In preparation for the January 5 premiere of The Bachelor, Jason Mesnick spoke to reporters today about his experience. Here are some excerpts:

Trying to find love on reality TV a second time...

"I just knew it was real. A real love experience for me. It's something you have to experience to really, truly know and to understand. If that didn't happen to me the first time, there's no way I would do it [a second time]."

Son Ty being part of The Bachelor...

"He plays a very small part on the show. You'll see that, early on, if you see him, it's him and I. Just him and I."

The possibility of a TV wedding...

"I have not even thought about anything like that. My life is off of tv and I cannot even imagine that happening."

The decision to become The Bachelor...

"It wasn't an easy decision because my question was, 'How would this impact Tyler?' That was my first question. I talked to a therapist and a pediatrician and they said, 'He's going to be fine'. I just said, 'I'm not gonna go more than a week or so without seeing him.' I can't do that. The show was great and they gave me what I need. He was around when he needed to be and he was with his mom when he needed to."

Single mothers being on the show this season...

"Honestly, it doesn't make a difference either way. I would hope people would view me as a person, not just as a single dad. It didn't surprise me that there were single mothers but it didn't make me think one way or the other."

Revealing his engagement...

"I just remember, in my opinion, how could I hold something like that back, when I'm as happy as I am? There's only certain things I can say with the show not even starting yet, but I just said to myself: 'This is me. I'm so excited and I'm so happy and I want everyone to know it.' There's no way I could hold that back.

Matt Richenthal is the Editor in Chief of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter and on Google+.