'It was an out-of-body experience': Cincinnati suitor details time on 'The Bachelorette'

Mallorie Sullivan | Cincinnati Enquirer

Show Caption Hide Caption 'Bachelorette': Cincinnati contestant Mike Renner answers your questions You asked what 'The Bachelorette' was like. Cincinnati's contestant, Mike Renner, answered.

As a senior analyst for Pro Football Focus, Mike Renner is used to being in front of cameras.

But when the 27-year-old arrived on the set of "The Bachelorette" back in March, he described it as an "out-of-body experience."

"Being a fan and having watched four seasons of the show it was, like, 'Oh my God, I am on this show that I watch,'" he told The Enquirer. "I am now a part of it."

Renner, who was Cincinnati's second suitor on the series since it began in 2003, competed alongside 27 other contestants for the heart of Becca Kufrin on season 14 of the popular reality television dating show.

After being eliminated during the week 4 episode, Renner sat down with The Enquirer Friday to talk a little more about his experience on the show and his life since filming wrapped.

'I didn't go out there wanting to do that'

Renner wasn't given too much screen time during his run on the show.

But when he got it, he made things memorable. And that goes for his introduction.

For those who can't remember all the introductions on night one, Renner's looked a little something like this.

And, to absolutely no one's surprise, he wasn't exactly into it.

"All I'll say is, I didn't want to go out there wanting to do that," he said.

Not only was Renner not sold on the stunt, it also caused more problems than viewers saw on camera.

"It took probably two minutes just to get it out of the limo," he said of the cardboard cutout of Becca's ex, Arie Luyendyk Jr.

Once he finally exited the limo, Renner had several plans for the cutout, including simply knocking it over.

But his nerves got the best of him, and he ended up just standing next to it as he introduced himself.

"I was almost like apologizing to (Becca), like, 'I'm sorry about that,'" he said of his awkward introduction.

Leave it to Arie — who dramatically ditched Becca after proposing to her — to cause even more problems.

'I felt the cameras the least when I was talking to her'

You didn't see it — or maybe you did just briefly in the background during week 2, when Jordan was parading around in his underwear — but Renner actually did get time with Becca.

Twenty minutes on the first night, in fact.

Their conversation skewed toward their Midwestern upbringings — Renner grew up in Champaign, Illinois, while Becca grew up in Prior Lake, Minnesota — and Renner's dog, Riggins.

He also told her about a traumatic experience he had as a kid at the Mall of America's former Camp Snoopy attraction.

"I dropped my ice cream cone into Snoopy's bowl, and I started crying," he recalled.

We would have too, honestly.

That conversation was the longest they had, he said, with others being around five minutes as the competition got more fierce.

"That's when I knew, like, the fact that I'm not getting time with her... the writing's on the wall," he said.

Renner said while his time with Becca was short, talking to her was the easiest part.

"I felt the cameras the least when I was talking to her," he said. "That was, like, natural and easy enough to do."

He's still friends with guys on the show

They may all be competing for the attention of the same person, but the love the "Bachelor" and "Bachelorette" contestants have for each other after the show is real.

And that holds true in Renner's case, too.

Renner talked about how he's still close with many of the guys on the show, and has hung out with Nick Spetsas, Chris Randone and Clay Harbor since the show wrapped.

He was also supposed to hang out with Jordan Kimball in Florida, but he was — you guessed it — modeling.

In addition to following one another on social media, many of the guys are also in a group chat called, at least for now, "Becca's Romantics."

While we don't know what the guys chat about, we do know they've recently roasted some of the other guys, like Lincoln Adim and "colognoisseur" Jean Blanc.

Read more: Jean Blanc got sent home after one of the most awkward moments ever

'He's the biggest sociopath'

When it came down to the guys Renner didn't really jibe with, he had one answer: Lincoln.

That didn't come as a surprise, given Renner's cutting response on Twitter to his own elimination last week.

Damn, I lost to a convicted sex offender #TheBachelorette — Mike Renner (@PFF_Mike) June 19, 2018

For those who haven't paid attention, Lincoln was convicted of indecent assault and battery one week before the show returned.

To Renner, Lincoln's demeanor set off red flags from the get-go.

"(Lincoln) was the weirdest guy," he said, recalling that he was "genuinely scared" Lincoln would "physically lash out or do something to someone else."

"He's the biggest sociopath," Renner said.

How so? Well, for one, he called Renner "Mark" a week and a half into the show — twice.

"I didn't even correct him," Renner admitted. "I just didn't care."

The way Lincoln is portrayed on the show isn't a stretch, either.

"He told me the same story about (when Blake threw a photo of Lincoln and Becca into the pool), and he went around the house telling everyone," he said. "He told me twice."

And, unsurprisingly, Lincoln also can't take a joke.

"We would make fun of him playfully and he just could not stand it," Renner said.

So, what's life been like after the show?

Things haven't been terribly different for Renner since he's returned to Cincinnati.

Well, aside from his social media activity.

"I had a bunch of bigger sports names follow me on Twitter, and Ashley Spivey (from season 15 of "The Bachelor")," he said.

He's also had hundreds of weird direct messages from people he doesn't know.

But unlike plenty of other stars from the show, Renner hasn't been approached to shill products like Hello Fresh meal kits or Bombay Hair curling wands on Instagram — yet.

"I'm not opposed to it," Renner said. "If someone would have reached out to me, I'd be doing it."

Another thing he's not opposed to? Everyone's favorite summer television series, "Bachelor in Paradise."

Fingers crossed we'll see more of him there.