Bachelor Arie Luyendyk Jr. said 'I love you' to more than 1 woman on the show

— -- When Arie Luyendyk Jr. agreed to be the star of the twenty-second season of "The Bachelor," he was nervous that the producers wouldn't be able to find the right woman for him.

Fortunately -- or unfortunately -- for the racecar driver, it seems they may have done too good of a job.

Luyendyk Jr. told ABC News in a new interview that during filming, he fell in love with more than one woman.

"I told more than one person that I was in love and it made it hard for me. I think that I didn't really expect that," he said. "I didn't know that I had that capacity to love more than one person at a time and I think that's something that some of the bachelors go through and it's difficult. But I'm glad that I left myself open and got to experience that, for sure."

"Bachelor" fans first met Luyendyk Jr., 36, in 2012, when he appeared on Emily Maynard's season of "The Bachelorette." Though he left without a fiancée — Maynard broke up with him during the season finale — he did earn himself a nickname that has stuck: "the kissing bandit," as he engaged in PDA on many occasions during production.

This time around, he said, he was determined not to kiss anybody on the first night, but one particularly confident woman destroyed that resolve after she took the initiative and planted one on him. ("That was pretty cool," he said.)

"As far as kissing throughout the season, I think it's just when that moment sort of feels right, so yeah, I'm a romantic and I do love kissing," he said. "I feel like the physical side of a relationship is important, so yeah, there will be some kissing."

Like the Bachelors who came before him, Luyendyk Jr. said he couldn't reveal whether he left the show as an engaged man, but he did say that he had a great time filming the show.

"[Before the show] I didn't know what to expect and now it feels like almost a lifetime ago," he said. "Now I'm out of it, I'm home and I'm happy. It exceeded my expectations."

The new season of "The Bachelor" premieres Jan. 1 on ABC.