Once called a “turd” by celeb guest Amy Schumer, the former investment banker and single father wasn’t exactly a fan-favorite during his time on Kaitlyn Bristowe‘s season for a few reasons: 1. He revealed he had cheated on his ex-wife. 2. He clashed with some of the other guys, aside from his serious bromance with Clint, resulting in endless “Brokeback Bachelor” jokes.
“Kaitlyn’s not the right girl for me,” he once said. “I love JJ, so I need the rose tonight.”
Even after his season, he was making headlines, getting into a violent altercation after the filming of the Men Tell All special when he was leaving the after-party.
“I stood up for a friend on Saturday and rec’d 2 black eyes for my effort,” he tweeted after the encounter. “I did however leave 4 of them hurt and running away. #Facts.”
But then something surprising happened: JJ went to Mexico for season two of Bachelor in Paradise, where he became a fan-favorite and formed friendships with Bachelor Nation fan-favorites like Jade and Tanner and Ashley I. and Jared and Ben Higgins considers him a good friend.
While he briefly dated Bachelor alum and fellow single parent Juelia Kinney, whom he met during BIP but started off as friends, the pair split after their 2017 appearance on Marriage Boot Camp Reality Stars.
But JJ is now engaged to girlfriend Kayla Hughes, proposing to her in Hawaii in January 2019. JJ revealed on Instagram that they are set to get married on February 29, 2020.
JJ and Kayla, a former NFL cheerleader, began dating in September 2017, with JJ crediting her for making him a better man.
“As people that followed the Bachelor knew, I had gone through a pretty tough divorce that ultimately impacted my career and mental well-being,” he told People. “Since Kayla came into my life, it’s been a 180 in terms of finding my mojo again, both personally and professionally. She has been a rock for me and is the woman that makes me wake up desiring to be my absolute best in every aspect of life.”
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