Arie Luyendyk Jr. has taken to Twitter to keep fans informed about his fun-loving, fast-paced lifestyle leading up to a tonight’s 8 p.m. ET debut on ABC’s “The Bachelor.”
The 36-year-old son of a two-time Indianapolis 500 winner tweeted (@ariejr) about a New York City Times Square appearance on "Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin' Eve" on Sunday night.
He also retweeted “Good Morning America’s” advisory that he would be back at Times Square for a promotional appearance this morning.
Luyendyk, promoted for the 22nd season of “The Bachelor” as a real estate broker and former Indy car driver from Scottsdale, Arizona, will be asked to choose between 29 women on the dating reality show. Through the process of systematic elimination on the popular reality show, he is expected to end up with a woman to whom he will propose.
The former racer has some experience in these shows – he was a 2012 runner-up on “The Bachelorette,” where he became a fan favorite known as “The Kissing Bandit.”
Luyendyk switched his Twitter cover photo to “The Bachelor” promo of him smiling and holding a rose with the tease: “Worth the wait. The Bachelor.” The “o” in “Bachelor” is a gold wedding ring.
Another retweet of a promo for “The Bachelor” included his reaction to the tweet: “We hope you had a merry kiss-mas because it’s almost time for Janu-Arie. (kiss emoji) #TheBachelor.” Luyendyk added: “This jingle though (crying laughing emoji). So. Damn. Funny.”
He admitted in a recent interview with USA Today that he’s not the usual bachelor – in fact, he’s the second oldest in the show’s 15-year history – “I might not have a six-pack, and I have some gray hair, but I feel like I deserve this,” he said.
As a racer, the son of a Hall of Famer qualified for one Indy 500, finishing 28th in 2006. He spent most of his career in the feeder Indy Lights series, finishing second, third and fourth in the points in 2002, 2004 and 2008.
He told USA Today he sees the show as a chance to establish a new identity.
“I love that, because it gives me an opportunity to reintroduce myself,” Luyendyk said. “For the women here, a lot of them didn’t want my (2012) season, so we’re building relationships more organically. And I love not going in with a preconceived notion of who I am.”