Daniel Maguire on season 12 of the Bachelorette.

Image Credit: Contributed/Rick Rowell

KAMLOOPS - Others might be interested in love and glamour; Daniel Maguire, a recent contestant of the Bachelorette and Bachelor in Paradise, went to see what it was like.

“I kinda live day by day,” he says. “I did it to find a girl, but also for a new experience and fun. I always like to have new experiences.”

In September 2015 producers for season 12 of the Bachelorette contacted Maguire, who grew up in Penticton and attended Thompson Rivers University, to see if he was interested in joining the show. Intrigued, he applied, made the cut and the cast. This summer he appeared on the dating show’s 12 season, vying for the heart of 25-year-old Joelle Fletcher, along with 25 other contestants.

While he’s was there to win Fletcher’s heart, winning wasn’t worth faking it.

“I’m not going to force anything just because I’m on a TV show,” he says.

Despite a mid-season exit he enjoyed the experience, not only in front of the camera as a contestant, but also seeing a reality TV show come together. The show is fairly true to what happens on set, he says.

“It is pretty bang on, what you see is what you get,” he says.

After being eliminated he kept watching the show. What he saw matched his experiences. Being able to see a different perspective of what he lived gave him a chance to review events on the show as well.

“During the time on the show I wasn’t sure what to think of these guys,” he says. "I held back.”

Now, he says, he agrees a bit with what fellow contestant Chad Johnson said about some castmates. However, while Maguire was the only person to connect with Johnson on the Bachelorette, they don’t talk now.

“During the Bachelorette I was his only friend, basically, because I was the only one that understood that part of him,” Maguire says.

While they got along on certain levels, Maguire says they started to agree less and less over the two shows and the so-called bromance faded.

“He’s just a little bit crazy, too much for me,” Maguire says.

Chad Johnson and Daniel Maguire on season 12 of the Bachelorette.

Image Credit: Contributed/Rick Rowell

As for how he was portrayed, Maguire says it was pretty accurate.

“What they showed was my fun, my comedic and my weird side,” he says. “My sister and mom aren’t really surprised about who I am.”

He does admit his mom probably cringed a few times at what he said, but that’s just who he is.

“I like being myself,” he says. “I’m confident in who I am.”

That’s important, too, when you’re in front of millions of eyes in the age of social media. He says while he doesn’t go searching for mean tweets, the odd post sneaks through in places like Instagram. If he can he deletes the comment, blocks the person and moves on with his day.

“You can’t go on these shows being an insecure person,” he says.

The show didn’t hurt any of his real friendships.

“People who know me think me think I’m a legend, obviously,” he jokes.

Maguire grew up in Penticton where he graduated high school in 2003. He has a bachelor of arts from Thompson Rivers University with a major in psychology.

“My time in Kamloops — it was fun I partied a lot,” he says. “I was a usual university student.”

While at university he discovered his love of travel after partaking in the schools study abroad program and spending a semester in Australia.

Now 31-years-old, he lives in Vancouver, where he’s a model and personal trainer.

He’s currently appearing on Bachelor in Paradise, on CityTV Mondays and Tuesdays.

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