Hold Up, Karl Was Originally Supposed To Be On Clare's Bachelorette Season

Another season of The Bachelorette, another slew of claims that certain contestants aren’t on the show for the “right reasons.” Katie Thurston’s time as the lead is just kicking off, but one guy has already taken it upon himself to weed out all the suspicious competition: Karl. The contestant has stirred up plenty of ire among the other men in the process, but what’s wild is the fact that Karl wasn’t originally picked to vie for Katie’s heart — he was originally cast on Clare Crawley’s season, but was cut before filming began.

But now Karl is here, and with even more drama coming this season, let’s break down everything Bachelor Nation should know about him. ICYMI: As Week 2 officially got underway, Karl began rubbing the other guys the wrong way with his overzealous attempts to win over Katie. He gave an, um... interesting lecture about what he thought the Bachelorette does and doesn’t want in a lover and kept talking about the show in a transactional way: Karl referred to the season as The Hunger Games and later added that he needed to “get back in the game” and earn a group date rose because “my whole world is business.” Very romantic.

When he didn’t get the group date rose in the June 14 episode, Karl switched tactics and pulled Katie aside during the next cocktail party, claiming he wasn’t sure if all of the guys were being “100 percent transparent.” Of course, this put an already-jaded Katie on high alert, making her question her trust in the other contestants.

It’s unsurprising that Karl feels so comfortable giving out lectures, because that’s what he does for a living. The Miami native is a motivational speaker who founded Next Level Success, which “empowers entrepreneurs and business professionals with the knowledge, tools, and resources to create greater success.” His work has helped him rack up over 40,000 followers on Instagram, where he primarily shares clips from his many speeches. According to Karl’s Bachelorette bio, he’s historically had a hard time committing in relationships, because his professional goals have outweighed his personal ones. Now, according to his bio, he’s ready to make “finding a wife” a priority and is looking for someone fun and spunky. That may sum up Katie pretty well, but after he ushered plenty of drama into the house, fans will have to wait and see if more rose ceremonies are in Karl’s future.

The Bachelorette continues on Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.