Kendall Says Lauren Was on The Bachelor for Love and Not ‘To Sell Hair Gummies on Instagram’
While some women can be criticized for seeming like they care more about becoming famous than finding love on The Bachelor, Bekah Martinez and Kendall Long both agree that Lauren Burnham’s heart was always in the right place.
During an interview with New York Magazine’s Vulture, the two Bachelor contestants said that even though Burnham wasn’t always comfortable opening up in front of the cameras, she was sincere about her interest in Arie Luyendyk Jr., to whom she is now engaged.
“Lauren is really guarded, but there is so much more than the edit showed,” Long, who was sent home after sharing a fantasy suite date with the 36-year-old race car driver, told Vulture.
Backing up her fellow contestant, Martinez — who was eliminated ahead of the hometown dates — spoke about how fun-loving and silly Burnham could be. “When we were still at the mansion, we were roommates, and she was literally wearing a fake butt twerking upside down on the side of the wall and belting out Moulin Rouge! lyrics on the balcony with me,” she told Vulture.
But that all changed once Burnham relationship with Luyendyk Jr. got more serious.
“As she developed more feelings for Arie, she became more closed off and guarded and insecure. I don’t mean ‘insecure’ in a negative way, but you are competing with multiple other women,” Martinez continued. “Of course, if you care about someone, you’re going to get insecure about yourself in the face of so many other relationships.”
“She doesn’t seem like the kind of person that would want to have her love life on television,” Long added. “She was definitely there for love. She wasn’t there to sell hair gummies on Instagram.”
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And even though not everybody — including Martinez — agreed with how Luyendyk Jr. handled his breakup with Becca Kufrin, dumping her on-camera just weeks after their engagement, there’s at least one person who agrees that the race car driver did the right thing— his new fiancée.
“I totally respect his decision to follow his heart,” Burnham told PEOPLE in this week’s issue. “I don’t blame him for it, and I think it’s made us stronger in the end.”
But just because she respects his decision, doesn’t mean she wasn’t initially skeptical when he first reached out to her.
“He texted me on New Year’s Eve — ‘I think this is maybe crossing the line, but I’d like to talk,’ ” she revealed, adding that even after he told her how he felt she was “afraid he would change his mind again.”
RELATED: Arie Luyendyk Jr. & Lauren Burnham Have ‘Talked About Running Away to Vegas’ to Elope
But amidst all of the Bachelor backlash, the pair couldn’t be happier about their relationship.
“We’re both very excited about marriage and starting a family,” Burnham told PEOPLE, revealing that she would be moving to Scottsdale to settle down.
And Luyendyk Jr. says that ever since they got back together, they haven’t gone more than a week without seeing each other.
“We tell each other we love each other 1,000 times a day,” he added.
