Rich Fury/Getty Images Tyler Florence
Tyler Florence says he once turned down being on The Bachelor.
On the most recent episode of iHeartPodcasts’ Two Dudes in a Kitchen, the celebrity chef told co-host Wells Adams, a season 12 alum of The Bachelorette, that he didn’t want to be “making out with chicks in a hot tub.”
The Food Network star, 51, and Adams, 38, launched their podcast in November. It touts a world-renowned restaurateur teaming up with an amateur chef and “fake bartender,” as Adams went on to bartend for Bachelor in Paradise on seasons 3 through 8.
“The Bachelor is something that I’m not wildly familiar with,” Florence admitted in the segment as they later delved into the food situation on the long-running franchise.
“One thing that I think is really interesting with The Bachelor, and this is going back to — it must’ve been 2003, 2004, 2005 … I turned it down,” he said. “They asked me to be The Bachelor, and I turned it down.”
Reps for The Bachelor did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
iHeartRadio Two Dudes in a Kitchen
Going on to say that as his son was only around 4 years old at the time, Florence said he didn’t want to be “making out with chicks in a hot tub,” as it just didn’t “feel right” to him.
“I did, that’s for sure,” Adams joked of his own jacuzzi preference.
At the time, the food star said his phone was ringing off the hook with offers, noting, “I was the Sexiest Chef Alive in PEOPLE magazine.”
“Well, you still are,” Adams quipped, going on to tell Florence that the guys are basically sharing a room with bunk beds once they get past the first rose ceremony — to which the chef jokingly replied that “it must have smelled like Bolognese sauce” in there.
Despite his own hesitance to join, Florence called Bachelor Nation an “incredible franchise,” adding later, “The real magicians when it comes to great casting [are] the casting directors. Finding a needle in a haystack … a slice of American pie for everyone.”
RELATED VIDEO: Zach Shallcross Stars in First Bachelor Season 27 Promo
Adams, who is now married to actress Sarah Hyland, claimed the contestants basically had to cook for themselves on the show’s day-to-day, after requesting specific food items from handlers to bring to the house.
Frequently out of food due to his “beef-caked” contestants “devouring” jars of peanut butter, Adams said it was tough.
His experience schlepping food together led Adams to find his way on Worst Cooks in America Celebrity Edition, which Florence hosted, in 2020.
Florence, meanwhile, has been married to Tolan Clark since 2006, and the couple have two children: son Hayden, 15, and daughter Dorothy, 14. He shares his oldest child, 26-year-old son Miles, with ex-wife Christie Leer.
In addition to Worst Cooks, the South Carolina-born star has hosted The Great Food Truck Race and numerous other shows over his 15-year career on the Food Network.
