Chris Harrison previews The Bachelor: Countdown to Arie
It’s been five years since Emily Maynard broke Arie Luyendyk Jr.’s heart on The Bachelorette. So, before hitting the gas on a dramatic journey to find love on The Bachelor (premiering Jan. 1), the race-car driver known as the “kissing bandit” will be reintroduced in a special, titled The Bachelor: Countdown to Arie, which will feature interviews with Arie and his dad. “There will be a prelude to Arie,” host Chris Harrison says, adding that viewers will also meet “some of the women” from Arie’s season in the special. “You get sneak peeks of things you usually don’t see before the holidays,” Harrison says.
But Arie won’t be the only member of Bachelor Nation that the special will catch up with. “We’re also going to get back in touch with some of the couples,” Harrison says. “The Bachelor family is ever-growing and ever-changing and in this day and age of social media, the show never stops. Once you’re off the show, you kind of still remain part of it so we’re going to update everybody on how the couples are doing, and we have some fun little nuggets in there as well that you’ve never seen before.”
One of those nuggets is a segment highlighting the “Worst Kisses in Bachelor History.” As Harrison puts it, “After 16 years, we’ve had some pretty bad ones. If I’m laughing and cringing, then the viewers will love it.”
The Bachelor: Countdown to Arie airs Monday, Dec. 11 at 10 p.m. ET on ABC.
