Blake Horstmann was just as shocked as everyone else in Bachelor Nation when they announced Colton Underwood as their next Bachelor.
Though the Bachelorette star wasn’t necessarily pushing for the opportunity, he thought he had a chance at finding love again on television.
“I wasn’t out there campaigning, I was just being myself and laying low, if you will, and then if it happened, it happened,” he told Entertainment Tonight at the iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas over the weekend.
The 29-year-old actually thought he was going to land the gig over his pal Colton, but it just didn’t work out in the end.
“I don’t think he [Colton] thought he was going to be The Bachelor for a little while, so he was just kind of out there doing his thing,” Blake shared.
“I kind of thought I was going to be The Bachelor, so I was a little bit more reserved, if you will. So a lot of my fans were upset that I wasn’t campaigning, wasn’t out there doing interviews and that kind of thing, and that just wasn’t me. That’s not who I am.”
In the months leading up to the announcement, fans had a feeling the pick was going to be between three of former Bachelorette star’s Becca Kufrin’s guys — Blake, Colton, and third place finisher Jason Tartick.
“Me, Jason, and Colton are all really good friends, so we were all very transparent throughout the whole thing,” Blake confessed.
“We got the call the day before and that was it. His name had ‘leaked,’ so it wasn’t a blindside. I kind of had a feeling that it wasn’t going to be me.”
Despite not landing the coveted role, the Denver, Colorado native still wholeheartedly believes in the show.
“I really do believe in this process, I’ll defend it until my last breath. I do think you can find your person through that.”
In fact, he’s even open to joining Bachelor in Paradise next season!
“If I’m still single come that time and if I’m in a good place in my life, I’d definitely consider Paradise, absolutely.”
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