Here's What Arie & Becca's 'Bachelor' Body Language Reveals About His Feelings For Her
If I had to sum up Arie Luyendyk in one word it would be "amazing." KIDDING! I think Arie is more basic than seeing Fifty Shades Freed on Valentine's Day. (No shade, I just feel like there are more amazing movies out right now.) America's current Bachelor is a man with a pulse, an affinity for race-car driving, and an amazing inability to stop saying "amazing." Now that the word has lost all meaning, I want pay attention to Arie Luyendyk Jr and Becca K's body language as a better indicator of how "amazing" he feels around the finalist.
If I'm being honest, this is only my second time watching The Bachelor, and I'm not super caught up this year. Well, at least in the traditional sense. I watched the beginning of the season because a girl from my high school, was on it, and watching a person you know on reality TV is one of the more fascinating experiences you will have in your life. I also listen to The Ringer's Juliet Litman's podcast "Bachelor Party" regularly. This seems weird because I'm not watching every Monday, but her commentary is that good.
To be honest, I preferred short-haired, teenage-adjacent, "is she missing or is she just working on a marijuana farm?" Bekah M. to Becca K, but Arie seems very intrigued by the publicist from Minnesota. She's very sweet and beautiful, but the answer on her bio to her top movies — "Sister Act 2, Gladiator, Pitch Perfect" — makes me feel like she's the type who might go see Fifty Shades Freed on opening night. Which actually might make her the perfect match for Mr. Vanilla. Hmm...
Because I'm clearly very opinionated and have zero objectivity when it comes to the final contestants, I spoke to body language expert Traci Brown for her take on Arie and Becca K's unspoken communication. Here's what she had to say:
Becca seems into Arie from the beginning.
The above shot is from the first episode. "The interesting thing is that Becca really put some effort into making her first impression," says Brown. "She's making big motions, making sure she stands out." Brown adds the caveat that of course this could be the work of the producers, but otherwise it seems like she's ready to make an impression. "Becca is gonna go after him," adds Brown. But is the feeling mutual?
Arie's smile reveals his true feelings for Becca.
Of the finalists, Brown shared that she felt Arie seemed most into Becca —of course, that's based on the pictures only, which she reminded me were only a moment in time. "His smiles are bigger, and they seem to show that they’re having more fun," she says. "This is reflective of the energy we saw in their first intro. I think they’re equally into each other."
By the bowling date during the fifth week, Arie seems more into the relationship than Becca is.
Again, with the caveat that this is just one photo, Brown felt that Becca seemed more hesitant than Arie on the bowling date. "He's into her savoring the feeling of the moment," says Brown. "She's just showing a polite smile. We don't know if something is bothering her and he's comforting her or if she's just checked out and going through the motions. She's way more minimized than her usual self here."
By hometowns, it's confirmed that Arie is super into Becca.
"See how they both have genuine smiles, their hips are really close together, and his arm is around her while they’re shouting at the target? That’s a dead giveaway that they’re into each other," explains Brown in response to the above GIF. She adds that it looks like Arie is having the most fun with Becca, and that their photos together show "energy and adventure."
And how can she tell? "I'm looking for the size of their smiles, and the intensity," Brown says. "You can see true happiness in the outside corners of the eyes." Hmm, maybe I should start having someone follow me around on date and photograph my date and I to see how smiley our eyes look? Just kidding. I wouldn't creep that hard on a date. (Or would I?)
