Bachelorette fan-favorite Peter Kraus broke our hearts when he turned down the opportunity to lead his own season, but it turns out we’re the only ones loosing sleep over it. The Wisconsin native is doing just fine without the Bachelor franchise. Kraus stopped by InStyle’s office on Wednesday and assured us that he doesn’t regret turning down ABC’s offer.
“I’m not opposed to what might happen in the future, but it’s not something that I currently want to be a part of. I’m happy with my life right now and where I’m at,” he told InStyle. “Right now I’m okay without it.”
“Okay” is modest—we’d argue “thriving” is a better description. Kraus was in N.Y.C. to promote the new friend-making app Hive, of which he’s a part owner. His company, Worth Personal Training, is opening up a new location next week, and his boot camps are booming—in part, I’d assume, because of women dying to meet the former model and fitness trainer in person.
VIDEO: Peter Kraus Shares His Thoughts on New Bachelor Arie Luyendyk Jr.
Kraus has moved on to the next chapter, and that means no longer watching episodes of The Bachelor. “I watched the first two episodes, that was it. I haven’t seen anything since. I went back to my normal thing,” he told us of the current season, adding to People that it was “unhealthy” for him to keep watching.
From what he saw, though, he approves of bachelor Arie Luyendyk Jr.’s approach—when it comes to one date in particular. “He went on a date with Becca that first time and got her a pair of Louboutins and a bunch of dresses and stuff. Love that date,” Kraus told InStyle. “If I could get a girl a pair of Louboutins like that on a first date, I’m golden. I’m a fan of it. I wouldn’t do anything differently. I think he did a good job.”
As for those unsubstantiated reports that Kraus was joining The Bachelor Winter Games, it’s not because of a lack of interest. “They just didn’t pick me. I told them it’d be fun. I’d be interested, and they just didn’t pick me,” he said.
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Kraus said that he’s had no contact with bachelorette Rachel, whose heart he competed for, since After the Final Rose, but he does keep in touch with a bunch of his former rivals (aka Bachelorette contestants). “I’m friends with Dean, Iggy, Anthony, Diggy, Will, some of my closest guys. Eric I still talk pretty regularly. You form a really tight bond on that show because of the circumstance. You’re not really talking to anybody else, so you get to know each other a lot in a short period of time. So you really develop a tight bond,” he said.
As for the next round of Bachelorette contestants, he has some sage advice. “Just be yourself. I’d say don’t try to put on a front. It will come through at some point that that’s not who you are,” he told InStyle. “Know that you’re going to be uncomfortable in front of the cameras and you’re going to be in a weird setting. It’s going to be different, but be yourself and be confident, and you’ll be fine.” That said, Kraus was admittedly uncomfortable with his very public romance.
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The Bachelorette runner-up is back at home in Wisconsin, and to rebuild his social network, he practices what he preaches: He’s on Hive too. “It’s a great opportunity to meet new people in an area that you live or a place that you’re visiting based off of common interests,” he said. After selecting your own from a list of over 500, you’re linked up with people who have the same hobbies or passions. “You can decide to talk to them or meet with them somewhere or join, like, a group of them,” he added. And while the app is not intended as a dating app, it can certainly lead to romance too. “I’m trying to engage with as many people as possible,” he told InStyle.
You can download Hive on the App Store or Google Play. Who knows, you may just run into one Peter Kraus himself.
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