“Bachelorette” runner-up Peter Kraus has now opened up after not being chosen to be the “Bachelor” for the upcoming 22nd season of the dating show. He has also revealed that he is still up for the role if the producers decide to choose him for the reality dating series in the future.

On Tuesday, Kraus sat down with Entertainment Tonight for his first interview after it was announced that Arie Luyendyk Jr. is going to be the new “Bachelor.” In his chat with the media outlet, he revealed what stopped him from realizing negotiations with the producers of the show.

“[It] wasn’t a good time for me,” Kraus said of his recent attempt at finding love with Lindsay. “It was such an emotional roller coaster. I didn’t feel like I had enough time to process the season and ‘After the Final Rose,’ and where I was at in my own life at the time.”

Kraus then went on to explain that he felt like he really needed time before he could join another show. “I needed more time for clarity,” he said. “I’m the type of person who needs maybe too much time to process things when it comes to life and love … when I’m talking about my wife and my future, I want to take time to really think about it.”

Nevertheless, Kraus did admit that he initially discussed things with producers right after Lindsay’s season. He shared that he only did this because he wanted to “weight out my options” and “see what is best for me.”

“Never turn down something without hearing someone out. I’m going to weight out everything in my life, and then make the best possible decision based on all the information. That’s why I did it,” he continued.

Despite eventually giving up on the idea of being Season 22’s “Bachelor,” Kraus confessed that he is still willing to do the show if the offer comes up next time. “If the offer were to come up in the future, I could see myself doing it. It seems like an amazing opportunity,” he shared.

Many fans of the ABC series were previously disappointed after learning that Luyendyk was chosen to be the franchise’s next lead over fan-favorite Kraus. ABC’s Senior Vice President of Alternative Series, Specials & Late-Night Programming Robert Mills even did an interview with People to explain what happened. According to the exec, Kraus was indeed a top contender for the title, but it was perfect timing that led them to choose Luyendyk in the end.

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