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ABC Announced Their Newest Bachelor, And Their Choice Has Us Scratching Our Heads

They got all of Bachelor Nation up in arms.

After much speculation, ABC finally announced the next bachelor will be Arie Luyendyk Jr.

Don't worry if you're like:

So are we. And pretty much half of #BachelorNation.

Let me fill y'all in. 35-year old Arie is a race car driver who was the runner up on Emily Maynard's season of The Bachelorette. It's not unusual for The Bachelor franchise to pull from their ever-growing pool of past contestants, but what is unusual is the fact that we haven't seen Arie since 2012. Two thousand and TWELVE people. I won't make you pull out your calculators--That's five years.

Arie admits to People that he thinks the time away from the franchise has done him some good.

ā€œNow that Iā€™ve had some time and distance away from it, it feels like the feeling I had before I went into it the first time. I think sometimes when youā€™re on The Bachelorette and you jump right into being the Bachelor, for me it wouldā€™ve been too soon. This feels more natural. Iā€™m not concerned what people think. Iā€™m just focused on the outcome. I want to find my person and will do whatever it takes!ā€

Apparently this was not the first time that Arie was courted as a potential Bachelor:

My thing is, if producers were worried back in 2015 that Arie had been away from the franchise for too long, then why bring him back two years later? It's a...polarizing decision to say the least.

Not to mention that this all feels like a pretty big step backwards for the franchise. We saw the most diverse season of the franchise with Rachel Lindsay's season of The Bachelorette, which left fans hopeful that ABC would step up their game and bring in a Bachelor of color. They had plenty of eligible men to choose from when it came to Rachel's season: Eric, Will, even Kenny, would have all been great choices for the first black Bachelor.

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And then there is the matter of Mr. Mike Fleiss. Who is he, you ask? Oh, only one of the most evil men on Earth. A producer for the show, Fleiss relentlessly teased fans on Twitter, dropping everything from breadcrumbs to straight up bombshells about who would (or wouldn't) be chosen for the next season.

And then he started slowly crushing our dreams...

And started droppin' hints.

We see you with that subtle nod to Arie's racing past, Michael. We see you and we hate you.

There were a few front runners and fan favorites. In particular, people were rooting for Peter Krauss, who Rachel Lindsay notoriously sent home early because he wasn't ready to propose to her.

Here's the thing about Peter. He was hot, he had a gap tooth, he was charming, but ultimately he clearly didn't understand what the hell the show was about. I mean, you don't go on a show about people getting engaged to decide that you aren't the type to propose after 10 weeks. In terms of normal people behavior, this is understandable, but you're on television. Next!

Or Eric!

Why not keep the ball rolling in terms of diversity and representation? Eric was smart and earnest, and while he ultimately wasn't Rachel's final pick, it would have been interesting watching a man who claimed to have never brought a girl home to his parents go through the experience of courting 30 women.

There was also Wells Adams, from JoJo's season:

I'm not going to lie, Wells was my favorite choice. The world deserved to see a normal guy on screen, and hell, maybe this would have encouraged casting to pull from a normal pool of women rather than the conventionally beautiful, skinny, glamazons that we often see on the show. Wells makes a pretty clear defense as to why he would never fit in as the bachelor, but we were all hoping it was just to throw us off of the trail.

Hell, I would have taken Dean:

After Dean's behavior on Bachelor in Paradise we were pretty certain producers weren't about to cast him, but even he would have been a polarizing contender. Mostly because he's fun to look at, but also because all of the drama he has caused in Paradise has made him a Nick Viall-esque villian. Oh god, are they going to make Dean the next Nick Viall?

But one thing has me confused in all of this. Why all of the speculation that it would be someone from Rachel or even JoJo's season? Why jump on Twitter and tease fans in the first place? In Arie's own words, "Maybe this is a common practice now to throw off fansā€”I donā€™t know."

That would make sense, considering that both Luke Pell and Chase McNary were courted by the franchise, only to be told that Nick Viall, who had literally been dumped twice(!!!) on The Bachelorette and then again(!) on Bachelor in Paradise would be the Bachelor.

The bone that I have to pick with the franchise lately is deeper than a decision to choose one incredibly good looking guy over another incredibly good looking guy. I'm annoyed by how contrived it has all become. When the show's producers continue to pull from within the pool of the franchise, they run the risk of the same story lines and tropes season after season. Sure, that's the nature of competition shows about finding love, but pardon me if I want some truth dammit.

If you've been watching The Bachelor since the beginning, you'll remember a simpler time when the producers weren't picking from a pool of hopefuls who had become hopeless. They were picking guys who were the most eligible of bachelors. How emotionally available can you be if this is your second or third time competing for love? I was almost happy that I didn't recognize Arie--I thought for a minute that they had chosen someone we hadn't seen before. Maybe if the franchise starts from scratch, we could experience some fresh meat.

And maybe we've just totally played into their brilliant PR plan. There is no such thing as bad press, after all.

But, and hear me out, what if Arie's announcement is really just another way to throw fans off of the trail? All of the backlash could force Arie to decide that he doesn't, in fact, want to be the one giving out the roses this year. So then what? He quits! The horror! And suddenly we're given the other viable choice of pretty much anyone else from the past two seasons. JUST HOW FAR DOES THIS CONSPIRACY GO?

Is it sad that I care this much? Maybe. Will I continue to care this much? Absolutely.

Former Bachelor contestant Juan Pablo has experienced what it's like to be unlucky in love. In this clip from Couples Therapy With Doctor Jenn, Juan Pablo explains why he won't say, "I love you."