Rachel Lindsay Says She Had No Idea Who Arie Luyendyk Jr Was When He Was Named ‘The Bachelor’ Over Peter Kraus

Rachel Lindsay is admitting she was not exactly a superfan of The Bachelor before she appeared on Nick Viall’s season of the ABC dating show. Lindsay, who was the third-place finisher on Viall’s season of the rose-filled reality show, revealed to Entertainment Tonight that she had no idea who Bachelorette alum Arie Luyendyk Jr. was when he was named the latest Bachelor star earlier this year. In fact, Rachel said she didn’t even know who frequent franchise star Nick Viall was before she signed on to his season of The Bachelor.

Lindsay told ET she actually said “Who?” when Arie’s name was announced as Bachelor No. 22.

“I had the same reaction of the announcement when Nick was announced. ‘Who?’ Because I didn’t watch the show!” Lindsay told ET. While Rachel didn’t initially know who Arie was, she reveals she has now seen “a couple of things about him.”

“He seems like he’s in the right place, ready to meet someone and I think that that’s important. I’m excited to see his season.”

Rachel Lindsay and her fiancé Bryan Abasolo also talked about their reaction to the news that Rachel’s Bachelorette runner-up, Peter Kraus, didn’t land the coveted role as leading man on The Bachelor. Rachel admitted that while she was a bit shocked to find that Peter was passed over, the fact that he wasn’t chosen as The Bachelor didn’t bother her either way. As a perk, Rachel and her man Bryan are relieved that “the focus [is] on someone else” for the upcoming season.

“I think what’s going to be nice is that we can watch it, and just watch it. Arie isn’t linked to us, so we can have a very objective opinion, and no one is going to read into it,” Rachel told ET. “I’m happy to just watch it and not be judged by every single thing that we do in regards to that season.”

Rachel Lindsay revealed that she has not spoken to Peter Kraus since The Bachelor announcement, but that she would be “cordial” to him either way. But Rachel did have some advice for Luyendyk, who was Emily Maynard’s heartbroken runner-up on the 12th season of The Bachelorette.

“When you’re in the lead position, you’re kind of out there by yourself,” Rachel said. “You can’t talk to family, you can’t talk to friends. You really have to know who you are, know what you want, and not let anyone else make the decisions for you. You can’t settle, you can’t compromise. You have to know what you want.”

As for Peter Kraus, while he won’t be looking for love as a leading man on The Bachelor, there have been rumors that he will appear on the spinoff The Bachelor: Winter Games—spearheaded by Bachelor creator Mike Fleiss himself. Peter told People his possible appearance on The Bachelor winter spinoff has not been confirmed yet.

“Mike Fleiss likes to tweet a lot of things,” Kraus said. “I feel like he even said I was the Bachelor at one point, so I think he just likes to throw people off.”

Kraus revealed that while he initially said “no” to the prospect of being on The Bachelor, the idea grew on him.

“It was brought up to me … and I thought to myself, ‘No’ — like, instantly,” Peter told People. “But as time went on and I started to get more feedback from family and friends, it’s something that started to become more of a consideration…It’s something I’d probably consider in the future.”

Kraus also didn’t rule out Winter Games, if he’s asked. The show is set to begin production in Vermont in December. Peter admitted the spinoff show is “definitely something I’ve been interested in” and he even revealed that some of his good friends from The Bachelor franchise have already been signed on to it.

Check out some of Rachel Lindsay’s chat with Entertainment Tonight below.

[Featured Image by Craig Sjodin/ABC]