Arie Luyendyk Jr.'s season of The Bachelor has started filming!
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Production on Season 22 of The Bachelor is underway, as filming began on Wednesday, September 20 in Los Angeles, CA, and show creator Mike Fleiss is providing fans with updates along the way on Twitter.
"Night One!!! #TheBachelor," Fleiss tweeted yesterday.
Fleiss then shared a photo of himself at The Bachelor's famous mansion with the franchise's longtime host Chris Harrison, ABC reality chief Robert Mills, and Arie himself.
Fleiss captioned the image of the four smiling men, "Guess who's back? Back again. Arie's back. Tell a friend. #TheBachelor #JanuArie."
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A few hours later, Fleiss told fans there was a "fantastic group of women" competing for the professional auto racer turned real estate agent from Scottsdale, AZ.
"[Arie] has got some tough choices to make tonite... #the bachelor," Fleiss tweeted.
The Bachelor star always eliminates a group of ladies following the meet-and-greets and the season's first cocktail party.
Arie's participation on The Bachelor's 2018 edition, which will premiere in January, was officially announced earlier this month.
Arie, 36, first competed for Emily Maynard's heart on The Bachelorette's eighth season in 2012 and finished as the runner-up behind winner Jef Holm. Arie developed a reputation for being a gentleman and excellent kisser on the show.
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Following his first stint on reality television, Arie was extremely close to being cast as the Bachelor for Season 17 in 2013 and then Season 19 in 2015, which starred Sean Lowe and Chris Soules, respectively.
For the show's nineteenth season, Arie revealed to Us Weekly around this same time last year that he had booked a flight to Los Angeles and signed contracts with The Bachelor executives only to have the rug pulled out from beneath him last minute.
Bachelor Nation has had a polarizing reaction to Arie's casting, but Chris Harrison and producers have faith it will be a great season and a nice change of pace.