Blake Horstmann Is At 'Peace' With His Decision To Not Appear On The Upcoming Season Of 'Bachelor In Paradise': 'I Just Don't Think It Would Be Good For Me'
After appearing on The Bachelor or The Bachelorette, contestants get another chance at finding love when they fly to Mexico to appear on Bachelor in Paradise. But this time around, Blake Horstmann thought he should sit this one out — and he's quite alright with that.
"There were some conversations I had with the show about going on, but I decided to not do it," the 32-year-old exclusively tells OK! while talking about his partnership with Rowdy Energy drink. "I am very much at peace with it."
"I just don’t think at this point it would be good for me — I don’t think I would be myself getting down on that beach after what happened to me last time and what happened with the show," he adds, referring to his 2019 infamous love square with Hannah Godwin, Caelynn Miller-Keyes and Kristina Schulman.
"I have heard a lot about this season. I have talked to some of the people already, and it’s going to be a pretty good show. It’s going to be crazy. I am excited to be on this side of it, but also I am hoping I am able to help because I know a lot of these guys and girls are going to have a hard time with what happens on the show," he shares. "I hope I am able to help, and if I even have a couple of people who show a little more empathy towards a few of these people this season because of what happened to me, I hope that helps."
The DJ was "debating for a while" if he should return to the show for the second time, but there "was this knot in my stomach," and he "didn't feel good about" going back on television, he shares.
"I was like, 'I am going to back out, I am going to bow out this season.' I felt so much better, which I think is a good sign! But as far as the foreseeable future, who knows? Every season there are more and more people that come, so you never know! Hopefully, I find someone not on the show — hopefully I can find someone in real life."
Horstmann is rooting for his good friend Joe Amabile, a.k.a. Grocery Store Joe, Abigail Heringer and Kelsey Weier this time around. "It’s a good cast, it’s a lot of people – two seasons to choose from — and there are quite a few people going down, so I am excited to watch some relationships form from this season. It’s going to be interesting," he admits.
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Ultimately, the Colorado native — who appeared on Becca Kufrin's season of The Bachelorette — is grateful for his time on the ABC series.
"It’s the relationships I have built and the friendships I have made – not only with the guys from my season but guys from the past and friends who have introduced me to other people, and I think that is the biggest thing," he says of his experience. "I went on the show thinking, 'This will be fun, I don’t know if I will fall in love, but I will travel a little bit and make some friends,' and I did end up falling in love. It didn’t work out, but I think I came away with some of the best friendships."
These days, the TV personality is into working out, DJing and speaking out about mental health — and he's excited for what's to come.
"I think in five years from now, I would love to have a bigger impact in the mental health world, whether that be just another podcast just about mental health or even a daily blog or something like that," he reveals. "As far as my DJ career, I am hoping I get better and better, and I am hoping five years from now I can look back and I am playing in some of the biggest clubs in the world."
One of the best parts about being a reality star is that Horstmann gets to work with brands that he loves, like Rowdy Energy.
"I have an active lifestyle. I am very busy, but also I am very health conscious, so it’s hard to find an energy drink that not only gets the job done, gives you energy, does what you need it to do but also is very healthy for you and that is why Rowdy is unique and it kind of fits all of those different things," he says. "For me, the no sugar, the low calorie, it’s only 250 milligrams of caffeine — for me, that is the perfect amount. I don’t have that sudden drop off when I finish it within an hour — I am not tired again. It works perfectly for me. So for me, it was really a no-brainer [to work together], and the team over there at Rowdy is phenomenal to work with, and I just love the culture of Rowdy and kind of what they stand for as a company."
