Krystal Nielson has replaced Chelsea Roy as the villain of this The Bachelor season, but Arie Luyendyk Jr. didn't concern himself with the drama.
ADVERTISEMENT
"One of the wildest parts of watching the episodes with you guys is seeing what's going on between the women," Arie admitted in his People blog.
"I remember at this point sensing some tension amongst them, but being unsure of who or what was the cause. Watching it back, it's obvious that Krystal was rubbing the women the wrong way. From my perspective, I was flattered by her aggressive approach."
Once Krystal received a one-on-one date with Arie in Scottsdale, AZ, during the first week of the show's process, she grew very attached to The Bachelor star.
Krystal therefore decided she wouldn't waste a minute of precious time with Arie, even if it meant stealing him away for a kiss during a cocktail party -- when she already had a rose -- or interrupting the pro racing driver's time with other women, who were desperate to just get a moment with him.
ADVERTISEMENT
Bibiana Julian confronted Krystal about her "selfish" approach to dating Arie at one point and warned the Bachelor of her antics, but Bibiana's focus on tension ultimately got her eliminated.
In Arie's mind, he felt like Krystal "truly put our relationship first."
Arie elaborated in his blog, "I know this from [Emily Maynard]'s season -- it's really hard to go from an early one-on-one date to a group date. After having so much alone time, it's difficult watching the person you're falling for spend so much time dating other people."
Arie understands such hardship naturally comes with signing up for a reality TV show like this, but that doesn't make one's emotions any easier to deal with.
"Yes, you know that's just part of being on the show, but actually experiencing it is way harder than anyone realizes," Arie explained.
ADVERTISEMENT
"On the other hand, I totally get why the women were a little annoyed. They're all trying to get time with me, and I think maybe her approach could have been more finessed."
Arie appreciated the fact Bibiana felt comfortable enough around him to voice her frustrations about Krystal and the other women, but timing is everything.
"I was getting to know the women on a deeper level and was starting to see if our relationships could last... [I] wish that we had been able to use our time to get to know each other better," Arie said of Bibiana.
"Group dates can be really intense, but my hope was always that the girls would be able to ignore the weirdness of all dating me at the same time and focus on OUR relationship."
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski