'The Bachelor' Season 19: Chris Soules Confirms Role, Releases Statement

Chris Soules has spoken out about his new role on The Bachelor season 19.

On Wednesday's episode of Good Morning America, Soules was announced as the season 19 Bachelor, after weeks of speculation, and in a new interview, he opened up about the exciting news.

"It's still very surreal," Soules, 32, told PEOPLE Magazine on Aug. 27. "It's going to be very difficult, but I just want to be very open-minded and have fun and get to know these women."

After starring on Andi Dorfman's season of The Bachelorette, Soules was sent packing, and while he admits it "was tough" to be sent home so far along in the process, it solidified the potential of finding love on reality television.

"[I] got to a point where I really saw that potential ... the fact that it worked makes me confident that being The Bachelor will work for me," Soules explained.

On The Bachelorette, Dorfman expressed concern in having to move to Iowa, where Soules worked as a farmer and ultimately sent him home because she could not see herself living on a farm.

In addition to his job being in Iowa, Soules' family lives there as well, so remaining in town is important. However, at this point, it isn't necessarily a requirement and Soules claimed to PEOPLE Magazine that he was open to compromise.

"First and foremost, I want to fall in love and find that person that is truly my soul mate," he said. "I'm willing to compromise, but I just have to find that person that I want to compromise for."

The Bachelor season 19 premieres on ABC in Jan. 2015.