This Contestant From 'The Bachelorette' Lives In Astoria

ASTORIA, QUEENS — Bachelor Nation’s latest contestant from New York City is a motorcycle-riding, auto parts manager living in Astoria, Queens.

Brandon Torres, 26, is one of 29 men — and a “mystery box” — hoping to win Katie Thurston’s heart in the 17th season of The Bachelorette, which premieres at 8:00 p.m. (EST) on Monday, June 7, according to ABC.

Torres, a self-described “quirky” and “intelligent” contestant who is “unapologetically himself,” is from Illinois, but as of 2019 lives in Astoria, where he rides motorcycles, and practices martial arts with the Queens-based International Training Center in his free time, according to his social media.

According to his ABC contestant profile, Torres attended Northwestern University, where he outgrew “behaviors that limit his progress as a person,” and studied both Japanese and Spanish.

Based on his Linkedin profile, it seems like he honed his fluency in both languages, which are “a big interest of his,” while studying abroad in Barcelona, Spain, and Tokyo, Japan.

Despite a history of international travel, Torres loves spending time at home, in Astoria. He currently spends “most of his weekends at home” developing “a new skill,” and says an ideal date would end with a “nightcap at home getting cozy over movies and snacks.”

That being said, he does enjoy time out too — his contestant profile says he “loves to attend the occasional rave” — just not at “exorbitantly overpriced restaurants” which he “HATES.”

Torres is looking for a partner who is a good communicator (someone who would never “issue him an ultimatum”), and wants to be in a relationship (“a woman who understands the importance of putting in effort”) — both qualities that Thurston undeniably embodies.

Thurston first appeared on ABC’s 25th season of The Bachelor, where she quickly made herself known as a sex-positive, voice of reason among a host of dramatic characters.

But, instead of picking Thurston as a life partner, Bachelor Matt James offered the final rose to Rachael Kirkconnell, who he promptly broke up with after details surfaced about her racist past (a past that James appears to have since overlooked, as the pair are now back together, according to multiple reports).

Now, Torres hopes to win Thurston over, but viewers will have to wait a little over two weeks in order to see if he is offered a rose on the first evening of The Bachelorette.