The new “Bachelor” has been named, and it’s not Peter Kraus to the disappointment of many fans of the show. However, an ABC executive has clarified why they chose Arie Luyendyk Jr. over Kraus.

In a phone interview with Entertainment Tonight on Thursday, ABC’s Senior Vice President of Alternative Series, Specials & Late-Night Programming Robert Mills explained why Luyendyk was named as Season 22’s “Bachelor.” “He’s incredibly sincere. He’s dated a lot of women since Emily [Maynard], but he says he’s never been in love since Emily,” Mills said.

Mills pointed out that Luyendyk’s struggle to fall in love again after Maynard is going to be an interesting story for the new season of “The Bachelor.” While it’s now clear why Luyendyk was chosen to be the new “Bachelor,” there’s still room for questions on why he was not tapped to be on show sooner. After all, he appeared on the dating franchise in 2012 when Maynard was still “The Bachelorette.” But Mill maintains that it’s all about perfect timing.

“[Luyendyk] was the pick because we met with him, like we do every season, we met with several guys, and it’s really about timing,” the executive stated. “I could make a case for almost every guy we meet with, and some years it’s right, some years it’s not.”

Mills went on to say that Luyendyk has always been one of their top choices for a new season after Maynard’s installment. Unfortunately, the timing wasn’t perfect back them. “This year, we met with Arie, and he’s really built a life for himself in Arizona. He still does the race car driving thing, but he’s also built a very big business in real estate. He has a life now to share with somebody, and the timing seems right.”

Mills also talked about Kraus in a separate interview with People. He admitted that Kraus was really one of the contenders for this season’s show. The runner-up on Rachel Lindsay’s “Bachelorette” Season 13 could have been the new leading man, but Mills says his breakup with Lindsay would be a problem.

“Peter was absolutely in discussion. He sort of alluded to that as well,” Mills said. “I think at this point in his life, the breakup with Rachel was still very raw … I think that, for him, there were still residual feelings there, and it was a very real breakup.”

Mills also noted that Kraus wasn’t “100 percent ready” to do the new season after the finale of Lindsay’s season. Nevertheless, Mills revealed that they will be in touch with Kraus for he could be the next “Bachelor” a year from now.

“I think we’ll always be in touch with Peter, and there might be a time … it might be a year from now, when it’s better for him,” Mills said of the fan-favorite reality TV star. “If Arie wasn’t ready, we would have looked at him, but we want it to feel right … It’s all about timing.”

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