News & Politics

We Checked in on Former Bachelorette Contestant Jason Foster to Make Sure He’s Okay

The Arlington resident talks Whitlow's, fans sliding into his DMs, and Clare and Dale.

Arlington resident Jason Foster. (ABC/Craig Sjodin)

Arlington resident Jason Foster sent himself home on this season of The Bachelorette after falling for Clare Crawley, who left the show after a nanosecond to become engaged to another dude. Foster and Crawley bonded on a very Brené Brown-inspired one-one-one date, during which they wrote letters to their past selves and did a cleansing scream session into the night.

After baring his soul to Crawley, Foster took it pretty hard when she decided to go down the Neil Lane diamond-studded path with another. So we decided to check in on the 31-year-old account manager to see how he’s doing.

So, are you familiar with Washingtonian at all?

No, I am not.

Ah, okay. But you live in Arlington, right?

Yep. I live right outside of Rosslyn, across Lee Highway, by Mom’s Organic Market.

Nice. What have you been up to since you’ve been back? 

Nothing’s changed. Business as usual. Back to work, back to my daily grind. So yeah, it kind of feels like I just never really went on the show.

Have you been recognized at all around town?

A little bit, yeah. When I go for a run or I do my grocery shopping. I walk to the grocery store and [if] I don’t have my mask on—yeah, I sometimes get asked if I’m Jason from The Bachelorette and I’m like “Yep, that’s me!”

Has anyone been creepy?

No, no. They just say ‘You’re great, we really enjoyed you. You were very honest and genuine and true to yourself.’ So I’m like, ‘Thank you, that’s just who I am.’

What made you decide to go on the show?

To be honest, I was working late one night, and I was reached out to on my Instagram in a message from somebody from the show. And they asked me if I had any interest in doing the show. I went back and forth a couple times and I contemplated it and I went over a pros and cons list with my family. And I decided to embark on it.

Wait, they basically, like, cold-called you?

Yeah, they found me on Instagram and reached out to me. No idea [how they picked me].

Oh wow. So you’d never really watched the show before? 

No, I’d never watched the show. I mean, I knew of the dynamics. Like what takes place and how it’s supposed to happen, but I didn’t really know the whole of it. So, nope, never really watched it.

Did you have to go through a crash course before filming?

Yeah, I talked to my buddies beforehand and a couple of my friends who are girls, and they were just kind of giving me a quick tutorial and a high-level, brief overview of what to expect. They were like, “Just be you, J, just be you. Don’t change who you are.” And I was like, “That’s easy.”

How would you describe Chris Harrison IRL?

He’s amazing. I love Chris Harrison. He’s awesome, he’s funny, he’s energetic. He’s like one of my favorite people. Every time I saw him, I was so happy. I was like, “Hell yeah. Chris Harrison!” 

Did you back-stalk Clare at all before you went on the show?

I went in completely blind. I had no idea. I didn’t really look her up. I glanced at her Instagram briefly before I left but, no. Usually when you go on a date, you just want to get to know somebody for who they are versus going online and searching or looking at pictures. I kind of just like to get to know the person and find out when I meet them.

Overall, are you glad you did it?

It was an awesome experience. It taught me a lot about who I am, too. If you’ve watched the show, I have that first one-on-one and it allowed me to let my walls down and become a little more vulnerable and emotional. And that’s something I’ve never really done. So it really did help me grow as a man.

How are you hanging in there emotionally? You seemed pretty torn up when you decided to leave the show after Clare got together with Dale. 

I’m doing a lot better now. Obviously, I’m very happy for Clare. She’s an amazing, amazing woman. Like I said, she was able to help me bring out things that I needed on that one-on-one date. We had a really strong connection, but ultimately, this is her journey. It’s called The Bachelorette, and she was the Bachelorette. So she found what she was looking for, and I have nothing but respect for her and Dale. 

What’s your life in Washington like?

I love being outdoors. I love exploring new things. I’m very active, so I go for tons of runs. I live like a 15-, 20-minute run from all the monuments, so I take some runs over there. I love going to restaurants.

What’s your favorite one?

Oh man, I knew you were going to ask that. I think it’s called—Le Diplomate? [Interviewer makes affirming guttural noise.] Yeah, that’s awesome. I love that place.

What about bars?

For me, I like the hole-in-the wall bars. Just like, a dive bar where I can just like, grab a beer. Like I love drinking Guinness or some sort of Allagash White or something like that. If I were to go to a bar in Arlington to watch a game, I don’t know—maybe like, First Down in Ballston or like Spider Kelly’s.

Have you ever been to Whitlow’s?

Yep, yep, absolutely. Whitlow’s is cool, too.

What’s next for you? Please say Bachelor in Paradise.

I honestly haven’t really thought too much about it. I don’t even know what next steps are for Bachelor in Paradise. Right now, I’m just trying to focus on closing up the year strong with work. But obviously it’s come up in conversations with my parents and my friends, if I would ever do it. So that’s something that I would have to think about moving forward. But who knows? I could be in a relationship by then.

So real talk, are you single right now?

I’m single right now.

Are you on any dating apps?

I’m not. I haven’t been on a dating app [in] like, 18 months. That’s a full-time job. It’s overwhelming. I was so bad at responding. And I was doing a disservice to them, so I was like, “I can’t do this. I gotta delete it.”

I’m sure people are sliding into your DMs, though.

So, I mean, there’s a lot. But I’ve only responded to like, one or two just being like, “Thank you so much for the love and support.” I’m really bad at social media. Like, awful at Instagram and Twitter and all that stuff.

Okay, last question. What’s the craziest thing that’s happened to you after the show?

There’s like, tons of memes about me now. My friends send me them. And honestly, I do not take anything personal, so I’m sure there’s half of America that says, “Oh [he’s] so sensitive,” and “How can you fall for someone on one date?” And the other half is like “Ah, you know, he’s a good guy.” 

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Mimi Montgomery Washingtonian
Home & Features Editor

Mimi Montgomery joined Washingtonian in 2018. She’s written for The Washington Post, Garden & Gun, Outside Magazine, Washington City Paper, DCist, and PoPVille. Originally from North Carolina, she now lives in Del Ray.