villain.
It all began when Courtney was feeling "devastated, lonely and pretty vulnerable" following her 2012 split from Ben and Arie reached out to her in the first few days she was single again.
Courtney wrote in her memoir that Arie went over her parents' house with wine and admitted she was his "dream babe" and he had "a crush" on her. The couple quickly engaged in a steamy makeout session before taking it into her childhood bedroom where they had the "best sex" of her life.
"When it was over, I gave him a massage and I could tell he was smitten. 'Will you be my girlfriend?' he joked. He told me he was going to cut all ties with the different women he was seeing. 'That's the first lie you've ever told me,' I joked back," Courtney wrote in her book.
"After he left, he posted to Twitter, 'Amazing what can happen if you take a chance.'"
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But Courtney soon found herself embroiled in a Bachelorette love square with Arie and his ex, Emily Maynard, as well as Emily's ex-fiance at the time, Jef Holm, who was good friends with Arie. Courtney accused Emily of being jealous and "bombarding" Arie with texts after her relationship with Jef failed.
"I wanted out, no part of this incestuous Bachelor drama," the former reality TV star wrote in her memoir.
"At the end of the weekend, I told Arie we were done. He was disappointed and asked me to think about it overnight, and then attend the iHeartRadio concert with him the next day."
Courtney came to regret her decision, and the following day, she realized she wanted Arie back.
"After sleeping on it, I called Arie and told him I'd overreacted and that I'd love to go with him. 'I don't think it's a good idea,' he said," the model recalled.
"I was surprised and confused, until I checked Instagram later that night. He'd flown in another girl to take to [a] show and because he just couldn't help it Arie posted pictures of them together."
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
