Race car driver rejected by Charlotte’s Emily Maynard is now the ‘Bachelor’
Arie Luyendyk Jr. was a day away from proposing to Maynard when she broke his heart on the romance reality series. Maynard, now Emily Maynard Johnson, was the woman of Luyendyk’s dreams, according to ABC. Maynard, however, selected Jef Holm over Luyendyk on the show in 2012.
This July 2012 photo released by ABC shows Emily Maynard, left, and Jef Holm on “The Bachelorette: After the Final Rose,” during a live broadcast in Hollywood. Maynard chose Holm over Arie Luyendyk Jr.
Rick Rowell AP
In June 2014, Maynard married hometown sweetheart Tyler Johnson, whom she’d met at Forest Hill Church off Park Road, where he is a church elder.
In November, the Observer reported that Maynard, 31, and Johnson welcomed their third son, joining the Johnsons’ two other children, Jennings Tyler, 2, and Gibson Kyle, 11 months, and Maynard Johnson’s 12-year-old daughter Ricki.
After a tearful exit from Maynard’s season of “The Bachelorette,” Luyendyk, now 35, left the spotlight for what became a successful real estate career, according to the network.
Unable to find a love like Maynard’s, Luyendyk is giving it a second shot as the star of the 22nd season of “The Bachelor,” which returns to ABC in January.
“Even though he has been gone from Bachelor Nation, America hasn’t forgotten Arie’s rugged good looks and charm,” ABC said in a promo of the show. “Now Arie is back and ready to race into America’s heart yet again … After mending his broken heart, Arie is finally ready to start his own journey for love.”
Born in the Netherlands, Luyendyk and his family immigrated to the United States when he was 3 years old.
He is the son of famed Formula One racer Arie Luyendyk Sr., a two-time Indianapolis 500 winner. Arie Luyendyk Jr. also became a respected Formula 1 racer who competed at the Indianapolis 500, but he’s now a successful real estate broker in Scottsdale, Ariz., according to ABC.
This story first ran at CharlotteObserver.com.
Featured Photo: Craig Sjodin/ABC
This story was originally published December 19, 2017 at 8:00 PM with the headline "Race car driver rejected by Charlotte’s Emily Maynard is now the ‘Bachelor’."