00:00After 19 years of hosting The Bachelor, you're back with The Vow.
00:04Why was it important for you to return to reality TV with a show that's about love that is chosen,
00:09not one?
00:10You know, I don't know if it was important to even come back to reality TV and dating, but it
00:16felt right.
00:17You know, the concept that we started working on, my wife and I and our team with The Vow,
00:23all of a sudden really lit the fire and I got really excited about diving into this world.
00:28And I think more than ever, this world, our society, we need love.
00:32And I think there's this big appetite and there's this kind of big hole in the world for a great
00:37dating show
00:38to come in and really try to tell a genuine, authentic love story.
00:43And hopefully that's what The Vow will do.
00:45And in recent years with companies like Angel Studios and shows like The Vow,
00:50there's been a faith-based entertainment boom.
00:52Why do you think that is?
00:53You know, I think television entertainment is always a microcosm and a mirror image of what's happening in society.
01:00And my wife and I, as we were trying to kind of hone down the message
01:04and what we were really going to dive into with the show before it was created,
01:09we started seeing these articles of young people, this generation, going to church more than their parents.
01:16The first time in the history of our country that there has been this resurgence like this.
01:21The dating apps are collapsing.
01:23And it seems there is this pushback against the situationships and ghosting
01:28and all the things that seemingly are supposed to make our world and lives easier are driving us apart.
01:35And we're finding less connection.
01:37And those connections that we do have seem less meaningful.
01:41And so that's why The Vow is really asking the question, more than telling you,
01:46is can you find love in this modern world?
01:48And if so, what does it look like now for this generation?
01:51And Jace Cates is the man at the center of it all.
01:54I want to meet my wife and get started on our journey as a married couple
01:59and center that with faith and create our own family.
02:03What was the vetting process like?
02:06And was it important for him to have a profession like a loan mortgage officer
02:09that was kind of a normal job in the sense of the show?
02:13Casting is paramount.
02:14You know, that was, we all agreed across the board,
02:17that is the most important thing because it's the foundation of your show.
02:21Without the bright light of The Vow, without this opportunity,
02:24you know, the world wouldn't know about Jace Cates.
02:26You know, he would be somewhere in Canby, Oregon looking for love.
02:28And, you know, it's a guy who's a little bit older, and that was important to us as well.
02:3330 years old, frontal lobe is formed.
02:36He's experienced, you know, he's loved and lost.
02:40So he knows exactly what he's looking for, and he's serious about it.
02:44In his faith, his morals, his virtues, all these things he's aligned,
02:48but he hasn't found the love of his life yet, and that's where we come in.
02:51And you have a wonderful group of women vying for Jace's heart.
02:55How many applicants were there, and how difficult was this selection process?
02:58I don't know how many total, but I can tell you this.
03:03Guys, we got to do better.
03:05Men, you got to do better.
03:07Because the amount of women who are clamoring to be on a show like The Vow,
03:12a place that is taking it very serious, allowing them to talk about their faith,
03:16allowing them to truly find somebody with standards and morals, a gentleman.
03:21Wow, it made me realize the bar is on the floor right now.
03:24And so The Vow, hopefully among other things, will raise the bar out there of what's expected.
03:30So we had a tremendous amount of women.
03:32And if we are, you know, blessed enough to have season two, I think there will be even more.
03:38And among the women on the show is Kylie Russell, who is well known to reality TV fans.
03:43Did she approach you to continue her journey to find love on The Vow?
03:46And were you aware that she was recently baptized ahead of her coming on the show?
03:50Yes, yes and yes.
03:52Obviously, we knew who she was.
03:53We knew she had come from the bachelor world.
03:55And so the good news is we kind of entered into that relationship with a little trepidation,
04:00a little skepticism, wanted to make sure that she was there for the right reasons, as they say,
04:07as actually I always said.
04:09And it turns out she was.
04:11And she let us know the path she was on with her faith, that she had just been baptized.
04:15As she says in episode one, she is on fire for Jesus.
04:17I want someone that's not narcissistic, who has a job and has that relationship with the Lord,
04:21because I am on fire for Jesus.
04:23She felt like that's always been in her heart and soul.
04:27And that wasn't really able to be professed and be embraced.
04:32And so she wanted another fair shake.
04:34After hearing how sincere she was and where she is on her journey,
04:37and that she truly wants to find a husband and a family and all of it,
04:41we decided that that might be a nice little Easter egg and a nice little twist to add to The
04:46Vow.
04:47The Vow does kind of push back on some traditions of The Bachelor,
04:50like the cocktail party and the rose ceremony.
04:52Would you say this was solely kind of to distinguish The Vow from The Bachelor?
04:56Or were these elements that you kind of felt you became critical of over time?
04:59The more we dove in and said,
05:01look, we're trying to build the most authentic, intentional dating show ever.
05:05Okay, well then can you just tell someone,
05:07we're going to stop at 10 o'clock and you're going to kick a couple people off
05:10and you've not really met them yet?
05:11It didn't, that didn't seem intentional.
05:13It didn't seem authentic.
05:14And so the more we try to be authentic,
05:17the more we found we really needed to take our hand off the wheel as a producer.
05:21Allowing that unpredictability actually gave us more drama.
05:25You don't know when Jason's going to break up.
05:27It could happen at any time or not.
05:29He was in the middle of a conversation and you kind of saw it going south.
05:32You're like, oh, he's going to break up right here.
05:35And we didn't know,
05:37we weren't for sure that we were going to get the drama,
05:40but it turns out if you raise the bar and you raise the intention
05:43and the stakes are higher, the drama is higher.
05:47And your old pals, Sean Lowe and Catherine Lowe will make an appearance later this season.
05:53There he is.
05:54Oh my goodness.
05:55Excited to hear what you've gotten yourself into.
05:57Did you have to do much to convince them and how helpful was their advice to the group?
06:01The best thing about Sean and Catherine is,
06:03you know, before you pick up the phone, they say yes.
06:05That's the kind of friends they are.
06:07And that's the most important reason why they're on the show is they're dear friends of ours.
06:11Lauren and I love them very much.
06:13You know, I had a ringside seat to their love story.
06:16I was at their wedding.
06:17They were at our wedding.
06:19And one thing that Sean and Catherine are very public about is their faith.
06:23And that is the bedrock and the foundation for their relationship
06:26and their marriage and their family and their kids.
06:28And it's something that he was a little bit sad that he didn't get to profess that
06:36and talk about it and make that a part of his journey to find love.
06:40And so I know he's been in Jace's shoes.
06:43I know that faith is important to him.
06:46And I thought, what a better, you know, hand to have on a shoulder than for Sean and Catherine.
06:50And for Catherine to go talk to the ladies and help them along as well
06:53and let them know that that's an important conversation to have
06:57as you're about to make the most important decision of your life.
07:00And it was recently announced that The Bachelor will be returning for season 30 in 2027
07:05after a hiatus.
07:07Will you be watching?
07:08To be honest, I have not watched since I left the show.
07:11You know, it's one of those things.
07:13Do you follow your ex on social media?
07:14I don't recommend it.
07:16So I just didn't.
07:17You know, I moved on with my life.
07:18And although it was a blessed time in my life and I'm grateful
07:21and I still have friends over there on the show.
07:23And I wish them well.
07:25You know, there's room for all of us in this dating pool and love.
07:28What were your thoughts on the decision to shelf Taylor Frankie Paul's season
07:33of The Bachelorette after her ex-Dakota released that controversial video?
07:37It's messy over there.
07:39I think the most fortunate thing is it's not my mess.
07:43And I was happy to create the vow and go the direction we went with our show.
07:48But, you know, again, I do.
07:49I have friends over there and that still work there.
07:51And they were some of the first people to reach out and wish me well.
07:54This is a hard business and it is a business.
07:57And in this day and age, it's really tough to get anything on the air.
08:01That's why we're so proud of what we've done at the vow.
08:03But, you know, I hope they, you know, keep their jobs over there as well.
08:06And lastly, what can you say about the rest of the season of The Vow?
08:10What can fans expect as the show continues?
08:13It truly, in my mind, is the most authentic, intentional dating show ever.
08:19The conversations you're going to see are some that you've never seen on reality TV before.
08:23Or the drama, the tears, the heart.
08:25It's, again, when you raise the bar, you raise the stakes, then that is inevitable.
08:33You know, everybody's hearts are on the line.
08:34And truly, starting in episode two, there will be tears.
08:38Like, that's how serious they're taking this.
08:41They really saw this as a genuine, one-of-a-kind opportunity to find love.
08:45Like, that's how serious they have.
