Arie Luyendyk’s Bonding Time With Son Lux Causes Chaos Among Fans

YouTube Lauren Burnham Luyendyk and Arie Luyendyk answer questions from "Bachelor" fans.

It has been a few years since Arie Luyendyk, Jr. starred as “The Bachelor,” but many fans still keep a close eye on his social media pages to see what he’s up to from day to day. Luyendyk is known for turning his season upside down by breaking off his engagement to Becca Kufrin, his final rose recipient, and reuniting with runner-up Lauren Burnham. The two are married now and have three children, and a recent social media post that included one of his kids generated a significant reaction from fans.

Here’s what you need to know:

Arie Luyendyk Went for a Drive With Lux

When “The Bachelor” fans first met Luyendyk, he was a contender on Emily Maynard’s season of “The Bachelorette.” He was focused on race car driving back then, and his father had the same profession. These days, his career focus has shifted, but it looks as if he still has a deep love for fast cars. In a recent Instagram story, Luyendyk filmed as he slowly drove down the road in a Porsche. The short video revealed that while Luyendyk was technically in control of the car, it was his son Lux who was “driving.” A screenshot of the video was posted in “The Bachelor” Reddit sub, and franchise fans did not hesitate to share their thoughts.

In the video, Lux wore just a diaper and held onto a blanket as he sat on his dad’s lap. Lux had his hands on the steering wheel and peeked over the dash at the road as best he could while the sports car made its way down the neighborhood street. While some “Bachelor” fans noted in the Reddit sub they did similar things with their own children or when they were kids, quite a few others took issue with Luyendyk’s decision to have Lux “drive,” film it himself, and post it publicly.

“Quick!!!! Grab the pitchforks!!!” joked one “Bachelor” fan, who anticipated Luyendyk would receive a lot of criticism.

Luyendyk’s Video Had ‘Bachelor’ Fans Rather Divided

The Reddit community seemed quite torn over Luyendyk’s decision to film and post the video. Some “Bachelor” fans who watched the video noted the car was going about 10 mph, which many felt was not an insignificant factor.

“He’s driving through a neighborhood while on his phone, and his kid is in the driver’s seat and not wearing any sort of seatbelt. Distracted driving and kids out of proper car seats is pretty much a recipe for disaster,” one Redditor detailed. That commenter added, “If someone backed out of a driveway and hit them, or if he slammed on brakes to avoid hitting something that runs into the road, his kid could get thrown into the dash or potentially through the windshield.”

Several other Redditors noted that if something caused the airbags to deploy, that would surely be terrible for Lux. Others mentioned a subsequent Instagram story Luyendyk shared acknowledging the criticism. “Arie responded to the criticisms in an IG story that was both dismissive and insulting toward those who had expressed concern about the image,” a Redditor explained. “The arrogance and irresponsibility that his response unveils is really disappointing,” the poster continued.

“Just because we were stupid enough to do something in the past, doesn’t mean we should keep doing the stupid thing in the name of tradition. That’s always been the worst argument,” detailed someone else.