The newest bachelor is not only an "Officer and A Gentleman" as the season's title claims, he is also a former Blue Devil. recess' Chelsea Allison recently participated in an interview with Andy Baldwin, Trinity '99, star of The Bachelor.
Considering your pedigree and your education and the physical things you put yourself through as a tri-athlete did any of that pale in comparison to trying to appease 25 marriage-hungry women?
Andy Baldwin: Yeah. It definitely did-I had no idea how difficult a journey and a mission this was going to be. I've done a lot of things-you know getting to be a doctor, I've done the iron man six times-but this was hard but well worth the journey. I came out with an amazing woman and I'm totally in love.
What kind of women generally do you find yourself attracted to?
I definitely want a woman with an open mind, but who also does have an opinion. What I look for most is a woman who can challenge me and who I can challenge back.
It takes more than a pretty face and someone who's athletic. I look for someone who can make me laugh, someone who's witty and who above and beyond has the same family values I do.
How is it that a guy like you hasn't found the right woman yet?
It's plain and simple-I've had a number of very long term relationships and it's always been that something was missing, but I'm not willing to settle for anything less than what's right for me. A lot of it had to do with timing and where I've been in my life. Right now I've reached a point where I'm ready to settle down and I thought, What a better way than basically have a professional screening process and they pay to go on these amazing dates.
I understand there are a lot of Texans on this show -what is it about Texas women?
I really like the Southern girls. Ever since my time at Duke and spending time down south, definitely-they're very charming and very classy.
Did you have any concerns about the motives of the girls?
I definitely had my eyes open and ears open. What's great about this show is that it's very intense, you don't sleep a lot and you're busy busy busy, but there's a method to the madness.People really show their true colors after a while, faster than they would in a real-life dating situation.It definitely took me a couple episodes to figure out who was here for the right reasons and I really think about everyone was.
Has the woman you chose-you know a lot of what we see is not always dignified or very pretty-has she expressed any concerns to you about her behavior on the show that you might be exposed to as the show airs?
Oh, of course. I think we are all going to see things that might be a little eye opening, but in the end we know what the result was, and we know how we feel about each other. We're not going to hold anything against each other.
So if she's on tape putting Nair in another woman's shampoo that's fine?
(laughs) That's a good strategy.
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