Arie Luyendyk Jr.’s Done Way More Than Look For Love Since ‘Bachelorette’ Season 8

As exciting — and confusing — as the news that Arie Luyendyk Jr. will be the next Bachelor may be, it's been a while since fans last saw him. As such, what Arie has been doing since Bachelorette Season 8 is worth looking into.

After being snubbed by Emily Maynard in the season finale back in 2012, the one-time fan favorite has been quite the traveler; he revealed in a May 2013 interview that he probably travels about 250 days a year, according to People. As a former Formula One racer, the now 35-year-old has been busy competing and serving as an analyst for racing events all over the world. But, in addition to heating things up on the race track with his good looks, Luyendyk Jr., has also been quite busy in the romance department and has been linked to a few different women in the five years since his on-screen love affair with Maynard came to an end.

Notoriously known as the "kissing bandit" of the Bachelor, Luyendyk Jr. has reportedly had flings with the franchise's Season 16 winner, Courtney Robertson and Season 17 contestant, Selma Alameri, so it's safe to say that he has a type. Back in early 2014, Luyendyk Jr. also confirmed via Twitter that he was dating Arizona-based news reporter Jenna Jones, once posting a pic of the reported with the caption, "I'm one lucky man.. My #wcw," as indicated by Wetpaint.

The news that Luyendyk Jr. would become leading man for Season 22 of the Bachelor was announced on Thursday morning's edition of Good Morning America and came as a shock to many who hadn't seen or heard much about him the since his departure from Bachelorette Season 8.

During the sit down, Luyendyk Jr. expressed his eagerness to find love, telling Michael Strahan,

"I'll be 36 in a few weeks so for me it's time... All my friends around me have kids and are grown up, so for me I feel like I'm the last one of my friends to take that step. And my little brother got married, and he's 24."

Well, it sounds like Arie Luyendyk Jr. is finally ready to settle down with the woman of his dreams. And with a mansion full of women to choose from, it seems that he will be totally in his element when the show premieres in January 2018.