“The Bachelor” spoilers had been swirling regarding the lead for the 2018 season, but things took a wild turn just ahead of the announcement and fans were left a bit stunned by the news. Gossip guru Reality Steve had indicated that “Bachelorette” runner-up Peter Kraus was set to hand out roses, but instead, it will be Arie Luyendyk, Jr. from Emily Maynard's season.

'Bachelorette' fans have kept rooting for Arie

Arie Luyendyk, Jr. has had an intense, solid fan following ever since he was sent home after the overnight fantasy suite dates during Emily Maynard's “Bachelorette” season.

He had been an early favorite to earn her final rose, and his supporters never stopped rooting for him to go on to become “The Bachelor.” In fact, he supposedly came close at least once before, but this time it's for real.

Reality Steve has been saying for some time now that producers really wanted Peter Kraus, but the "Bachelorette" runner-up wasn't making it easy on them. He reportedly said no, then is believed to have come to terms with production, but that apparently fell apart over the course of the past few days. Show creator Mike Fleiss started tweeting teases about the new pick, and Reality Steve's “Bachelor” spoilers hinted that production was scrambling to pick someone else.

Choosing Luyendyk came as a last-minute decision

Luyendyk appeared on “Good Morning America” to talk about the decision, and it is clear that this all came together quite suddenly. In fact, he said that his parents were learning the news along with everybody else. Arie is still quite popular with those who had fallen for him during Emily's season, but he's been away from reality television for five years and it'll be interesting to see how current viewers react to the pick.

What happened to the idea of having Kraus as the "Bachelor" lead? People shares that Peter essentially knew that production wanted him more than he cared about getting the gig.

While it isn't known was caused the two sides to walk away from the potential pairing, production reportedly went into "panic mode" as they scrambled to come up with a new plan. Even Reality Steve admitted he didn't know what was going on the evening before the announcement, but he did predict that they'd go with Luyendyk as the buzz swirled.

Filming for the 2018 season of "The Bachelor" begins in a matter of days and the decision to pick Arie Luyendyk, Jr. will definitely generate a lot of buzz. Do you think that Arie can find lasting love this winter, beating the odds for the franchise, and will fans tune in to see how things go?
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