Arie Luyendyk Jr. feels “really lucky” as he gears up for episode two of “The Bachelor”

ABC/Lou Rocco(LOS ANGELES) — In last week’s season premiere of The Bachelor, Arie Luyendyk Jr. was officially introduced to his 29 potential soul mates — and he’s certainly not complaining.

“I mean, for me, I really loved how everyone was very established,” Arie tells ABC Radio of this season’s contestants. “Everyone had a career. The women were all really intelligent and beautiful and so I feel like I got really lucky with the cast.”

Some fared better than others, with the seemingly ruthless Chelsea nabbing the First Impression rose and four other ladies getting the early boot. On tonight’s episode, the race car driver-turned-realtor gets to know the ladies even more when they go on their first group date — to a demolition derby.

“I wanted to make sure that the conversations went well,” he says of his strategy this season.  “So I just tried to be present in every conversation and to really be a good listener.”

And if you’re a cynic who thinks all The Bachelor moments are completely contrived, Arie had quite a different experience while shooting the show.

“I just felt everything was very genuine,” he says. “And there was a lot of tough moments, but, you know, there will still be some drama, obviously, ’cause it’s The Bachelor. But I’ll just have to wait and see. I think it just all depends how it’s shown on TV.” 

The Bachelor airs tonight at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

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