He fell in love… twice! In an interview on Thursday, Dec. 14, new Bachelor Arie Luyendyk Jr. revealed he struggled to choose a winner after developing strong feelings for more than one contestant. “I actually fell in love with two people,” the 36-year-old — who has an impressive net worth, BTW — admitted, according to Us Weekly.

“The toughest part about being the Bachelor would probably be the end, making tough decisions toward the end,” he continued, never revealing whether or not he actually proposed (we’ve got spoilers if you want to know!) “I mean, that’s the hardest decision of your life, really. It’s a forever decision, so it’s not taken lightly. I think that was probably the hardest thing.”

arie luyendyk jr. getty images

Arie fake proposing on Night 1.

But going into the season, Arie knew exactly what he didn’t want to do. “I think my game plan was not to lead with chemistry,” he shared. “I think in the past I’ve done that before and I think as a man it’s easy to do that. Also for me, I just really tried to envision how that person would fit into my regular life and if I could fit into their life.”

The former race car driver is also well aware that it wasn’t Bachelor fandom’s first choice when it came to the Season 22 lead. “I wasn’t what everyone was expecting. I totally realize that and that’s something that I’m fine with,” he said, though he also confessed, “I was so nervous that first night… I was worried about if the women were expecting me or expecting somebody else and how I was going to deal with that.”

Ultimately, he just wanted to find his dream girl. “I really tried to concentrate on my time with [each] individual,” he explained. “I think that as the Bachelor, you really don’t see what’s happening at the house, you really kind of only hear through the women telling you sort of what drama’s unfolding. So for me, I try to cast aside and really give the person in front of me the benefit of the doubt because it is a difficult experience. It’s not an experience everyone handles the same and just because they’re popular in the house, doesn’t really make them a good life partner.”

The new season of The Bachelor premieres Jan. 1 at 8 p.m. EST on ABC! Be sure to join our Bachelor Facebook group to chat about all the latest updates, exclusive interviews, and juicy gossip!