Juan Pablo Galavis
Juan Pablo Galavis talked to Latin Times. Facebook/ Juan Pablo Galavis

Juan Pablo. Close your eyes, think of him and repeat his name three times. No, that won’t make the new Bachelor Juan Pablo Galavis come to you, but at least you’ll have a few seconds of thought candy. And after you hear what he told me in an exclusive interview, you’ll realize why he’s more perfect than you thought. Ok, scratch that, his recent remarks on gay men, and the rumors of him not getting any girl at the end of the season, plus the fact that there aren't any Latinas on the show (!) and that he only likes women with the body of a bodybuilder, and is not interested in neurons or heart for that matter, makes him a very intriguing person. He's not perfect for sure. Is he that shallow? Plus, there's a recent report from Radar On Line, accusing him of not paying child support.

We can't deny he is gorgeous, athletic, extremely charismatic and apparently very down to earth, and an alleged awesome dad. But today's homophobic comments have placed him in a very uncomfortable position. When asked what did he think of "The Bachelor" spin-off show for gays, he answered, according to the Huffington Post: "There's this thing about gay people... it seems to me, and I don't know if I'm mistaken or not... but they're more 'pervert' in a sense. And to me the show would be too strong... too hard to watch." And while he hasn't responded to those remarks, he talks to us about how he became the first Latino bachelor.

“I had a friend who sent all the paperwork to the show so I could join “The Bachelorette,” and that’s how it all started. Then the producers call me and tell me that they want me to be ‘The Bachelor.’ It was obviously a very difficult decision to make because I hate hurting people. I don’t like people crying over me, and also accepting this meant being away from my daughter for a while.

But still, I thought ‘I’ll meet 25 women that know who I am, that know I want to have a family, that I want to have two more kids,’ so I figured that with this opportunity, it would be easier to get where I want to be in life. It wasn’t easy, but I do think accepting this was totally worth it.”

What was the hardest part of being on the show?

“The hardest part of being on the show was saying goodbye to people. Sending the girls home. I really hate hurting people, and I knew that saying goodbye to them would hurt them a little.”

How did your daughter deal with your shooting schedule and not seeing her dad all the time?

“My family and Camila’s mom came to Los Angeles while I was shooting here, and when the show went abroad, they all returned to Miami. Both Carla and my parents took care of Camila while I was in L.A. I skyped with her a lot, and although I wasn’t present, she had a good support group.”

Have you introduced Camila to your new girl? How does she feel about her?

“How do you know if I chose someone or not? You have to watch the show and in March you will find out.” (Was that a spoiler?)

Does Camila know what the show is about? Have you explained it to her?

“She knows her dad is ‘The Bachelor’ but she has no idea what that means and what the show’s all about. I’ve always tried to maintain my relationships separate from Camila. I had a girlfriend after Camila’s mom and for Camila she was my friend. We didn’t kiss or hold hands in front of her, or we didn’t spend the night together if Camila was around. I obviously want to be an example for her and when I know I have someone to marry, then I’ll introduce her to my daughter. She’s very young still.” (Did Juan Pablo just reveal he doesn’t propose to anyone on the show?)

How would you define the perfect woman?

“My woman has to be athletic, she needs to dance well, I’m attracted to someone who cares about other people, who knows how to be the best she can be. I like to exercise a lot, so I like an active person. But the most important thing is that she loves my daughter.”

What have you learned from being on “The Bachelor”?

“This whole experience has taught me to be patient, sincere, honest, to be myself. I think no one should be other than who they really are just to impress, and in the show I learned that by just being me I can do much more than I would think of.”

What was the best thing of being on the show?

“I loved the whole experience of the show. Everything. The dates are perfect, getting to know the girls. I love meeting people in general, and this time around I had the opportunity to go on one on one dates and I enjoyed it a lot.”

Define your perfect date.

“My perfect date would be with the perfect woman. Wherever, whenever. It can be on the bed watching TV, it can be in a concert. I don’t have an ideal of a “perfect date.” It all depends on who you’re with.”

© 2024 Latin Times. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.