‘The Bachelor’ Alum Arie Luyendyk Jr. Reveals if He’d Let His Kids Be on the Show Someday

Chaos reigns at the Scottsdale, Arizona, home Arie Luyendyk Jr. shares with wife Lauren, 31, and their daughter Alessi, 4, and 2-year-olds, Lux and Senna. “The twins are all over the house getting into everything,” says the race car driver-turned-realtor, 42, “and Alessi is like a little teenager who’s constantly testing our boundaries.” So Arie says he and Lauren (co-creators of the dating app DUO) are leaning into the insanity: “Having three kids under 4 is never going to be easy!” Here, he talks to In Touch’s Fortune Benatar about fatherhood, his partnership with Advance Auto Parts and the star who left Lauren speechless.

What’s your biggest parenting challenge right now?

AL: Gosh, what isn’t a challenge? The hard part is finding a good balance between being strict yet loving. Alessi is so smart, and she’s starting to talk back a little. She’s like a mirror: If we say something inappropriate, she’ll come back at us with it days later.

Does she take after you?

AL: My parents always said I was the best kid. The craziness comes from Lauren. [Laughs]

How does Alessi like her siblings?

AL: She picks her days. Some days, she pushes them over and tries to do sneaky things, and they cry. Other days she’s loving and cute and changes their diapers and helps bathe them.

Would you let them be on The Bachelor?

AL: If I do my job as a father and I’ve raised great kids, they’re free to do anything they want. If they’re old enough to be on The Bachelor and want to do that, I can’t stop them. It worked out for us, so we can’t really say anything negative about it!

Will you let them watch your season?

AL: Probably. Lauren and I met in such a wonderful, unique way. It feels like a lifetime ago, but it will always be our story.

What about following in your race car-driving footsteps?

AL: Senna is named after famous Formula One driver Ayrton Senna, Lux is named after a friend who races … so I feel like it’s going to happen. Lux’s grandfather was an Indy 500 champion, and his other grandfather was a fighter pilot. It runs in the blood.

Speaking of cars, tell us about teaming up with Advance Auto Parts for their “Fuel Ride to College” initiative.

AL: I used to commute to college. Two-thirds of college freshmen feel their biggest financial strain is fuel. Advance Auto Parts created a program to offer 10 freshmen a full “fuel ride” — four years of Shell gasoline paid for. It’s pretty cool.

You’ve also got a dating app! 

AL: The mission we want to drive home is how to better your relationship through dating. We do a surprise date on the app that is really fun — couples show up not knowing what to expect.

What kind of dates do you and Lauren go on?

AL: We love being outdoors, so we’ll do a physical activity and then have a nice dinner where we dress up.

Would you go back on The Bachelor to give advice?

AL: Yeah. I’d give good advice, because I made mistakes. Sean [Lowe] always gives advice, but he had a smooth go at it. I’d rather get advice from somebody who had a roller coaster of a ride to know what to avoid!

What emoji do you use the most?

AL: The laughing face. It’s always about the kids. Whenever I’m videoing them they’re always doing something funny.

Favorite movie?

AL: The original Top Gun, but the remake is amazing, too.

What is your guilty pleasure?

AL: Really bad reality TV. You would never expect it, but we watch Love After Lockup, all the 90 Day Fiancés, Temptation Island, Love Island. FBoy Island is amazing.

Who has made you the most starstruck?

AL: I’m not very starstruck, but I took Lauren to the Indy 500 and Chris Hemsworth was there. It was just him and us in the green room, and she literally froze. She couldn’t look at him or talk to him.