The Bachelor star Sean Lowe is extremely wary of bachelorettes who may be publicity seekers, according to host Chris Harrison.
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Harrison said bachelorette Paige Vigil, who previously competed on the third season of Bachelor Pad as a "Super Fan," didn't walk away with a rose at the end of last week's premiere partially because Lowe feared her reality TV stints may be a sign she was more into the cameras than finding a husband.
"Part of it was because she was on Bachelor Pad. Sean is very leery of anybody looking for their 15 minutes of fame. I don't think Paige was -- she's pretty sincere, and we fell in love with her as a fan on Bachelor Pad. We really thought she was someone who would last awhile, but we were way off the mark. He was turned off that she was back coming from Bachelor Pad," Harrison told TV Guide in a recent interview.
A similar situation was apparently playing out with former sixteenth-season The Bachelor bachelorette Kacie Boguskie -- although she had actually received a rose -- as Lowe kept his guard up around her in fear she may be on the show for the wrong reasons.
"We didn't really play much of it, but he was really wary of that. He was cautiously optimistic about her. They knew each other and hung out, and she really felt like there was something there enough that she called us. We thought, 'That's fine, we're not going to tell Sean, but if you want to explain it, that's up to you and we'll see how it goes.' At this point, he's going to see if it goes anywhere, but he's wary of her being on the show before," Harrison explained.
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While Lowe hoped the show would cast down-to-earth bachelorettes who weren't interested in becoming famous, he also requested he be given a diverse set of women. According to Harrison, Lowe's personal desire for more diversity -- and not last year's lawsuit which alleged discrimination, apparently -- was responsible for this season's increased number of minority bachelorettes.
"It was definitely done on purpose for our Bachelor. Sean has dated across the spectrum; that's something that very much doesn't matter to him and, in fact, he likes being diverse," Harrison told TV Guide.
Amongst his 26 bachelorettes, Tierra LiCausi was one woman who obviously stood out in Lowe's eyes. He gave her the night's very first rose almost immediately after she stepped out of the limo and introduced herself.
"He was just taken by her. For some reason when she came out, his shoulders dropped, he relaxed and smiled. So he thought she's definitely one to keep. There wasn't more to it than what you saw," Harrison said, adding that LiCausi is going to be portrayed as the villain this season but almost deservedly so.
"I think it's one of those situations where she captured his attention so you're already in the crosshairs and it's how you handle yourself, and she doesn't do a lot to ingratiate herself to the girls. She takes the whole, 'I'm not here to make friends' route. Why bring that on yourself? That's her style, and it starts rubbing the women the wrong way, and the more Sean is taken with her the rougher it gets."
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Harrison then noted which bachelorettes this season may end up being the fan favorites.
"I think [Sarah Herron] will be a favorite, and I'm interested to see what people think of [Desiree Hartsock], who didn't get a lot of time last night as girls tend to not when they're going to go further. She has this very young Katie Holmes thing and she's very laid back," The Bachelor host explained.
"I also think people will get to know and love [Lindsay Yenter]. She might be a comeback girl. The dress bit and the fallout after put her behind the eight ball a bit, but people will get to know her better and like her."
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski