Justin Glaze is one of Katie Thurston's Final 2 bachelors heading into the finale of The Bachelorette's seventeenth season.

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Justin is a 26-year-old investment sales consultant from Baltimore, MD.

Justin definitely turned out to be the dark horse on Katie's The Bachelorette season, because while he didn't receive a lot of screentime, he's one of Katie's Final 2 suitors remaining following Greg Grippo's unexpected decision to quit the show after hometown dates.

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Katie viewed Justin as a confident and smooth bachelor. She said he's a great kisser and their chemistry was "undeniable."

Katie said spending time with Justin just "felt like normal life" and it was the beginning of "what could be love," but Justin's parents declined his invitation to travel to the New Mexico resort where The Bachelorette filmed and meet Katie.

Katie only met Justin's two best friends during his hometown date as a result, but that didn't stop Justin from falling even harder for Katie. Justin's friends could also tell Justin was completely being himself around Katie and wasn't holding back emotionally or physically.

"I know how I'm feeling about you, but my body is trying to protect [my heart]. It's scary as hell and I get nervous... [But]... I can't control how I feel. As much as I'm trying to fight it, I know I'm falling in love with you," Justin told Katie at the end of his hometown date.

"That's how I feel, and I don't want to hold back."

Justin gushed about how nothing was missing in his relationship with Katie and he'd continue to open up and peel back the layers.

"I'm ready to take that next step with Katie. As scary as it is, there's a reality more than ever that I could be engaged soon," Justin noted in a confessional.

Katie, however, made it clear that Greg was her No. 1 choice before he quit the show, so how will Katie even proceed on The Bachelorette? Will she pick up the pieces following Greg's ouster and choose Justin or Blake Moynes -- or will she leave the show single and alone?

Until viewers can find out how The Bachelorette 17 ends, let's learn some information about Justin right now.

Below is a list of 13 facts Reality TV World has compiled about Justin Glaze.

Justin Glaze was a college athlete

Justin was an NCAA Division 1 Varsity college athlete. He was a Varsity member of the Track & Field team.

In addition, Justin was also a member of the Sigma Alpha Lambda National Honor Society and the Secretary, Investment & Trading Club. 

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The Bachelorette bachelor is "an extremely talented painter"

As fans probably recall, Justin gifted Katie a painting of red roses in the shape of a heart on Night 1 of their journey to find love.

Justin told Katie that he would continue adding to and working on the unfinished masterpiece as the season continued and they got to know one another better.

Justin's favorite artist of all time is Basquiat.

Justin has drawn or painted wedding-couple, family and celebrity portraits as well as the human body and Notre Dame.

Justin even transforms sneakers with his art and has done face painting before as well!

Not only is painting a way for Justin to express himself, but it also serves as an outlet for him to vent and air out his frustrations.

Katie apparently had the hots for Justin right off the bat

During an early June appearance on Good Morning America, Katie was asked to reveal her choice for "most attractive" bachelor on The Bachelorette's seventeenth season.

Without much thought or hesitation, Katie blurted out, "Justin!"

Justin however didn't win the titles of "Best Kisser," "Most Sincere," "Funniest" or "Best Husband Material."  

The bachelor has been committed to one company for almost five years

Justin works as a DCIO Intermediary Sales Consultant at T. Rowe Price. He began this position in January 2020.

Justin began working at T. Rowe Price in October 2016 as a financial services associate and was promoted in February 2018 to be a US Intermediary Sales Associate.

He even served as an intern at T. Rowe Price in 2014. (Justin also worked as a derivative operations summer analyst for Morgan Stanley in 2015 before coming back to T. Rowe Price). 

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Justin's dream girl will have a handful of important traits or qualities

Justin is looking for a woman who is equally beautiful on the inside and out as well as trustworthy.

Justin desires a partner who is committed to the idea of teamwork in a relationship, and he wants his future wife to be passionate about fitness.

In addition, the bachelor wants a woman who can enjoy a good day of barbecuing and a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc.

The Bachelorette bachelor considers himself to be a true romantic

Justin says he can be very romantic when he cares about someone. He apparently holds a lot of value in having a strong intimate connection, both emotionally and physically.

For Justin, going on The Bachelorette was about finding his forever.

When casting Justin on the show, ABC called him "one hell of a catch" considering he's tall, handsome and has a great career. 
 

Justin incorporated his passion for painting into his college education

The Bachelorette bachelor graduated from the University of Maryland Baltimore County in 2016 with a degree in Business Technology Administration, with a concentration in Economics.

As for his minor, Justin studied Visual Arts in school.

Justin claims he has been searching for The One, a very special girl

Justin comes from a loving family and admires his parents' marriage.

Justin says he credits his parents -- who have been happily married for over 30 years -- with providing him an excellent example of what a successful relationship looks like.

Justin admits he has dated around but hasn't settled down yet because he has yet to find his perfect match.  

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The Bachelorette bachelor wouldn't say he is light on his feet

While the bachelor is artistic, well-traveled and presumably a fast runner (given he had been on his college track team), Justin admits he has two left feet and does not like to dance -- at all.

Justin would therefore probably never take Katie out dancing or take her on a date when dancing is involved.

"I'm saving my moves for marriage," Justin joked May 18 on Instagram.

Justin has revealed the craziest thing he's ever done

Besides choosing to compete for a girl on The Bachelorette, Justin once traveled from Baltimore, MD, to New York, NY in the middle of a blizzard.

It was a very bad idea apparently because he said the train had gotten frozen on its track.

The suitor has apologized for "ignorant" and "really hurtful" tweets in his past

Several of Justin's insensitive and "ignorant" tweets from 2009 to 2011 -- when Justin, now 27, was between 14 and 16 years old -- resurfaced on Reddit in early July.

Justin had apparently tweeted the terms "f-g" and "g-y ass" and made a joke about a "rude Black b-tch" about a decade ago. He also wrote as a teenager that he "can't date a girl... if she dark as [rapper] FlavorFlav."

During a recent episode of the Bachelor Happy Hour podcast hosted by Season 14 The Bachelorette star Becca Kufrin, Justin issued an apology for his "unfortunate" words which had promoted colorism, insulted Black women and slammed the LGBT community.

"As I reflect on everything that I just went through with this whole journey, often times people ask me what I took from it," began Justin.

"And one of the biggest takeaways for me was just my personal growth, and one of those things is being able to hold myself accountable, which is something that historically I wasn't able to do."

Justin noted to Becca and her guest podcast co-host at the time, Tayshia Adams, that he has "no issue with owning up" to his mistakes and faults.

"And so, you know, I have no issue with... apologizing from the bottom of my heart for the really hurtful words that I used back in 2009 or 2011. The last thing that I want to do is run from it. That's not who I am," Justin said.

"I just want to kind of speak from the heart, and hopefully, people will get an understanding of where I was then versus where I am now."

Justin went on to explain that 14-year-old Justin was "immature" and impressionable.

"I was in high school and quite frankly I was the type of person who, for whatever reason, felt the need to fit in and say funny things and keep up with what my peers were doing and saying to get a laugh or whatever the reason," Justin explained.

"The folks I had associated with at the time would throw around really hurtful slurs that, at the time, I didn't really think anything of."

Justin continued, "The last thing I want is for people to defend me and say, 'Oh it was 10 or 12 years ago.' What I said was ignorant and hurtful then [and] it's ignorant and hurtful now. I don't care if it was 10, 15 or 20 years ago."

"No matter how long it was, those words shouldn't have come out of my mouth," he insisted.

"And so I'm obviously in a much different place now, over a decade later as a 27-year-old, and I can look back and be embarrassed and ashamed of the words that I used."

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Justin said those "hurtful" words should never have left his mouth in any context.

"I know as I've matured and evolved and grown as a person, I'm a totally different version of Justin now than I was then," he said.

"I know those words would never come out of my mouth, because I know the weight that they carry, no matter what context they're used in. I understand how much allyship and support those groups that I offended need."

Justin said he now volunteers and supports groups advocating for inclusion and supporting women in the workplace.

"This is kind of a wake-up call to let me know that I need to continue to put that work in and continue to devote my time to these groups that need allyship and need support, because words can be hurtful," Justin shared.

"Unfortunately, my underdeveloped brain [over a decade ago] wasn't thinking, 'How can these words hurt people later on in life if they were to ever resurface?' I'm not making any excuses. I need to be fully held accountable for my actions and my words."

Justin reiterated how he fully understands that he must hold himself accountable.

"I just want people to know that from 14-year-old Justin, I've changed immensely since then and I'm fully aware of the weight that my words carry and that we all need to do better and continue putting in work," he concluded.

Later in the podcast, Justin recalled that after ABC cast him on Season 17 of The Bachelorette, he didn't think there would be much to scrub or clean up on his social-media accounts since he would never use that type of offensive language today.

"My mindset now [is different]. It didn't cross [his] mind to think, 'Hey Justin, you were an immature, insensitive teenager at one point in your life. Go back and make sure that [your social media] aligns with the person you are today,'" Justin explained. 

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Justin has volunteered for several organizations beginning in 2016

In November 2016, Justin began promoting WAVE, which advocates for women in the workplace. He joined as a member of its logistics committee.

Justin also became a member of the community outreach committee for MOSAIC, which advocates for diversity and inclusion in Winter 2016.

And then beginning in July 2019, Justin volunteered for Art with a Heart, which was create to enhance the lives of people in need through visual art classes and experiences. 
 

Nick Viall believes Katie kept Justin around only for Fantasy Suites

Nick, who starred on Season 21 of The Bachelor, recently said on the "Not Skinny But Not Fat" podcast he thinks Katie kept Justin around at Final 3 to potentially explore their sexual connection.

"They haven't shown any connection with Justin, whatsoever," Nick said of Justin and Katie's relationship.

"There's also conversations happening that we don't get to see. I don't know if it's true, but I made a joke that Katie -- and I respect it if it's true -- Katie's been very sex-positive, she's been very open."

Nick continued, "She made a joke on my podcast that she kind of wanted to bring [Thomas Jacobs] to the Fantasy Suite. And it's kind of like, maybe she's like, 'Listen, I'm going to pick Greg and I have two people to have sex with before I get married that are not Greg and I got a Get-Out-Of-Jail-Free Card."

"'And so, honestly like, [Andrew Spencer]'s nice, but I'd rather see Justin naked,'" Nick said. "If that's what she did, like good for her. I think it's hysterical. If a Bachelor said that, he'd be crucified."

Katie acknowledged he "could be wrong" but repeated, "We have literally not seen two conversations between the two of them."

Nick said one might remember Justin's facial reactions and that "he can draw a flower" and that's about it!

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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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