The Bachelorette‘s Ben Smith is always ready to bare it all.
The fitness instructor, who is currently vying for Tayshia Adams‘ heart on the ABC dating competition, got candid with Wondery’s Bachelor Happy Hour hosts Becca Kufrin and Rachel Lindsay about why he decided to go sans clothes on the Dec. 1 group date.
Though Ben joked that even his own mother would consider him an “exhibitionist,” it was seeing the other Bachelorette contestants strip down that inspired his behavior.
“I was jealous that I didn’t get to play strip dodgeball,” he said of the show’s controversial group date activity. “Later on they play speedo basketball, and I’m like holy s–t, when do I get my chance to take my clothes off? I had like nakedness envy.”
But another major reason Ben decided to remove his clothes was to show Tayshia his more vulnerable side.
“Taking my clothes off was a literal and figurative dropping of my guard,” the reality star added. “And maybe [Tayshia] caught a glimpse of me or maybe she didn’t, I don’t know. But it wasn’t about being naked, it was about removing this barrier that I had up.”
