Why Sean Lowe Was Not Sure Catherine Was “The One”

Getty Sean and Catherine All Dressed Up

It’s not unusual for a star of “The Bachelor” to go back and forth on which bachelorette might be ‘the one.’ After all, that is basically the premise of the show – date a lot of different women until you narrow it down to your soulmate.  When Sean Lowe took over the reins as Bachelor in season 17, it was the ‘narrowing it down’ part that was particularly difficult for him.

As Lowe confessed in his book “For the Right Reasons,” “I had been collecting these really memorable moments—and they weren’t all with Catherine. I’d go on an awesome date, have the time of my life, then wake up the next day and have another amazing date with a totally different woman.

She might be the one, I’d think.

Then the next date, I’d think, No, she might be the one.”

Sean Lowe and Decisions Don’t Mix

One day, as it was getting closer to the end of filming, Lowe sat down with his sister, Shay, to discuss his options. She asked, “Is there anyone you can see yourself marrying?” To which Lowe replied, “Almost all of them. Honestly, none of them stick out as being ‘the one.’”

When Lowe was down to his final three bachelorettes, Lindsay Yenter, AshLee Frazier and his now-wife Catherine Giudici, he was still very uncertain. Catherine was the only one left who had not yet professed her love to the virgin Bachelor.  Lowe admits in his book, “I also had never said to her, ‘You’re the one.’ Mainly, because I wasn’t sure she was. More than anything, I was confused.”

After Lowe sent AshLee Frazier home, it was down to Lindsay and Catherine. The Toronto Star reminds viewers that after both women met his parents, Lowe told them “I think I could probably have a long, happy marriage with Lindsay and Catherine at this point.”

The Real Reason Lowe Was So Unsure

Practically down to the wire, Lowe still wasn’t sure what he wanted to do. He told producers the day before the proposal was supposed to happen, that he needed more time, and more information.

When the producers pressed him for more details, the thoughts running through Lowe’s head were: “I realized how absurd this conversation was. How could I possibly explain to the executive producer of The Bachelor that I needed to know if Catherine and I were going to believe in Jesus in the same way?” Lowe wrote in “For the Right Reasons.”

Lowe felt as if his faith was not being taken seriously: “I wasn’t aware of anyone on the show saying he or she was Christian. Though everyone was nice to me, I got the feeling that most of them either overlooked my Christianity or thought it was quaint and old-fashioned, like a rotary phone.”

He talked with the producers for a while longer, until they told him they needed to know what he was planning to do, so they could prepare. The conversation went like this, according to Lowe’s book:

“’I think I’m going to propose to Catherine,’” I said.

‘You think or you know?’

‘I know.’ I said it emphatically, hoping it would stamp out any lingering fears.

It didn’t.”

At this point, Lowe’s doubts were not about which bachelorette to choose. He had made up his mind that he was in love with Catherine, not Lindsay. His concerns were whether he loved her enough to actually propose marriage.

After Lowe pleaded with producers to spend just 15 more minutes with Giudici, they finally gave in.  He promised not to give anything away about the proposal. He just needed some clarity about her faith. Somehow, in those 15 minutes, he got it. Or at least, he was clear by the next morning.

Lowe was still praying to God for guidance when Lindsay was walking up the path on her way to get dumped. After that was over, host Chris Harrison handed Lowe a letter from Giudici. Lowe, and most of Bachelor Nation thought it was a Dear John letter and that Lowe would be leaving “The Bachelor” alone and heartbroken. Everyone was relieved to find out that the letter was just Catherine professing her love to him.

Finally, Lowe had all the clarity he needed, the proposal went off without a hitch, and the two remain happily married with three children.