The man has walls up, and America is ready to tear them down!
On Monday night's The Bachelorette finale, viewers saw frontrunner Peter Kraus leave the show in a burst of emotion so powerful that we would've fallen for him instantly ... if we hadn't already weeks ago. Kraus has been a fan favorite all season, and his heartbreaking exit cemented that he's a man with issues...walls up...a man in need of a, dare we say, a journey?
Here are nine reasons why the Wisconsin native is probably our next Bachelor, which we're 100 percent on board for.
1) He's been a good guy, and gotten a good edit.
Kraus has basically been a prince all season on The Bachelorette. If he was dramatic in the mansion, we've seen nary a peep of a problem -- save for a few moments shown in the final episodes of Peter taking issue with Bryan's personality. In fact, the personal trainer has been honest, genuine and even silly ... remember the rap?
2) But ... he's got issues.
In ET's sit-down with Rachel Lindsay in mid-July, the Bachelorette told us what Peter's problems were, and they're hallmarks of Bachelor Nation. "Peter had his walls up, which I relate to," she said. "That was me on Nick's season." Rachel, of course, became The Bachelorette. Kraus was absolutely heartbreaking to watch during Monday night's finale. He asked Lindsay not to end things with him, and told her he'd propose to her if she wanted him to. He ended it all by asking to the room, through tears, "What's wrong with me?" Well, just enough to make you the perfect Bachelor, Peter! We can see the promos now. Each lead must have an obstacle to overcome: It's a staple of the show. Nick Viall was plagued by how many times he'd been rejected overall. Ben Higgins said he feared he was "unlovable." JoJo Fletcher was haunted by how Higgins dumped her after saying, "I love you." Peter, tear down that wall!
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3) He's the right age.
At 26, Higgins was the youngest Bachelor in franchise history, but he was an old soul. Dean Unglert, 26, is another apparent frontrunner for Bachelor from Lindsay's season, but told ET in mid-July, "Of course it's an honor to be the Bachelor ... but ... I think I have a lot of maturing I need to do myself." Kraus is 31.
4-7) Hair. Smile. Body. ...Hair, again.
The salt-and-pepper hair ... the gap tooth ... Kraus is a former model and a current personal trainer: Need we say more?! Our only qualm with this amazing season of The Bachelorette was that we didn't get more footage of Peter shirtless. Please enjoy this actual art:
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8) His parents got together quickly.
Towards the end of The Bachelorette, it became apparent that Peter wasn't comfortable proposing to Rachel after knowing her for such a short time (aka: the length of filming). Still, he also revealed that his parents got engaged after only a month of dating. That leads us to believe Kraus could find love in a short span ... he's just got to, as they say, embrace the process.
9) It's his destiny.
Peter said it himself back in 2005.
While these nine reasons are enough to convince us that Peter should be our next Bachelor, they apparently aren't enough for Rachel, who served Peter with a plate of "this show isn't for you" during After the Final Rose.
"I just don't think, like, this world, this process, this journey, this show... I just don't think it's for you," she declared. "Like, you need more time. You need to see things through. You're searching for something else, and I don't think it takes away from the person that you are -- I think that you're sincere and you're genuine and that's beautiful -- but I just think you need more time when it comes to these things, and I hope that moving forward, you find whatever it is that you're searching for, and you move forward in that."
Rachel, who recently told ET that she didn't want any of her suitors to be the next Bachelor, also weighed in on that high school yearbook entry -- and her response was sassy! Watch in the video below.