Update: Make sure you read the whole article for the insane twist that comes at the end of this season!
Season 22 of The Bachelor is featuring a surprising lead with Arie Luyendyk Jr. who was the runner-up on Emily Maynard’s season of The Bachelorette back in 2012. Whether fans like it or not, the 36-year-old is taking his chances at finding love again as the Bachelor and he has already confirmed that he fell in love with not one but two contestants. For all those Bachelor fans who want to filter out everyone else and get to the good stuff, Reality Steve has once again spilled a lot of spoilers already including Arie’s final four and winner! While Reality Steve could always be wrong, get a head start on this season of The Bachelor and find out who Arie picks in the end:
7. Jacqueline Trumbull
After a lot of drama, dates and probably quite a few tears, episode 7 of The Bachelor will bring Arie to his final seven, one of which will be Jacqueline Trumbull. The 26-year-old research coordinator is from Morgantown, West Virginia, and according to Reality Steve she has one of the most dramatic episodes of the seven. As Arie tries to narrow down his final list of ladies, he and Jacqueline go on a romantic one-on-one date in Florence, Italy where she decides she actually isn’t that interested in Arie and eliminates herself!
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6. Bekah Martinez
Those who watched the season from the beginning know that there is a lot of drama, especially for the ladies in the house. One big cause of this drama is the age difference between Bekah M and Arie. In one of the early episodes, 36-year-old Arie discovers that at 22, Bekah is the youngest in the house. Despite the age difference, there is a connection and Bekah makes it all the way to his final seven! Although it isn’t as clear as Jacqueline’s exit, Reality Steve says that the nanny from California is sent home during her date with Arie in Italy, officially ending their romance and any questions about their age difference.
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5. Seinne Fleming
Before going on hometown dates, Arie has to decide who he will be going on those dates with, and the last to be eliminated in episode seven is Seinne Fleming. The 27-year-old commercial real estate manager and Arie seem to have quite the connection throughout the season and it isn’t an easy decision for him to say goodbye to her after losing both Bekah M and Jacqueline on previous dates. In the end, Seinne is the only one sent home during the rose ceremony, officially solidifying Arie’s final four.
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4. Tia Booth
By now, Reality Steve is a veteran in tracking down the information needed to deduce who makes it to the final four well before the season airs, and thanks to his super sleuth work and some help from fans, we know that Tia Booth makes it to the final four. Tia is a 26-year-old physical therapist from Weiner, Arkansas who definitely has an adventurous side! When she was asked what the best trip she has ever been on was, she responded, “Cancun to a random swingers resort. HA! It was actually fun.” Although Tia makes it to the hometown dates portion of the show as one of the final four, according to Reality Steve, her journey ends there and is cut before the overnight dates’ trip.
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3. Kendall Long
Kendall Long is reportedly going to be one of the most interesting contestants of this season because she reportedly makes it to the final three without ever having a 1-on-1 date with Arie! Kendall is a 26-year-old creative director from Santa Clarita, California who must be quite charming to make it that far without ever having that much alone time with the bachelor. One read of her bio on ABC’s site proves she definitely stands out from some of the other girls with her unique and quirky answers. When asked what the most romantic present was that she ever received, Kendall said, “My ex gave me an alligator hand holding an iron heart in a jar! I collect taxidermy so it was sweet to me.” Although she makes it to the overnight dates held in Cusco, Peru this season, that is where her season ended as she was eliminated afterward.
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2. Lauren Burnham
There are four Laurens on this season of The Bachelor but only one makes it to the final — and she almost gets the rose! Lauren Burnham is a 25-year-old tech salesperson from Virginia Beach, Virginia, who definitely won’t be taking any nonsense from Arie as she has a second-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do. She also admitted she won’t stand for him being on his phone during a date because when asked what she hates the most that dates do, she said “texts at dinner.” While Lauren B. and Arie become very close over the course of the season, they aren’t meant to be as she is dumped at the finale but there is sure to be some drama as Arie has already confirmed that he “fell in love with two people” during filming, so it can only be assumed it was not an easy decision for him.
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1. Becca Kufrin
According to Reality Steve, Arie’s season comes down to Lauren B. and Becca Kufrin, but it is Becca who wins his heart! The 27-year-old publicist from Prior Lake, Minnesota is sure to pull at everyone’s heart strings with her backstory which includes her father dying from a brain tumor eight years ago and her mother currently in remission after battling breast cancer. Interestingly enough, fans are going to get to know Becca immediately as she gets the very first 1-on-1 date of the season, and it has been a long time since the first contestant to get the first individual date wins the season, but that seems to be the case. Reality Steve is also reporting that Becca and Arie do become engaged, but he doesn’t have high hopes for the relationship continuing. “I’m just telling you you’re going to hear me reference Becca all season as the winner, and yes, they are engaged. Will it last? Who knows? My guess is no because Arie is really no different than previous leads, but much more like Nick in that he was never doing this show to find a wife. He’s here to build his brand back up, he lost sponsors racing because he never won, and now this is a way to put himself back on the map,” Reality Steve wrote.
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Update: Arie Ends Up With Lauren Burnham!
As always, Reality Steve updated fans with spoilers after Arie’s final picks (and most importantly his final rose pick) but there was an even bigger update to come! On January 23, 2018, Reality Steve posted another spoiler with a huge twist. Although Arie does in fact pick Becca and they become engaged, in true Jason Mesnick fashion it seems he regrets his choice weeks later. According to the spoiler, “A couple days after the premiere, I was given word that Arie called Lauren on the night of the premiere. Certainly an interesting thing to be told because why would a lead possibly contact the girl he dumped when he’s engaged to someone else? So I tried to find out what I could about that situation and was essentially told, not necessarily the content of that conversation (because I wasn’t), but started hearing that Arie was having second thoughts about Becca and thinking he might’ve made the wrong choice.” He later adds in the post, “Arie ended his engagement with Becca a little over a week ago and is now dating Lauren. That’s why he was in Virginia last week at Lauren’s parents house.” Now this is a big twist, but maybe not all that shocking. Before the season even premiered, in his first interview with People, Arie was open and honest about how he fell in love with two women this season, and continued to talk about that fact on interviews to come. So, in the end the engagement goes to Becca, but the bachelor goes to Lauren B. How this will play out on the show is unknown at the moment but we’re guessing they’ll address it on the After the Final Rose Ceremony.