Millions watched as Sean Lowe was dumped by Emily Maynard on The Bachelorette and then won the heart of Catherine Giudici as the Bachelor. Fans quickly fell in love with the 31-year-old’s refusals to engage in pre-marital sex and his strong religious beliefs, but he quickly gained the label “Virgin Bachelor.” In his new book, For the Right Reasons, Lowe exposes details from behind the scenes and what it was like to be labeled.

In an interview with Fox 411, Sean said that he understands that the media saw his virginity as “a really weird thing.” He also said that he took his stance because he felt morally obligated to do so.

Although 25 women were vying for him, Lowe said he stood strong in his faith. He added that the public fails to see his perspective and said that it is “annoying” that they only “want to label me the virgin bachelor.”

Despite the labels, Lowe called his choices on The Bachelor a blessing. He said that the way he conducted himself on the show helped him gain the respect “of a lot of people.” He claimed that people would approach him and tell him that his season was the only one they watched or they allowed their children to watch his season.

Besides choosing to stay celibate, Lowe read a daily devotional on set–in order to keep him grounded–and checked with his final women whether or not they believed in God. He admitted that he gave his current wife, Catherine, a list of “non-negotiables” before proposing to her on the show, and one of those was the ability to challenge him on his faith. Catherine agreed that she could do that. The couple has been happily together ever since, and they recently celebrated their first wedding anniversary.

In the interview, he was asked whether he thought a person could really find love on a reality TV show. He said that he thinks it is easy to fall in love, but coexisting is the hard part. He added that did not fall in love with more than one person on the show, which is common on The Bachelor, and he said that “Catherine was the one I could see myself spending the rest of my life with.”

Lowe continues discussing his thoughts on The Bachelor in his book For the Right Reasons. He focuses on backstage drama on the 2013 season of The Bachelor, how he triumphed over heartbreak to find love again, his personal struggle,his faith and key methods of approaching purity in Hollywood culture. Lowe concludes that deception can be defeated and brought to life with truth, good wins and that “nice guys” do finish first. It is available for pre-order now.

The current Bachelor, Chris Soules, is hoping to find a love like Lowe’s on season 19. Soules has also been connected to virginity. This time, it is not the Bachelor himself, but it is two of the women. On the latest episode Ashley I. revealed that she was a virgin and that she has never had a boyfriend. The other woman, Becca, has yet to reveal her celibacy to Chris. The Bachelor plays Mondays on ABC.