Kissing Bandit by name, Kissing Bandit by nature.
Despite earning his smoochy nickname during his stint on Emily Maynard's season of The Bachelorette, Arie Luyendyk, Jr. thought he'd take a more conservative and chaste route when it came to romancing 29 single women for his reign as the star of season 22 of The Bachelor. Less "tonsil hockey," more "self-imposed penalty box."
So much for those best-laid plans.
"That first night I told myself I'm not going to kiss anybody, you know, and then it happened," Luyendyk admitted to E! News ahead of the January 1 premiere of The Bachelor. "It [being called the Kissing Bandit] is funny, though; that nickname's hilarious."
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Hilarious, and, evidently, very accurate. But come on — a Bachelor Nation veteran should know that swapping spit is par for the course. Even Sean "No Sex 'Til The Wedding Night" Lowe kissed future finalist Lindsay on the first night, and she was wearing a wedding dress. As it happens, Lowe was even given kissing lessons by — lo and behold — Luyendyk.
The new Bachelor didn't divulge the name of the woman on the receiving end of his pursed pout, but he did tell E! that his season will indeed have a happy ending (er, not that kind).
"I did fall in love, and I'm happy, and you'll just have to watch the finale," he teased.
Not to worry — we've already sent the save the dates for our epic viewing party.
Season 22 of The Bachelor premieres on ABC at 8 p.m. ET on Monday, January 1. Stay tuned for Refinery29's recaps and more Bachelor Nation scoop.
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