The Bachelor star Colton Underwood revealed what viewers can expect from his upcoming season and met three of the bachelorettes who will be competing for his heart during an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show that airs Thursday.
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Season 23 of The Bachelor will officially begin filming shortly and premiere on ABC on January 7, 2019.
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During his appearance, the 26-year-old charity founder and former professional football player told Ellen DeGeneres he had "no clue" producers were going to choose him to star on The Bachelor's next season at the time he was approached for the gig.
"I found out just very shortly before Good Morning America... a little over a week ago. So it's been a whirlwind, and now I'm on Ellen! This is unreal!" Colton gushed.
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Colton apparently did not hesitate to accept ABC's offer and take on the role.
"I know how it was to go through The Bachelorette and go through Bachelor in Paradise and how good it was for me to continue to grow. So, I knew the experience I had prior to it, and I was super excited about it because it's helped me grow as a person," Colton explained.
But fans have questioned whether he's truly ready to find lasting love and get engaged. Not only has the self-declared virgin had little dating experience, but he also dumped Tia Booth on Bachelor in Paradise 5 and broke her heart when things seemed to be going great between them.
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So has he moved on from The Bachelorette's fourteenth-season star Becca Kufrin as well as Tia, who got her start on Arie Luyendyk Jr.'s season of The Bachelor?
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"I definitely got the closure that I needed from Becca. I'm still friends with [her fiance Garrett Yrigoyen], and Becca actually congratulated me after I got named [the Bachelor] -- and same with Tia," Colton assured Ellen.
"Tia and I still continue to have a great friendship. We text here and there, and I am just so ready and so excited, not only to meet my fiancee and my wife but to meet the mother of my children and somebody I want to spend the rest of my life with... I'm very excited! I feel like I was born to be a dad, so I'm literally super excited for this."
Despite what typically goes on in the Fantasy Suite, Colton said he's still "looking forward" to that part of the process and doesn't feel any pressure to do something he's not ready for.
"You can do more in the Fantasy Suites than just have sex. So, I mean, we can play board games, we can hang out. Finding out the little things about them is some of the most interesting things, because you guys get to see, like, the big storylines on TV," Colton said.
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"I'm looking forward to just, like, 'What's your favorite snack? What kind of dog do you like?' Just the little, every day things you guys really don't care about, but I will."
As far as what Colton's looking for in a partner, he shared, "I need somebody who is fun and spontaneous and outgoing. Appearance-wise, I'm sort of all across the board. But I just need somebody who's a good person and somebody who could be a good mother."
In terms of how many kids he'd like to have, Colton replied, "I mean, let's not put a number on it!"
Colton also wants a woman who can stimulate him mentally, saying, "I like to be challenged in a relationship."
"[I want] somebody who can just continue to push me and allow me to grow and sort of take me out of my comfort zone at times," he elaborated.
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"I'm looking forward to all the fun surprises... I can't wait. All the way from the surprises of where we're going on location to what the girls are going to bring, I'm looking forward to the [spontaneity] and just everything the show has to offer."
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And Colton isn't setting any rules for himself, nor is he entering the show with expectations of what he's supposed to do or say to make great TV.
"I'm going to enjoy myself. My motto for this season is to live in the moment and be present and just enjoy myself and have fun, because I feel like in the other two shows, I had to deal with some serious situations, and I just want to relax and have fun," Colton revealed.
Colton told Ellen he was still a few days away from beginning the filming of his The Bachelor season. However, Ellen then introduced him to three of his bachelorettes right off the bat -- Annie, Sydney and Katie.
The girls stood high on a platform and were asked simple questions in a game called "Know or Go." If a girl answered incorrectly, she'd be eliminated and fall through the floor.
Annie ended up winning the game after revealing she loves dogs and her family owns a horse farm. The bubbly blonde therefore got to meet Colton face-to-face and exchange a big hug.
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