Arie Luyendyk Jr. Reveals Why He Refuses To Compete On ‘Dancing With The Stars’ All-Athletes Season

Arie Luyendyk Jr. has closed the chapter on his Bachelor days. The 36-year-old Bachelor star popped the question (twice!) on the show’s two-part finale last week. Now that some of the hate has died down over Arie’s decision to break off his engagement with original fiancee Becca Kufrin and swap her out for runner-up Lauren Burnham, fans want to know if he’ll return to ABC for the upcoming Dancing with the Stars all-athletes season. Three out of the last five Bachelor stars have traded their roses for rumbas, but Arie won’t be joining the list.

In an interview with In Style, Arie Luyendyk Jr. revealed that he doesn’t want to make any mistakes in his post-Bachelor life—and that includes putting reality TV cameras in front of his relationship. Luyendyk Jr. told InStyle:

“I won’t do Dancing with the Stars because I’m trying to avoid the mistakes that have been made in the past. I think, at the end of the day, you have to do what’s healthy for your relationship first.”

The upcoming season of Dancing With the Stars will feature a cast of all athletes, and Arie qualifies due to his past as an IndyCar driver. On Season 5 of Dancing with the Stars, race car driver Helio Castroneves was crowned the mirrorball champion.

Arie Luyendyk Jr. knows that the grueling Dancing with the Stars rehearsal schedule would take time away from his new relationship with Lauren. And since he already lost time with her during his six-week engagement to Becca, he’s probably making the right choice as he makes up for lost time.

In addition, Arie said he wouldn’t feel comfortable in front of the Dancing with the Stars cameras because he would know he was on camera.

“When you’re on The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, they make it feel like there are no cameras around, but Dancing with the Stars would be completely different,” Arie said. “It wouldn’t be comfortable for me.”

Seeing double! ? https://t.co/Taf9EyyhjQ

— Page Six (@PageSix) March 13, 2018

Although he doesn’t want to use his race car resume as a freeway to Dancing with the Stars, Arie Luyendyk Jr. recently took Lauren Burnham to St. Petersburg, Fla. for IndyCar qualifications. The Bachelor star’s fiancée posed in a red jumpsuit complete with a Honda logo, but fans noticed her outfit was nearly identical to the jumpsuit worn by Arie’s ex-girlfriend Sydney Stempfley last June when she posted a similar selfie with the future Bachelor star.

Dancing With the Stars Season 26 premieres Monday, April 30 on ABC.