Blake Horstmann Considers ‘Bachelor’ Run After Blindside On Becca Kufrin’s ‘Bachelorette’ Finale

Blake Horstmann is still reeling over his Bachelorette blindside. The frontrunner suitor on Becca Kufrin’s season of the ABC dating show had no idea his handpicked Neil Lane engagement ring wouldn’t be needed when he met up with The Bachelorette star for the final rose ceremony in the Maldives. Horstmann told People magazine that Becca’s rejection was “a big blindside.”

“I truly thought that if it came down to me proposing, that she wouldn’t say no. I thought what we had was real,” the Bachelorette runner-up revealed.

While he has had a few months to deal with his real-life heartbreak privately, Horstmann revealed that seeing his former love at the After the Final Rose taping gave him a “little bit of closure.”

While his public breakup was a lot to take, Blake Horstmann did reveal that he is not scared off from finding his true soul mate— and he didn’t rule out doing it in front of ABC’s cameras.

“The experience didn’t scare me off the idea of finding love. If anything, I know just how capable of finding love I am. [Being the Bachelor] would be the hardest thing I’d do. But I know this can work and if the opportunity presented itself, it would be something I would consider!”

During the After the Final Rose update show, Horstmann assured fans (and Kufrin) that he isn’t going to let his disappointing Bachelorette experience keep him down, or keep him from continuing his search for his true love.

“If people think that this is going to keep me down, they didn’t watch the season too closely. I’ve learned and I’ve grown from a lot in my life, and this will be no different. I’m not going to be scared now of falling in love again. My person is still out there and I’m never going to apologize for how hard I love.”

Blake Horstmann is a frontrunner for a role as The Bachelor, although it should be noted that it is rare that the runner-up lands in that high-profile spot—at least not right away. It took Arie Luyendyk Jr. five years to get cast as The Bachelor after he was left broken-hearted by Emily Maynard on her season of the ABC franchise. Because ABC didn’t make The Bachelor announcement at the end of Becca Kufrin’s three-hour Bachelorette finale, it is also highly possible that one of the guys from Bachelor in Paradise will end up as The Bachelor. Fans will have to stay tuned to see who will be their next Bachelor.

Bachelor in Paradise premieres Tuesday, Aug. 7 on ABC.