Arie Luyendyk Jr. isn't exactly the most popular guy to ever step foot on the Bachelor mansion driveway. Honestly, depending on who you ask in the fandom, he’s either the ultimate villain of the franchise or the only person who actually understood the assignment. If you watched his season back in 2018, you remember the cringe. You remember the unedited, split-screen footage of a breakup that felt like it lasted three hours but was actually just forty agonizing minutes of a man who didn't know how to leave a room.
He’s the guy who changed the show forever. Before Arie from The Bachelor decided to ditch his fiancée on national television to go crawl back to the runner-up, the show felt a bit more scripted, a bit more "happily ever after or bust." Arie broke the format. He blew up the fantasy. And yet, somehow, he’s one of the few leads who actually stayed married to someone from his season. It’s a weird, confusing legacy.
The "Kissing Bandit" and the Long Wait
Arie didn't just show up out of nowhere. Long before he was the lead, he was the runner-up on Emily Maynard’s season of The Bachelorette in 2012. Back then, people loved him. He was the pro race car driver with the silver-fox hair and a reputation for being the best kisser in the history of the show. Fans were obsessed. When Emily picked Jef Holm over him, the "Bachelor Nation" collective heart broke.
Then he vanished.
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For five years, Arie was basically a ghost in the reality TV world. He went back to Scottsdale. He sold real estate. He raced cars. Most people figured his fifteen minutes were up. When ABC announced him as the Bachelor for Season 22, the reaction was a massive "Who?" from the younger viewers and a "Finally!" from the longtime fans. It was a risky move for the network to reach that far back into the vault.
He was 36 when his season filmed. That matters. He wasn't a 24-year-old influencer looking for a clothing line deal. He was a guy who genuinely seemed like he was done with the single life in Arizona. But that maturity didn't stop the season from becoming an absolute train wreck by the time the finale rolled around.
The Breakup That Everyone Still Hates
We have to talk about Becca Kufrin. Because you can't talk about Arie from The Bachelor without talking about the "blindside."
Arie proposed to Becca in Peru. It was a standard, romantic, Neil Lane-sponsored moment. But behind the scenes, Arie was already losing his mind. He couldn't stop thinking about Lauren Burnham, the quiet, blonde runner-up he had sent home. Instead of waiting for the cameras to stop rolling and handling it privately, he brought a film crew to a "happy couple weekend" and dumped Becca on camera.
It was brutal.
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The producers didn't edit it. They showed the whole thing—Arie hovering, Becca crying and telling him to leave, and Arie just... staying there. It was the first time the show felt truly, uncomfortably real. People loathed him for it. He became the most hated man in America for a solid month. The internet was a bonfire of Arie-related rage. Even Minnesota politicians were tweeting about banning him from the state because Becca was a local favorite.
But here is the thing that’s hard to admit: he was right. Not about how he did it, but about who he chose.
Why the Arie and Lauren Experiment Actually Worked
If Arie had stayed with Becca just to save face, they would have been broken up in six months like 90% of the other couples. Instead, he risked his entire reputation to go after Lauren.
They got married in Hawaii in 2019. They have three kids now: Alessi and the twins, Senna and Lux. When you look at their social media today, it’s not just a series of sponsored posts for hair vitamins. They actually seem to like each other. They have a massive real estate business in Arizona and they’ve built a life that exists completely outside of the "Bachelor bubble."
- They moved on fast.
- They leaned into the "us against the world" narrative.
- They focused on business and family rather than staying on the reality TV circuit.
Arie’s transition from "hated reality star" to "successful suburban dad/mogul" is actually a blueprint for how to survive this level of fame. He stopped trying to convince people he was a good guy and just started living his life. Eventually, the anger faded because you can't really stay mad at a guy who is clearly obsessed with his wife and kids.
The Reality of the "Race Car Driver" Persona
People often forget that Arie comes from a very specific kind of background. His dad, Arie Luyendyk Sr., is a two-time Indianapolis 500 winner. Arie Jr. grew up in a world of high stakes, quick decisions, and a very "old school" masculine environment. This might explain why he was so clinical during the breakup with Becca. To him, it was a logical correction. He saw a mistake and he tried to fix it, even if the social optics were a total disaster.
He wasn't great at the "performative" part of being a celebrity. He didn't have the "media training" that modern contestants have. He was awkward. He said "I love that" about a thousand times per episode. He was a meme before he was a person.
The Business Side of Being Arie
Let's be real: Arie is wealthy. But he didn't get that way just from the show. He was already doing well in Scottsdale real estate before the cameras showed up. Today, he and Lauren run a massive operation. They flip houses, they own rental properties, and they’ve built a YouTube channel that pulls in serious numbers.
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They are the "pro" version of influencers. They don't just post selfies; they post high-production-value content about their renovations and their travels. They’ve turned their family into a brand, but it feels more authentic than most because Arie actually has a background in the industries he’s talking about. He knows houses. He knows cars. He isn't just a guy who held a rose once.
Lessons from the Luyendyk Era
What can we actually learn from the whole Arie from The Bachelor saga?
First, the "villain" edit isn't always permanent. If you stay consistent and actually build a real life, people eventually forget why they were screaming at their TV in the first place. Second, the show is a terrible place to find a spouse, but a great place to find the wrong person so you can realize who the right person is.
Arie proved that the "process" of the show is fundamentally broken. By breaking the rules, he actually got the result the show promises. It’s a weird paradox. He had to be the bad guy to get the happy ending.
If you’re looking to follow in his footsteps—maybe not the dumping-someone-on-TV part, but the career-pivot part—there are some actual takeaways here.
- Diversify your income early. Arie never relied on the Bachelor paycheck. He kept his real estate license active. He kept his racing connections.
- Don't engage with the trolls. During the height of the hate, Arie and Lauren mostly just went quiet or posted about their own happiness. They didn't do a "forgiveness tour," which usually just makes people more annoyed.
- Pick a lane. They decided to be a "family and lifestyle" brand. They stuck to it. They didn't try to be edgy or controversial once the season ended.
Moving Forward with the Luyendyks
If you want to keep up with what they're doing now, your best bet isn't the tabloids. They don't really do those anymore. Instead, look at their YouTube channel or Arie’s Instagram. They’ve basically become the "Property Brothers" of the Bachelor world, showing off million-dollar listings in the desert and documenting the chaos of raising three kids under five.
Arie Luyendyk Jr. might never be the most "likable" Bachelor, but he is arguably the most successful one in terms of long-term stability. He took a massive gamble on his own happiness, and while it cost him a lot of public favor in the short term, it clearly paid off in the long run.
To stay updated on their latest projects or to learn more about the Arizona real estate market they dominate, you should check out their recent home renovation series. It’s a fascinating look at how reality fame can be converted into actual, brick-and-mortar business success without the need for constant drama or red-carpet appearances. They’ve built a wall around their private life, and honestly, after the mess of 2018, you can't really blame them.