For Nick Viall, it looks like the fourth time really was the charm. You don’t need The Bachelor spoilers to tell you that either: He’s saying it!
The Bachelor star says he did indeed find love on the show this season, which premieres tonight after a Prelude-to-Nick special Sunday.
Nick, of course, has endured rejection on The Bachelorette twice (Andi Dorfman and Kaitlyn Bristowe) and Bachelor in Paradise (Amanda Stanton).
On the flip side, he’s gotten laid a lot … but that’s a subject for another time. And the slideshow appearing at the bottom of this article.
Anyway, this time it worked out.
“I definitely found love,” the star of The Bachelor tells Us, though “I don’t think there was an easy decision I made throughout the entire process.”
The native Waukesha, Wisconsin (now based in Los Angeles, via Chicago), admits there were “certainly some nerves and fears” involved.”
“But I’m not someone who tends to look back. And I’ve always been one to put myself out there and be vulnerable,” he says.
Was he confident that he’d find love this year?
“I think a lot of people go into The Bachelor assuming it’s going to work out, but I went in knowing there are no guarantees,” he says.
Did his famous exes offer any advice?
“Andi did reach out – a simple text – to wish me luck … It was a very gracious text, but certainly no advice was given and none was asked.”
“I haven’t had any contact with Kaitlyn.”
Nick says he has “a fair share of friends in Bachelor Nation,” and like him, “they’ve all talked about how difficult this process can be.”
Reflecting on the first night – which we’ll see this evening – and “throughout the season, I thought, Yep, they were right. It can be taxing.”
As for being in the proverbial driver’s seat this time, he says, “I suppose it’s better, but it’s one of those ‘the grass is always greener’ things.”
“I’m a one-woman guy, so dating multiple women was hard. I wasn’t used to it and I don’t know if I’ll ever want to be used to it.”
We won’t get any confirmation from the man himself as to who makes Nick Viall’s final four, final three or final rose ceremony in March.
He will say this, though:
“I’ve always been attracted to women with strong personalities and confidence; women who are intelligent and willing to be my partner.”
“I’m a big personality, and I push back a lot with people I respect and trust. I want someone to be comfortable enough with me to do that.”
“I want to be with a woman who feels empowered,” he says, and in that sense, among others, he’s a different kind of Bachelor.
“Me being the Bachelor was an unconventional choice, and I think relative to my peers in the past, I’m unconventional,” says Nick.
“I follow my heart and do what I think is best, regardless of the majority opinion,” he adds, and certainly that’s a tough point to dispute.
Viall has become a controversial figure of sorts over the past few years on the franchise, in part for reasons out of his control.
Going up against Josh Murray and Shawn Booth, he was not the consensus fan pick for either star of The Bachelorette.
His willingness to have, and talk about, sexual exploits with either woman rubbed some fans of the show the wrong way, too.
Still, he got the nod for a reason, and love him or hate him, we’ll all watch The Bachelor online to see how it all plays out.
