Face-to-face with the Bachelor, Arthur Green

The Bachelor, Arthur Green

Arthur Green has had quite a morning. After a long round of interviews, understandably he's a little tired of talking about himself. But he's still bright eyed and chatty, and yes he looks just as tall and strapping in real life as he does on the TV screen (it's not just standing next to Mike Puru that makes him seem towering).

So how does he feel after last night's premiere?

"It's just a relief, I feel relieved that I can finally tell all my friends and family that I'm the bachelor, but also a real relief that the show was good last night, and that I didn't come across as a complete dickhead" he laughs.

"I was a bit worried, a bit apprehensive, for two reasons. Firstly I was worried the show wouldn't look that amazing, but it did, so that was good. And then mostly, I was worried as to whether or not I was going to be edited in a way that perhaps made me appear not as myself. But I think I did come across as myself, so that was great."

When Green was initially approached, producers were pretty vague about exactly what show they were hoping he'd be part of, so he wasn't sure how to react, and even after more information was delivered, and a formal proposal had been made he was unsure whether The Bachelor was for him.

The Bachelorettes competing for Art's heart.

"I was very unsure about the whole thing, whether or not it was right for me, whether or not I could take time out of work, whether or not it was something I wanted to do. But my family were really good, I talked it over a lot with them, discussed it in great depth, and decided, you know, why not? It seemed like a great opportunity. In the past I've tried to jump at every opportunity that's come my way, and it's got me to where I am now, so I thought, what the hell!"

Green hadn't seen any of the international Bachelor series before agreeing to be involved in the show, which was potentially a good thing. But the day he was due to meet all the girls for the first time, a producer suggested he might like to do some quick research, so he watched the first episode of the second Australian series, and it made him doubt his decision to be on the show.

"It just freaked me out! I was so nervous sitting in the car, driving to the mansion, thinking 'Oh my god, what have I got myself into? I didn't really relate to that bachelor [in the second Australian series], and I was hoping a lot that I wouldn't end up looking like he did, but it was too late by then, so I thought, 'Right, you just have to do it'."

The show has superceded his expectations so far though - getting to know the women, he was pleasantly pleased to find he felt compatible with so many of them.

"I was originally just hoping that there would be at least one girl among them who I could see myself with. But after meeting them all and getting to know them, now I've got quite a few hard decisions and choices to make" he laughs.

But perhaps he shouldn't be surprised - Green has six sisters, so it seems likely that he's good with women en masse.

"I've seen them go through all these different ages and stages, and they all act in different ways and are grumpy at different times, and I've really learned how to avoid certain situations and how to deal with certain situations. So yeah, I guess it's been pretty good for my social development with females," he smiles.

There have been a few curve balls thrown his way of course. He hadn't considered the idea that some of the women might choose to leave voluntarily, like Rosie did before the first rose ceremony.

"I hadn't even thought about that, that I might get rejected, that hadn't really crossed my mind, amazingly. But she felt the whole situation wasn't quite right for her, and I was just like, that's really cool, it's not right for everyone, it's a very unique situation that everyone is in, and I'm not going to be everyone's cup of tea by any stretch."

And just like everyone involved in the show, he clearly had mixed emotions after the revelations about Danielle Le Gallais last week, when it was revealed she had been sentenced to 18 months' jail for stealing almost $40,000 from her employer.

Danielle Le Gallais failed to declare her criminal history to producers.

"I was surprised. Very surprised. Yeah I don't know, it didn't affect my judgment of her that much I suppose, because I'd gotten to know her before all that news came out."

Green seems well prepared for various accusations and criticisms that might be leveled at him throughout the show. The chief one so far is that he's only participating in the show to promote his business and his brand Clean Paleo Ltd, but he says his business was one particular aspect which made him reluctant to be part of The Bachelor.

"The business was one of the key reasons against me going on The Bachelor, because I didn't know how the show would be received, and that's quite scary because I didn't know if I would want to associate our company with it. Our company is going really well, it's successful and strong, and if The Bachelor isn't a success then that might not be so great for the company. So sure, hopefully it will have positive effects on the business, but it's definitely not a reason for me wanting to do it. I was very cautious about that aspect of it."

No, the reason he's doing the show is because despite being just 26, he reckons now is the time for him to begin his search for love.

"I think about things quite rationally I suppose, so when I started thinking about the future, I want to have a family in my early 30s, and I want to really know that person pretty well when that happens, and I think I really need to have been with a girl for a good few years before I'm ready to make that commitment to having a family, so when I look at it like that, I think now is the time when I need to find someone. That's what I'm hoping for."

- nzherald.co.nz