The Bachelor Season 22 star, Arie Luyendyk Jr., apparently holds a grudge -- because his feud with former friend, Jef Holm, is still ongoing.
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Arie and Jef both competed for Emily Maynard on The Bachelorette's eighth season in 2012 and became close friends afterwards, but later had a falling out. (Jef won Emily's heart with Arie finishing as her runner-up, however Jef and Emily split less than three months after their finale aired).
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Although Arie claimed in January 2018 he hadn't seen Jef for "four or five years," Jef took a shot at Arie after he was announced as the Bachelor in September 2017.
Jef tweeted that he stopped being friends with the Arie years ago because "he's disgusting," later adding, "Oh the stories I could tell..."
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And then on January 1, 2018, Jef slammed Arie even harder when he tweeted the following on the night of The Bachelor's Season 22 premiere: "Doesn't matter who gets out of the limo...I'll give 5k to the charity of @chrisbharrison's choice if @ariejr lasts 1 year with anyone."
Jef's prediction clearly bothered Arie and ate him alive over the last year, because on January 2, 2019, Arie decided to publicly clap back.
"Pay up @jefholm... Put that trust fund money into something positive instead of bottle service. Asshole," Arie tweeted, throwing it in Jef's face that he is still engaged to Lauren Burnham.
However, depending on one's interpretation of the intended meaning of Jef's tweet, Arie's boastful slam is either a bit of a stretch or still technically a couple of weeks premature.
If Jef intended to say Arie wouldn't last a year with whoever he picked on The Bachelor, then Jef ended up being correct.
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Arie actually proposed marriage to Becca Kufrin during the finale of Season 22 that aired last year, and on New Year's Eve a few months earlier -- when Arie first reached out to Lauren after The Bachelor wrapped filming in Peru in November 2017 to allegedly "check in" on her and attempt to get closure for his lingering feelings -- the pro racing driver was in a relationship with Becca.
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Becca, in fact, said she gave Arie permission to call Lauren at the beginning of 2018, but she was under the impression her fiance just wanted to relieve some guilt about breaking Lauren's heart.
Arie later claimed he realized Lauren was "the one" for him during that phone call.
However, Arie then still continued his relationship with Becca until mid-January when he suddenly blindsided her and broke-up with her during a secret "happy couple" visit that was filmed by producers and aired on The Bachelor's finale in March.
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Afterward, Arie traveled to Virginia to reunite with Lauren, who took Arie back almost immediately and their engagement aired live on The Bachelor: After the Final Rose in March 2018.
Becca's pal, Tia Booth, revealed on After the Final Rose that she was with Lauren on New Year's Eve that night when Arie called and felt the pro racing driver was seeking "insurance," explaining she believed Arie would never have dumped Becca if Lauren had told Arie she would not give him another chance.
Arie -- who is set marry Lauren later this month in Hawaii -- told Ben Higgins and Ashley Iaconetti's Almost Famous Podcast last year that he had no idea why Jef was throwing "shade" at him once news circulated of his The Bachelor gig.
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"I just don't see why he had to come after me and be so negative when his own relationship didn't work out," Arie said at the time.
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After Emily's The Bachelorette finale aired in July 2012, she and Jef ended their engagement and announced their split less than three months later. Arie apparently didn't think Jef was one to talk about finding lasting love on reality TV.
"I feel it's unfair to judge, and I feel more disappointed than anything, because I don't feel it's a warranted attack on me," Arie admitted to Ashley and Ben.
Once Ben and Ashley probed for more details about the tension between Arie and Jef, the former The Bachelor star seemed to let his guard down.
"We had -- [Sean Lowe]'s wedding, you know, he brought a date," Arie explained of Jef, "and I feel he handled the situation badly with his date and he didn't treat that person right. And I spoke out."
Arie revealed, "Then he got into a fight with myself and a few of the producers, and that was the last time we talked... I just felt like in the moment, I had to stick up for that person that [Jef] brought instead of him. And I feel like he thought I chose the wrong side. [And] I think maybe there is a little bit of jealousy."
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski