When Arie Luyendyk Jr. was announced as the next star of “The Bachelor,” plenty of people were surprised—including his very recent girlfriend. The professional race car driver, who “Bachelor” fans first met when he was a contestant on Emily Maynard’s season of “The Bachelorette” five years ago, reportedly just got out of a relationship, despite telling People magazine that he has only had one serious relationship since Maynard sent him packing. Luyendyk told the celebrity magazine that his most recent relationship ended a year and a half ago.
Did Arie have a girlfriend when he was approached to be ‘The Bachelor’?
But Arie’s alleged ex, Sydney Stempfley, has a very different story. According to the Huffington Post, Sydney has proof that she was still dating Arie just days before he was announced as the new “Bachelor” star. While Arie’s Instagram shows no trace of a recent girlfriend, a look at Stempfley’s Instagram page details a long media trail of her year-long history with Luyendyk with tons of cozy photos of the two of them together and at least one caption in which she refers to Arie as her “boo.” The most recent post of the alleged couple was in June. But now, sources say Arie dumped Sydney just two days before he was named the new “Bachelor” star.
A hurt Sydney Stempfley has thrown some shade at her ex on Twitter. Shortly ahead of "The Bachelor" announcement, Luyendyk’s friend, former franchise star Sean Lowe actually suggested the race car driver for ABC’s coveted Leading Man role. Sydney responded in the comments, writing that the rose-filled reality show “would be perfect for @ariejr up until it comes to choosing just one.”
Old news?
Arie Luyendyk Jr.
has been vocal about the fact that he is ready to settle down and start a family. At age 35, he will be one of the oldest stars of “The Bachelor,” although the most recent lead, Nick Viall, was 36 years old. Some fans of the show think Arie is old news, while others are happy to see him back and looking for love in front of ABC’ cameras.
Filming for the new season of “The Bachelor” begins this fall. It will be interesting to see if any of Arie’s exes show up to stir up some drama, or if any former “Bachelor” stars will give him advice. Nick Viall recently split from his “Bachelor” fiancée, Vanessa Grimaldi, so he may not be the best choice for advice at this point.
Arie Luyendyk Jr.’s season of “The Bachelor” will air starting in January 2018 on ABC.
