Emily & Arie May Have The Ideal Exes Relationship, Post-'Bachelorette'

New year, new us, new Bachelor! Arie Luyendyk, Jr. is all set to find love on his very own season of The Bachelor, but in the spirit of togetherness that rolls around this time of year, I think it important to discuss not only where Arie is going, but also where Arie has been, too. Are Emily Maynard and Arie friends after The Bachelorette?

Far be it from me to judge — I don’t really stay besties with my ex-boyfriends, either, but Emily, who took Arie very far (he was the runner up against Jef “With One F” Holm) on her own season of The Bachelorette, admitted to People that she and Arie didn’t and don’t hang out following their brief love affair on national television. “I’ve been rooting for Arie to be the Bachelor since my season ended — he’s a great guy,” Emily said. She also said that they haven’t stayed in touch, but were never enemies, per se. “[Arie on The Bachelor] will be great TV,” Emily said, but it won’t be “TV that is watched in my house.”

Fair enough. I have to imagine that watching an ex-boyfriend of yours kiss 30 women on television for 8-10 weeks is not on most people’s list of “Top Things I Want To Do This January.” In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Arie also said he and Maynard haven't spoken. "If she calls, I'll answer, but no, I haven't talked to her. We sort of went our separate ways after the show, and that's fine. She has a beautiful life," he said.

For those of you who missed out on Emily’s season of The Bachelorette, you missed a lot of smooching, namely between Arie and Emily. They didn’t nickname him the “Kissing Bandit” for no reason. Arie and Emily clicked immediately, and things were going really, really well. All of the Bachelorette-watching citizens of 2012 thought that Emily and Arie were going to go the distance… until Emily sat Arie down and smashed his heart into a million tiny, itty-bitty pieces. Did I say smashed? I meant annihilated. Take a walk down memory lane with me:

"You know how I feel about you, from our very first date and even beyond that, I felt like it was going to be me and you, and I don't know anymore,” Emily told Arie. "I never thought that I would have to make a choice between you and anybody, I thought it was just going to be me and you. Honestly. I want you to know, like... I'm sorry." Yeeps. It makes my heart hurt to watch that and I’m happily married and also it didn’t happen to me five years ago.

Emily apologized, Arie walked away, and Emily picked a guy named Jef whose parents didn’t feel the need to double up consonants on their kids’ names. (It didn’t last.) But, unfortunately, Arie hasn't loved a woman like he loved Emily since, well, Emily. He told Entertainment Tonight, in the same interview:

"I haven't felt that same feeling that I had when I was on The Bachelorette. It really drove me to do this. [The Bachelor] gave me the time to really put myself in front of somebody and shut everything and not worry about work and all the other pressures of life. That's what makes it so amazing. You can really solely concentrate on finding somebody."

Sounds like Arie needs to meet a special woman on his season of The Bachelor, and fast! But before you feel too badly for him, know that he definitely brought home a lucky lady after The Bachelor. In an interview with Us Weekly, Arie said, “The journey obviously was a great experience and I did fall in love. I actually fell in love with two people." Oh, Arie, so we have a Ben Higgins situation on our hands now, huh? "The toughest part about being the Bachelor would probably be the end, making tough decisions toward the end," Arie continued. "I mean, that’s the hardest decision of your life, really. It’s a forever decision, so it’s not taken lightly. I think that was probably the hardest thing.”

At least he recognizes that marriage is supposed to be for life and not until after the time in which you have to give ABC your engagement ring back. Though Emily and Arie are decidedly not best buds, it seems like they would be cordial to each other, and what more can you really ask of an ex?