Arie Luyendyk Jr. And Marcus Grodd React To Chris Soules And Whitney Bischoff Breakup News
Another The Bachelor couple has bit the dust. On Thursday, Us Weekly reported that Chris Soules and Whitney Bischoff, who got engaged on the March 9 Season 19 finale episode, have announced their split.
“Whitney Bischoff and Chris Soules have mutually and amicably decided to end their engagement. They part with nothing but respect and admiration for one another and will continue to be supportive friends. They wish to thank everyone who has supported them through this journey.”
The franchise’s creator and producer, Mike Fleiss, shared the sad news earlier today.
Sad news to report: @souleschris and @whitbisch are no longer engaged…
— Mike Fleiss (@fleissmeister) May 28, 2015
He added that it’s a sad day for the Bachelor family.
A sad day for us at The Bachelor…
— Mike Fleiss (@fleissmeister) May 28, 2015
Some people told Mike that he and the other producers made the wrong choice with Chris and should have gone ahead with Arie Luyendyk Jr. as the lead man instead. Upon hearing the news that Chris and Whitney had broken up, Arie posted a tweet that seemed to indicate that he was disappointed.
“This is me shaking my head side to side slowly.”
Arie, who was second runner-up for Emily Maynard on The Bachelorette Season 8, was in consideration to star on Season 19 of The Bachelor. In a Patheos blog post in August, 2014, Arie admitted that he wanted and was ready to be the next Bachelor.
“Since America last saw me, I’ve been running around the country racing my cars and trying to figure out a lot about life. As you may have heard, I’m being considered to be the next Bachelor. However, I don’t want to be on the show for the attention, or to go to exotic locations. In fact, I travel too much as it is. I want to go on the show for the opportunity to dedicate the time to find love instead of traveling for racing. I’m tired of letting my relationships take a back seat to my career. The show would give me the opportunity to slow down and meet someone willing to be a part of my life – as crazy as that life is. I want what my parents have always had… a lifelong partnership of love and adventure. I know I’m ready for change. I’m ready for marriage. I’m ready to open my heart up again for love.”
As People reported in February, 2015, Sean Lowe, who competed with Arie for Emily and later became the star of The Bachelor Season 17, later confirmed that Arie was originally chosen by the producers to hand out the red roses, but that plan was stopped by the new executives at ABC, who wanted someone who had been on TV more recently.
“From what I understand, the show, the producers that make the show, they wanted Arie… [but new executives at the network] were getting nervous. Like, Arie hadn’t been on TV in two years…”
Sean Lowe added that Arie’s progress had gone so far that he had already filmed scenes for the show when he was abruptly told he was no longer the Bachelor.
“They actually told Arie he was gonna be the Bachelor. They flew down, had a camera crew, filmed him telling his family he was gonna be the next Bachelor – then pulled the rug out from underneath him and made Chris the Bachelor.”
Besides Arie Luyendyk Jr., another person from The Bachelor and The Bachelorette franchise who has publicly reacted to the news of Chris’ split from Whitney is Marcus Grodd. Marcus, who competed with Chris for Andi Dorfman on The Bachelorette Season 10 but later found love with Lacy Faddoul on Bachelor in Paradise, tweeted his well wishes for Chris and Whitney.
Wishing all the best in the future for two genuinely good people. #TheBachelor
— Marcus Grodd (@marcusgrodd) May 28, 2015
As previously reported by the Inquisitr, it was only about two weeks ago that Chris Soules publicly proclaimed that all was well with his relationship with Whitney Bischoff. He even posted photos of Whitney on his Iowa farm.
[Photo by Steven Lawton / Getty Images]
