We know he's a triathlete. We know he's a Navy doctor. We know his favorite word is "amazing."

But there's more to Andy Baldwin than what we see on "The Bachelor: Officer and a Gentleman."

In a phone interview last week, the former Lancastrian says he's happy with the way he's portrayed on the show. But although it's a "reality" show, he emphasizes that there's little comparison between what's shown on TV and the "real world."

He found true love, he says, and he's "very much engaged" to his fiancee (who will be revealed on Monday night's series finale). But it's hard for viewers to get a true picture of him or the women from 90 minutes a week.

"We filmed over the course of six to seven weeks, but with no cell phones, no computers, no jobs and 15-hour days in and out, it really felt like a year," Baldwin says. "The women and I had so many deep conversations — hours and hours of conversations — but on TV you see a few clips, a few sentences."

Watching the show week after week, Baldwin says he wouldn't do anything differently, with one exception: "Every time I say the word 'amazing,' I cringe," he laughs. "I didn't realize I said it so much."

He says his limited vocabulary was partially at the producers' request.

"I would use big words, and they would say, 'You can't say that. You've got to use words everyone will understand,' " he says.

Although Baldwin was up for the challenge when ABC approached him last year, he was surprised by how difficult the show was for him.

"I had no idea how intense it was going to be timewise and how much of a toll it would take on me physically and emotionally," he says.

***

"Intense" is a word Baldwin should be familiar with: His mother, Cindy, uses it to describe her oldest child.

"Even when he was an infant, he was intense," she says. "He screamed a lot. He's still intense today, and he does everything 100 percent. He has a focus like not many people I've met before."

Mrs. Baldwin says her son was a "fun-loving child" who was very involved in school and his community.

Baldwin attended Blue Ball Elementary School and graduated from Manheim Township High School. (His family moved from East Earl when he was 12.)

"Some of the cool cats in high school might have considered him a nerd — an athletic nerd — but that never bothered him," says Mrs. Baldwin, a teacher at Lancaster Country Day School. "He had a lot of friends."

When Baldwin told his mother he was the next Bachelor, her first reaction was "Oh no!," she says.

"People ask me, 'Do mind seeing him kiss a girl on TV?,' and that doesn't bother me in the least," she says. "It's more the emotional ups and downs I knew he'd go through."

Her husband, Roy, a former state representative, was enthusiastic from the start.

"He said, 'Why not? We'll see what happens,' " she says. "As a mother, I have a more protective inclination."

***

That maternal instinct flared up on several occasions during the show, when the Baldwins read negative publicity or criticism of the show.

Newspaper articles and blogs picked on everything from Baldwin's height (He's 6 feet, for the record) to his "fake-looking" teeth.

To clarify the latter, Baldwin says his teeth actually are fake.

"My top four front teeth are veneers," he says. "I had an accident when I was 10. My little brother Matt and I were in the grocery store, and he pushed the cart into my heels. I fell face-first into the floor, and my teeth were knocked out."

He had them fixed temporarily, and years later, a dentist friend did the veneers.

Baldwin shrugs off any remarks made about his chompers, saying, "If they look like Chiclet teeth, so be it."

He says the show has helped make him a stronger person.

"I'm bulletproof after all the exposure to national criticism," he says.

***

Baldwin was adamant about one thing: having the final two women, Tessa and Bevin, come to Lancaster County to meet his family.

"They originally wanted my parents to come to Hawaii, but I wanted Tessa and Bevin to see where I grew up. It gave them a much better scope of who I am and what I'm about," he says.

Baldwin has said on the show that he takes marriage very seriously, and he wanted the women to meet his parents, who have been married 35 years, and his grandparents, married for 60 years.

Baldwin's parents don't know who he chose.

"They were both lovely," Mrs Baldwin says, refusing to choose a favorite. "Even after everything I've seen on television, I still feel the same way."

The short visit home in March allowed Baldwin to show his future bride everything he loves about Lancaster County.

"It was really the perfect place to grow up," he says. "I remember taking long bike rides with my father, going to church at St. John Neumann, delivering the paper, hanging out at Caruso's and Two Cousins."

He says his 18 years in Lancaster helped create a strong base of values to take to college and medical school.

"I was exposed to all kinds of people, and I could have been thrown for a loop," he says. "I was glad I was grounded in a humble upbringing."

Baldwin, who is "bubbling with joy" about his fiancee, says he can't wait to enjoy dating in the "real world," away from the cameras.

Mrs. Baldwin is glad her son did the show, but she's anxious for it to end.

"I'm ready to wrap my heart around the girl he chose," she says. "I'm ready to love her."
BET YOU DIDN'T KNOW
O Andy Baldwin and the women on "The Bachelor: Officer and a Gentleman" have been in the public eye since the show debuted April 2.

Here's are some things you may not know about them:

The Navy did not support Baldwin's decision to appear on the show but granted him 40 days of personal leave.

"I can respect their position," he says, noting that he has friends currently serving in Iraq. "But they said I could do what I wanted with personal time, and this was something I felt strongly about."
O Amber Alchalabi, the Texas schoolteacher ousted on the May 7 show, may have prompted her principal to resign. The Houston Chronicle reports that Colony Bend Elementary School principal Tammie Carpenter resigned after being disciplined for excusing Amber's 22-day absence without seeking approval from a higher authority.
O According to The Washington Post, Tessa Horst's father is an international tax expert and former Treasury bigwig. She is reportedly the granddaughter of one of the richest men in Hong Kong.
O Spoiler alert: A New York Post "Page Six" article claims that Horst "had a few drinks" and said she received the final rose. The Post article also says Baldwin proposed in the final episode. Tessa turned down his marriage proposal, the paper says, but they are "still very much together."
O Baldwin's parents learned something new about their son from the show. "I didn't know he was so romantic," says his mother, Cindy Baldwin. "He's a gentle soul, but I didn't know he was that gentle."
O Baldwin says he doesn't plan to do another reality series but hopes to settle down with his family in Lancaster.

"I know the need for good doctors back there," he says, from his current home in Hawaii. "Home is where your heart is, and Lancaster is one of the big reasons why I am where I am today. ... I would love to come back and give back there and raise a family there. My true heroes are my mom and dad, and if I can emulate what my parents were able to give me and my sister and brother, I would love to do it."
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
O Prince Lorenzo Borghese, last season's Bachelor, broke up with his "winner," Jennifer Wilson. According to Us Weekly, he's dating Sadie Murray, the "other woman" in the finale.
O Bachelor Charlie O'Connell, from 2005, is "still together" with his choice, Sarah Brice, his brother, Jerry, said on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" in January.
O Alex Michel, the original Bachelor, broke up with his woman, Amanda March. He is making a living as a public speaker and has been an official spokesman for Match.com.
O The show also created the spinoff "The Bachelorette." Trista Rehn, the original title character, married her pick, fireman Ryan Sutter, in 2003. They are expecting their first child later this year.

CONTACT US: cmolitoris@LNPnews.com or 291-8758