Juan Pablo Galavis: A Gay Bachelor Would Be Bad Example For Children

Juan Pablo Galavis has spoken out against the idea of having a gay version of “The Bachelor.”

In an interview with The TV Page’s Sean Daly, the 32-year-old former soccer player – who currently stars on the ABC reality show – said he thinks a gay version of the dating series would be a bad idea.

“No. I respect [gay people] but, honestly, I don’t think it’s a good example for kids,” Juan Pablo told the reporter, when asked what he thought about the possibility of a gay “Bachelor” (audio of the interview was posted on The TV Page website).

Juan Pablo, a single dad who is raising 5-year-old daughter Camila, went on to say that he supports gay couples “100 percent,” but thinks having two same-sex parents is confusing for children.

“Obviously people have their husband and wife and kids, and that is how we are brought up,” he said. “Now there is fathers having kids and all that, and it is hard for me to understand that, too, in the sense of a household having peoples… two parents sleeping in the same bed and the kid going into bed.

“It is confusing in a sense, but I respect them because they want to have kids, they want to be parents,” he added.

And he didn’t stop there. Juan Pablo, the first Latino bachelor, also said the gay community is more openly sexual, which would make it difficult to air on primetime.

“And there’s this thing about gay people, that it seems to me – and I don’t know if I’m mistaken or not – you know I have a lot of friends and that, they’re more pervert[ed] in a sense. To me the show would be too strong, too hard to watch on TV.”

Reps for ABC denounced the reality star’s statements.

“Juan Pablo’s comments were careless, thoughtless and insensitive, and in no way reflect the views of the network, the show’s producers or studio,” the network said in a statement to Access Hollywood on Saturday.

— Erin O’Sullivan