The Truth About The Bachelorette's LT Murray

Thirty contestants are competing to win Michelle Young's heart on the 18th season of "The Bachelorette." The long-running franchise doesn't have the best record of finding its stars' true love. According to Distractify, the average length of a relationship that starts on "The Bachelor" lasts for about 9.2 months, and more than half of its stars are still unmarried. However, there are several couples who met on either series who are still together.

It remains to be seen what will happen with Young. The fifth-grade teacher already made a couple of cuts to her field of candidates. One contestant who made it through the first two rounds is LT Murray. It's still early in the season, so viewers may not have any favorites yet. However, fans will likely remember the 38-year-old fitness instructor as the one who showed up for the first day and forgot a pair of pants (via E! Online). Clearly, he has a sense of humor at least.

Murray's official bio on ABC provides some background info into the funny contestant. In terms of love, he is reportedly looking to find a "genuine connection" and "someone to share all his happiness with." Murray described himself as "a romantic at heart," and said he is looking for someone to "watch old movies with and exchange love letters." He is a proud cat parent, "lives for a good spin class," and has a tattoo dedicated to his grandfather. Here's a fun fact: You already know his grandpa.

While he wasn't specific about his family origins in his biography for "The Bachelorette," we already know LT Murray's grandfather. As it turns out, he is related to Clint Eastwood. The famous actor unknowingly fathered LT's mother Laurie Murray, who was put up for adoption. The Daily Mail confirmed that she learned about her birth father and made contact in the '80s. Since then, the pair (and apparently Laurie's son) have gotten close.

LT described Eastwood as "a great father to my mom." He added that Eastwood has always been "great to me and my family whenever we see him." Since then, he's mentioned his grandpa on Instagram a few times. That includes a post he made in 2018, which featured what he described as his "new favorite line in cinematic history" (via Instagram). While he's found professional bliss as a fitness instructor and yoga guru, it seems as though LT also wants to follow in Eastwood's footsteps.

In 2019, he confirmed that he had imagined a career in entertainment during an interview with Radar Online. "I've been doing some writing, but I want my own show," he told the publication. He made it clear that he wasn't only hoping to act either, saying, "I want to host something, or write, act, and produce." Based on that, his tenure on "The Bachelorette" is a solid stepping stone that could lead to a promising career in the public eye.

LT Murray seems to be thoroughly enjoying his time on "The Bachelorette." We know this because the contestant has been candid about the show on Instagram. He shouted out his cast in the comments section of a post in early September. "Even if I'm sent home night one, I'm proud to have stood with this group of scintillating stallions," Murray wrote on Instagram. "These gallant gladiators forced to do battle with one another, with the reward being a legendary life partner." Hopefully, any love letters he writes will be every bit as colorful.

He also poked fun at his "tux-speedo" from his debut. "Shout out all the producers and staff for making this a mostly wonderful experience that I'll never forget," he wrote in the comments alongside another shoutout to his "booooyz," per Instagram. Murray promised Michelle Young would go down in history as the favorite star of "The Bachelorette." Based on another comment about the producers, according to Instagram, it seems someone involved with the show gave Murray a tough time. Hopefully, we'll find out more.

Did Murray provide a spoiler about the conclusion of "The Bachelorette"? In yet another Instagram update, he teased that he was happy not to be chosen as the next star of "The Bachelor." It's unclear if that was a reference to an offer from before this run or if he's alluding to the fact that he failed to win over Young's heart.

The competition will be stiff on this season of "The Bachelorette." However, LT Murray knows a thing or two about winning hearts. As it turns out, he was previously married. In 2012, the contestant said "I do" to a woman named Kaitlin. His grandfather, Clint Eastwood, was even in attendance for the nuptials. Sadly, the relationship ended in divorce (via The Daily Mail). With any luck, he'll be able to apply some of the lessons he learned from his prior relationship to develop a stronger bond with Michelle Young.

Obviously, Murray is not the only competitor in the show's history who has a past, either. For example, JJ Lane — who appeared on "The Bachelorette" in 2015 — was a father at the time. Elite Daily noted that Murray is one of the oldest men competing on this season of the show. These facts can help set him apart from the competition and make him stand out even better. We'll have to wait and see if that's how it works out.