Blake Horstmann definitely made some waves during his last turn on Bachelor In Paradise, when he had a little love triangle with contestants Caelynn Miller-Keyes and Kristina Schulman, which notoriously started at Stagecoach Festival. Now, two years later, a Blake contemplated returning to the show, but told HollywoodLife.com he ultimately decided it “wasn’t for me” this year. “There was some conversation, I never got the official casting, but it was about four days before they were starting to fly people down and something in me just didn’t feel confident going back, the Colorado native told HL in an EXCLUSIVE interview. “I just don’t know if I could be myself in that environment at this point right now. I think one of the most important things in order to be successful [on the show], which is, in my opinion, to find somebody, find a relationship, and to do that you have to be open and vulnerable and have your walls down. At this point, I just don’t know if I could do that.”
Blake admitted that if given the opportunity to lead as the Bachelor, he would consider it. “I do believe in the process. I think you can find your person through it,” he explained. “At the same time, it’s just such a difficult role and there’s so much of the public criticism and backlash. It’d be hard but I’m not gonna sit here and say I probably wouldn’t do it, but it’s a long shot.”
The 32-year-old added that his current dating life has definitely changed since becoming a fan-favorite on Becca Kufrin‘s season 14 of The Bachelorette. “What was hard before the show has become easier what was easy before the show is now harder,” Blake admitted. “Sometimes I go on dates and people know all about me already, so that can be very awkward and challenging at times. It doesn’t feel very authentic… But, I’m still I’m out there dating and I’m enjoying it.”
Blake spoke to HL in partnership with Rowdy Energy, an energy drink for high performers. “I live a healthy lifestyle when it comes to fitness what I put into my body, and I was looking for a healthy alternative to a lot of the energy drinks out there and came across Rowdy,” he explained. Comprised of sequenced time-released caffeine, a proprietary blend of sugar reduction ingredients, and hydration levels above leading sports drinks, Rowdy comes in seven flavors, including five sugar free options. “They care about what they’re putting in the people’s bodies,” Blake said. “It was a no-brainer.”