'The Bachelor' star Juan Pablo Galavis: I'm very happy, I wanted an independent woman

The Bachelor's eighteenth season starring Juan Pablo Galavis will premiere on Monday, January 6 at 8PM ET/PT on ABC.


The identities of Juan Pablo's 27 bachelorettes have been revealed, and the show's premiere will begin with the 32-year-old single dad from Miami, FL, arriving at the Malibu mansion to meet and get acquainted with the ladies.

Juan Pablo previously competed on Desiree Hartsock's ninth edition of The Bachelorette but failed to win her heart. He left the season fairly early on but became a clear fan-favorite shortly after his departure from the show.

During a Monday conference call with reporters, Juan Pablo talked about his upcoming season and what viewers can expect. Below is what he had to tell Reality TV World. Check back with us soon for more from The Bachelor star's interview.

Reality TV World: Did you find love during your season on The Bachelor? Did you walk away with a fiancee?


Juan Pablo Galavis: You have to watch it in March! That's part of it. I wish I could tell you, but I'm very happy. I'm a happy guy. I'm always happy. And you'll see in March. You'll call me back and let me know how I made out.

Reality TV World: During your introductory clips, it seemed like you're looking to find a girl who will move to Miami, be a stepmom to your daughter, and hopefully be a mom to a couple or a few more kids. So does that mean you weren't interested in an independent girl who was focused on building her career and maybe not looking to have kids within the next few years? And was moving to Miami a deal-breaker for you or were you open to moving to wherever your love might live?

Juan Pablo Galavis: On the moving part, I don't like Miami! I don't like Miami that much. I don't like the weather, so, and I travel a lot. So that's why I'm based in Miami, but I do travel a lot.

But definitely, I want somebody very independent career-wise. I respect a lot what a person does for a living and I want to have kids right away, but if I'm with somebody and she's like, "Listen, I have my career, this and that," I understand it.

It's not like, "No! No! I want kids right now!" No, no. I respect that a lot because I love people when they respect what I do for a living, you know? If somebody's an architect, if you have to work in Dubai for two weeks and her career is getting bigger and bigger, I will respect that 100%. And whenever we're ready, we'll be ready to have kids.


And Miami, I'll do whatever. Honestly, I have to find somewhere that it can be easier for me to do what I do for a living and maybe for that person, what she does for a living too. It's got to be a conversation and a couple's decision at the end of the day.

Reality TV World: Would you say that your first impressions of a lot of the ladies were pretty accurate based on how they acted throughout the season or were you surprised about what you learned about some of them as time went on?

Juan Pablo Galavis: I wouldn't judge a person on a first impression. I don't judge first impressions at all, because I didn't do something but I could've done some weird things too and it's not me, you know, just to be funny. So, it's hard to think, "Oh, because you did this, you're going to be this way." No.

I would've done a double flip and taken my shirt off maybe like [Zak Waddell] did, but that's not me. I would've done it because I thought it was funny. So I wouldn't judge a first impression.

Reality TV World: What were you thinking and feeling when the very first limo pulled up? What was going through your mind?


Juan Pablo Galavis: "Aye yi yi, Juan Pablo, what's going to happen here?" That's what I said. And then the first limo comes up and I'm like, "Oh my gosh. The first limo's on fire." And then the second one, I was like, "Oh my gosh. I'm in trouble."

And then with the third one, I forgot already who the first girl was. So it was overwhelming, crazy. It's just a weird night, you know? It was such a weird night because you get to meet all these people. And how do you keep up with all of them? It was hard, very hard.

Reality TV World: Most of the girls during Ben Flajnik's The Bachelor season really disliked Courtney Robertson and kept saying he'd be foolish to pick her in the end. Jake Pavelka also experienced a similar situation with Vienna Girardi, who was kind of the villain in his season. But both guys ended up picking those girls. So how much weight, if any, did you put on how the girls interacted with and got along with one another? If girls confronted you about someone in particular, would you put any stock in their claims?

Juan Pablo Galavis: Yeah, I don't like tattle-tellers, you know? And I like people that worry about themselves, just themselves, like I do. I don't care about if [Ben Scott] said this, or the other guys did that, or [James Case] said to [Michael Garofola] -- I just didn't care. I just worried about me and her, and I was just looking for a girl that worried about herself.

If they wanted to tell me something, I was like, "Whatever." I don't pay attention to that. And at the end, whatever they say or whatever happened or not, it just doesn't matter to me. I don't care what people say, you know? I just care about what I say and what I feel and how I feel. 


Reality TV World: You clearly had expectations and qualities you were looking for in your bachelorettes when filming began. But did those qualities and expectations actually change as the season went on? Did you want certain things in the beginning and then, as the show progressed, you realized those things had changed or you found other qualities more important?

Juan Pablo Galavis: It was more before the show. I've dated girls because I go on the dance floor. So when people tell me, "Oh man, it's so hard to" -- "It's impossible to meet a guy at a club or a great girl at a club," I'm like, "Well, it has happened to me all my life."

I happen to find people, good people, at a club because I like dancing. It's what I like. So it was before the show. And I'd think, "Well okay, this is not going to happen, and this and that, and be smart about it." I was prepared before the show.

Above is what Juan Pablo Galavis had to tell Reality TV World during a Monday conference call with reporters. Check back with us soon for more from The Bachelor star's interview.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski