‘The Bachelor’ Sean Lowe talks Catherine Guidici, being the ‘Virgin Bachelor’ in I am second video
PRESS RELEASE: The Bachelor Sean Lowe shares candidly about his experience on the reality TV show, finding love, waiting for marriage and living out his faith in a new short film released today on iamsecond.com, a website featuring more than 100 athletes, actors, models, musicians, pastors, politicians and everyday people sharing stories of hope.
A Dallas native, Lowe recently married the love of his life Catherine Giudici, whom he met on ABC’s The Bachelor, in a live ceremony broadcast on ABC Network Jan. 26.
Before becoming The Bachelor, Lowe won the hearts of America on season eight of The Bachelorette. It was Lowe’s sister who originally turned in his application to appear on the show, unbeknownst to him.
“I said, ‘Listen, I have no desire to be on reality TV and I certainly don’t want to subject myself to all the public criticism that comes along with being on a show like The Bachelorette,” Lowe first told the producer when approached about being on the show. “Guys go on there, get drunk, and there’s the fantasy suite and there’s sex and nudity. It just didn’t seem like something that represented me.”
Thinking about the producer’s offer for about a week, Lowe eventually thought he could use a free vacation and agreed to appear on the show. He flew to North Carolina where he and the other men were put up in a “big palatial mansion.” At first, Lowe simply enjoyed hanging out with the other contestants but after a few weeks of getting to spend time with the Bachelorette he soon realized he was falling for her.
“I’m actually developing feelings for this girl when there are all these cameras around,” Lowe describes in the I am Second film. “This is kinda nuts. I can see myself being her husband, and she had a young daughter and I thought ‘Wow, God has used this reality TV show to introduce me to my wife and my future daughter.’ And after about six weeks of being on the show, I knew that I loved her.”
A week before The Bachelorette finale, Lowe entered the rose ceremony with two other contestants and walked away without a rose.
Heartbroken, he returned to Dallas, still thinking of The Bachelorette all the time, longing for answers of why he was eliminated. A few weeks later, a producer approached him again, this time to be the next Bachelor.
“I’m getting over a broken heart and I’m still trying to mend. The first go around wasn’t the greatest experience for me. I said, ‘I don’t know,'” said Lowe. “On the show, Bachelor’s traditionally get raked over the coals. It’s not easy to maintain that good-guy image when you’re the star.”
Lowe assumed his family would discourage him from being on the show, but they surprised him by doing just the opposite. A few months later, Lowe was taping the first night of The Bachelor.“It’s unnatural to date 25 women at one time and it felt wrong a lot of the time,” Lowe describes. “I wrestled with it quite a bit thinking, ‘I’m pretty sure God opened this door but what if he didn’t? … What if people look at me and they say, ‘This is what is wrong with Christianity?’ That was a big fear.”
After weeks of eliminations, Lowe proposed to “his best friend” Catherine. It was in the aftermath of answering media questions honestly that a firestorm brewed and Lowe was labeled “the virgin Bachelor.”
In his I am Second film, Lowe describes the basis for his decision to forego sex until marriage, speaking honestly about his past mistakes and how the decision has impacted his life.
To find out more and watch Lowe’s film, visit http://www.iamsecond.com.
I am Second, launched in 2008, features more than 100 films of individuals who have stepped in front of the camera and declared, “I am Second.” The website iamsecond.com and its Spanish counterpartyosoysegundo.com feature stories of hope and transformation.
