I got to sit down with Luke Pell from Season 12 of The Bachelorette & I got to really get to know the real Luke and not just the person that many girls fell in love with on television. The "War Veteran" that won every girls heart and set a bar high for some of the guys out there. We talked about many things that I will share with you all over two different articles but for this article, let's hit on his Bachelorette 411.
Luke's first thing to say about The Bachelorette is telling me of the question he always gets...Is the Bachelorette fake or scripted?
No, it's not. The people aren’t actors so if they tried to script it, everyone would fall on their face and look completely fake. You are kind of a circus pony in the front half of the show because you see this girl, or this “main character,” like very randomly, you don't see them every day. You just wait around with cameras and its like a circus. But towards the home town thing, theres this switch that happens and you're like 'uh oh' and involuntary emotions start happening and you’re like 'oh man i’ve got a crush on this person. & she’s met my parents,' so thats when it became real to me.... I think thats why the viewers get addicted to it because its like what soap operas used to be but takes it to another level. Where its like, these are real people and these emotions are real.
Sorry to bust anyone's bubbles on that ladies and gents. It is not scripted at all. But wait... You're doing music now, why didn't you talk about your music on the show?
I was in music as a song writer in Nashville well before the Bachelorette. Most of my time was spent as a song writer. The veteran thing was a big part of my life as well. Since there were two musicians, me and James Taylor, they chose him as the musician and me as the army veteran. I even wrote a song for her that I still play at my live shows, and I played it for her at the pool party but it wasn’t aired because it would be redundant with James’s story line. But i’m kind of glad that it didn't because you know the audience can get very fickle with the entertainment industry careers on that show because they feel like anybody who is in the entertainment industry that goes on there is just on the show only to get famous. But music is something i've been passionate about even before the show.
Makes sense. But you know next I had to ask what just about every Bachelorette fan has been dying to know…That Hometown date... HOW did you think of that?
Originally, I wanted to fly. My best friend is a pilot so I wanted to take her up in the plane and fly around. We have cool lakes and stuff in our town Burnett. My parents ranch is cooler if you fly over it. You can fly for 35 minutes to an hour and see the whole county. You can be like theres my ranch right there, my best friends ranch, thats my high school. And thats what I wanted to do, I thought that would be a cool home town date. But they couldn’t clear it because of insurance issues... but so there was a Grey's Anatomy episode, where they outlines her dream home with the candles. So I was like, 'I don't want to be exactly like Grey's Anatomy and rip them off so let's do something different.' So we did the heart thing and that's where it came from.
[Yes ladies and gents... he was influenced by GREY'S ANATOMY!]
& after that, I said my peace and didn't tell her I loved her because I thought i'd do something different. I thought that would be cool because I was like, everybody knows the game, and I was not gonna sell out and just say it to win the game or whatever. I wasn't in it for that. So my idea was like, 'i'll just say it at like the right time and turns to find out it was used against me. I don't know maybe it was probably overwhelming for her. I had this intention and it didn't work out like I had planned.
I, like many other viewers, felt absolutely crushed for him when he was let off the show... I felt like it was a hard moment for you
It’s funny because it's such a roller coaster and a lot of emotions going on at that time and it's worse because you don’t have your phone. You can't talk to anyone else so there aren't any friends you can confide in. You’re just afraid and alone out there… its like You against all the producers and the world and in your mind your just like “Whats going on?” But after its past its just like any other relationship. It's not a bitter thing. Looking back you’re like... “that was crazy idk what was going on. That was a wild ride.” And so you're not bitter or tore up about it. You get over it quicker because it was such a short amount of time.
Let's talk about The Bachelor fall out... everyone expected, or at least wanted, Luke to be the next Bachelor, but that didn't end up happening,what happened with all of that?
There was a lot of vocal things that were said on television shows including an interview where Chris Harrison basically called me out incorrectly. Basically saying how I wasn't authentic or sincere. That they are looking for someone who asks about the dates and the girls and not money or their music career. & that is something that he indirectly but very directly passive aggressively said about me on Ellen (http://ellentube.com/videos/0-ty1urdo3/) the other day and I’m like “first of all, lets not talk about what you guys do as the producers of the show but then to attack my like authenticity is like just another level of are you kidding me? Like you could be very coy about it and just be like hey you know he wasn't the right guy. He's kind of got one eye bigger than the other or doesn't look right on camera” but don’t like attack my character and like my intentions. They ask me to be vulnerable and be on these shows.. to be myself and be real and I was and then he turned around and said that I wasn't & I don’t speak out against people or organizations much that I work with on a professional stand point, but when that happened I was like, Come on… you kind of over step the boundaries. Like its been a long time and you're still under cutting my character and thats not right. I can't stand by and not stand up for myself for that.You spend this time to build your fan base with people loving you and people want to try to change what it is when thats not what it is. Exactly, and I felt like that was pretty disrespectful and i’ll tell him that to his face, like I don't appreciate that at all. He kind of crossed the line. I was in the military, I went and served my country. I went to Afghanistan like, all these things that you would hope you wouldn't be called not genuine about, cause you know I spent years in another country, in the army and you're gonna say I'm not genuine about what I do, like come on.. if anything i’ve ever been in my life, I've been authentic and like real about who I am.
That's really intense. I'm really sorry that happened. But besides that, what's your life been like after The Bachelorette?
From the Bachelorette, that's all been interesting for me to learn throughout this whole process this year but the good silver lining to the whole thing is that I was able to you know, go back to Nashville. & I think it was a blessing in disguise because even if I was the Bachelor right now I would still be tied up. You know 90% of my life would be tied up in Bachelor appearances as the Bachelor, going on the bachelor live “women tell all,” and then I would be stuck in LA a lot more of the time and all these things would be happening and I wouldn't be back to what I was passionate about when I started a few years ago and left the corporate world to go pursue music. I wouldn't be able to be doing that right now, it would still be on hold so, and that in itself is a lot of a process. It takes a long time to get the quality up. Jeremy, my drummer, has been with me along this whole thing. I had to go take, It took months and months for me to go back in the studio, try to get the right song, get them recorded, get them produced, get them out, and get back to what we do as a band and what I do as an artist. To put music out and then go perform at live venues and live shows and tour with that. and we are just now getting back to that. and I love that. Thats what I've been wanting to do for a long time.I’m just glad to be back to myself and doing what I love. I love meeting new people, going to new cities so much, so many people i haven't met, so many cities I haven't been to that we are getting to go to now. Like we are about to go to Charleston, South Carolina and play for like 500-1000 people who know me as the guy they saw thats form Texas that was on the Bachelorette, and now they appreciate the music that I write and create as well. So, thats what I love to do and we are blessed to be able to do it.
Sitting and talking with Luke Pell was definitely one of the coolest experiences of my career so far. Very rarely do you meet someone who is so down to earth and as genuine as him. Stay tuned for my follow up article to learn more about Luke's music and charity he is very close with! & until then... go take a listen to his newest single "Pretty Close"! Here's a little teaser.. ;)
