Chris Soules talks about 'The Bachelor' and his dating experience (Part 2)

The Bachelor star Chris Soules will begin his search for love when the show's nineteenth season premieres Monday, January 5 at 8PM ET/PT.

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After The Bachelor's first-ever live event hosted by Chris Harrison and guest host Jimmy Kimmel airs, the nineteenth season will begin with "Prince Farming," a 33-year-old farmer and businessman from Arlington, IA, arriving at the Malibu mansion and being introduced to only 15 bachelorettes.

Chris will discover soon afterwards that 15 more ladies are on their way, and he'll ultimately need to narrow them down to 22 women at the season's first Rose Ceremony.

Chris has a lot to say about the season ahead, and during a recent conference call with reporters, he shared his thoughts and some teasers. Below is a portion of his interview. Click here to read the first part. Check back with Reality TV World soon for more.

What was your approach to the process in terms of having been on the show already? Do you think it would have been different if you hadn't appeared on The Bachelorette before going into The Bachelor and being on the other side of the things? 


Chris Soules: Yes. I mean, I think it was huge and beneficial to be on the other side of the scenario where I had been on The Bachelor as a contestant or a cast member. And I had countless conversations with girls that were there about, you know, about what they were going through and how to deal with it. 

I mean, it was important for me to be able to have some insight as to how they were feeling and what they were going to go through, because it's stressful and it's hard.  I don't know how you could really do it and be the Bachelor, honestly, without having gone through that experience. 

I just don't think it would have been really fair to the other girls or to the girls in general because you're not really able to relate, and I was able to relate and give them advice on how to deal with the challenge of dating one guy who's dating a bunch of other women at the same time. 

You know, that's something that you can't really prepare yourself for, and I think that I was able to relate with the girls and have conversations to help them get through it, you know, in order to make it a successful process. We were kind of in this together. 

We were all in it together, and they needed to know that my heart was in the right place. And for me to be able to relate to them and give them advice on how to manage through the situation and manage the stress and manage the mental challenges of dating someone -- who, you know is dating someone else -- is something I felt I could give them a lot of insight on through this process. 


Going into it, were you interested in dating someone like Andi Dorfman or were you looking for a different type? How did your experience with Andi kind of color what you saw in the women you were dating? 

Chris Soules: Yes, I was really interested in Andi. I mean, honestly, I was excited that it was her. I really, truly -- she was probably the only one on the show that I was really, that I mean, I wanted her to be The Bachelorette. You can ask my family. I was cheering her on to be the one for a long time, and there's a lot of things about her that I really liked. 

And I think that, you know, you'll see kind of some similar personalities to her in this season, to a certain extent. I mean, Andi is obviously beautiful, she's independent, she's strong, she's smart -- and that's a lot of what I'm looking for. There's a lot of things with Andi that I saw that I want a part of my future.

So can you tell us a little bit about your dream girl, describe her for us? 

Chris Soules: You know, I had this question asked a lot going into this process, as they were trying to cast the girls for the show. And it's something that I began putting a lot of thought into and I think that it kind of oddly enough came down to someone who's similar to probably my sisters and my mom in a lot of ways, personality-wise. 


You know, so, at the end of the day, my dream girl is someone who I feel is my best friend, someone who I can be a partner with in life and raise a family with that, you know, I feel will make me better and make me want to be better and someone that's equipped to get through the good and bad times throughout life. 

Yes, it's a lot of those kinds of things -- the most important things to find in a person. Obviously beautiful, it goes without saying you know, but those were the main things that I'm looking for in a person. 

What about a dating turnoff? What's a big no, no for you? 

Chris Soules: A dating turnoff? My probably single biggest pet peeve is when people eat with their mouth open. 

So every season, you know the Bachelor must decipher which women are there for the right reason. What was your experience with that and did you find it to be the most difficult part of the whole contest? 


Chris Soules: I don't know that that was -- it was definitely a big part of the process, to determine that, but I felt like those kind of things were sifted out over throughout the process. I mean, there were definitely, I felt, like some girls maybe that had different motivations. But when it came right down to it, you know, I feel like that all kind of sorted itself out.

It wasn't probably my main focus. I felt like the majority of the girls were really there for the right reasons. So I didn't think that, you know, it's kind of hard to even know until you get to know the person if you find that connection and that connection is there. That's the No. 1 goal for me. 

It was finding the connection and the chemistry that was the most difficult thing to sort through because there were so many great girls that, you know -- I was more focused on not sending a girl home that I felt like there was a potential connection with and things are moving forward with. 

And there's a lot of times when I had to send girls home that were, that I had a great connection with and felt like there was a future with, but I didn't have enough time to see that through because of the way the process works.

But yes, the right reasons thing, I mean, I felt like I was pretty fortune in that regard, that most of the girls were there for the right reason. And I feel like I used the best judgement I could to just find the right person for me.


Now besides chewing with your mouth open, what are the major dealbreakers for you, like smoking or something? 

Chris Soules: I guess I always go back to kind of thinking of, you know, if I find my soul mate and the person I meant to be with, I'm willing to put up with a lot of things. But I think that the biggest thing for me is obviously I want to get married and I want to have kids. 

And I mean, if I finally meet somebody who I feel is my soul mate and they don't want those two things, those are pretty much dealbreakers for me. I'm looking to get married and raise a family, and that's a No. 1 dealbreaker for me. I mean, there's some small things that I can get passed, but that's one that I just can't.

So we talked to Andi Dorfman and Josh Murray at the end of her The Bachelorette season and they said they were totally "Team Chris" and hoping that you would be The Bachelor star this season. It seems like you guys had a decent relationship. What's your relationship right now with Andi and Josh? 

Chris Soules: Great, actually. I mean, I've only been back for a short period of time and I've kind of just been trying to keep my head above the water with work and just transitioning into the normal life in general.

But yes, actually, Andi texted me shortly after I got back and wished me well, and so I think we have a great relationship and I look forward to continuing that relationship for probably the remainder of my life.


What was your casting process like for Andi's The Bachelorette season? Do you have any tips for anybody that would like to appear on a show like that?

Chris Soules: You know, I think I said this many times to people, but my sister actually wrote me in, and so, I was somewhat surprised when I got a call from the casting people. But, you know, from that moment forward, I was kind of like, "Well, I'll give it a shot and see what happens," you know? "Maybe I'll learn a little bit about myself. It will be an interesting process and [I'll] see if it works."

And it was, I guess, it was a great experience -- just the casting part of it in itself. I remember thinking, you know, "If I don't get selected, I had learned something about myself and challenged myself in different ways that I hadn't done in a while."

And I think the main thing for people going into it, I think it's important to know yourself and know what you want in general and, I guess, know that you're actually looking for a relationship and have that be your priority -- not to further your career or something like that. 

I don't think that's what this is about, but yes, I mean, be confident in yourself and know who you are as an individual, and then, you know, [show the] people that are casting you and just be yourself. And that's all I've done since Day 1, and it's been, you know, it's worked out for me I guess and it's been a great experience so far.

Click here to read the first portion of Chris' interview and check back with Reality TV World soon for more.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski