Arie Luyendyk Jr. impressed Chris Harrison with his vulnerability during The Bachelor's latest episode set in Paris, France.
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"[Lauren Burnham] finally got her one-on-one date after weeks of waiting. At this point, time is of the essence and that is, of course, why Arie needed an extra one-on-one this week. Unfortunately, no matter how much time you get, you can always use more," Chris wrote in his Entertainment Weekly blog.
"I think that was pretty clear this week, as while Arie's sightseeing date with Lauren -- which took them down the Seine and all the way to Notre Dame -- was pretty epic, it served as only the beginning for the two of them."
While Arie was incredibly attracted to Lauren, the pair lacked an easy and flowing conversation -- so much so, that the Bachelor considered ousting her when he was doing everything in his power to make things work.
However, Arie learned at dinner that Lauren was guarded and afraid to trust a man, mainly due to the demise of her parents' marriage and a recent failed engagement with a person whom she believed she was going to spend the rest of her life with.
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Arie therefore took it upon himself to open up to Lauren by telling her a very personal story about his past in the hope she would become more comfortable to share things with him.
"My most serious relationship was with a woman who had two kids and we lived together. We were together for a few years and she was actually pregnant with my child," Arie revealed of his only serious romance following his split from former The Bachelorette star Emily Maynard.
"But I started to travel for racing, and that was sort of a point of contention... And then she called me when I was out of town, and she said, 'I lost the baby, and when you come home, I won't be here,' [and] that was it for us."
Chris was really glad to see that Arie was willing to be an open book for love.
"I was really appreciative of the way Arie opened up about some of the harder things he has been through in his life," Chris wrote in his blog.
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"It's easy to ask other people to open up and to judge them if they don't, but it's always difficult to lead by example. Arie really made himself vulnerable, and I think that helped Lauren finally start to bring her walls down."
Lauren and Arie took a big step in their relationship in Paris, and Lauren received a rose, but they appeared to only reach the beginning stage of something that could be great.
"You can tell she is still a bit behind some of the other women," Chris noted of the 25-year-old technology salesperson from Dallas, "and with hometowns right around the corner, next week is going to be really crucial for her."
Arie narrowed down his field of bachelorettes to only seven women during Monday night's broadcast.
In addition to Lauren, the bachelorettes who will be shown traveling to Tuscany in the next episode are Bekah Martinez, Becca Kufrin, Jacqueline Trumbull, Tia Booth, and Seinne Fleming.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski