Bachelor Nick Viall only wants to find love, but he just hasn’t been able to make it work. Until now, that is.
The star of Season 21 recently discussed his new book Don’t Text Your Ex Happy Birthday, relationships, hook-up culture and what he’s learned along the way, in an interview with People.
When questioned about his biggest dating mistake, Nick admits, “Prioritizing my ego over my heart with any choice I’ve made when it comes to anything really.”
He continues, “I’ve made a lot of those mistakes where I prioritize what I thought I wanted in the moment, and I convinced myself of it and kind of ignored my real feelings about a situation because I wanted to feel validated. And I’ve done that plenty of times. I’m still susceptible to doing it. I think we all are. It’s, as I always say, easy in theory and hard in practice.”
While the Bachelor Nation alum is currently in a relationship with girlfriend Natalie Joy, he wasn’t afraid to ask her for input about his previous experiences with love for his new book. He said that Natalie was “very helpful in the process” of writing.
“I tried to be creative with my writing, and I tried to be . . . Obviously, I’m known for having pretty direct advice, but I wanted to be empathetic, and I wanted to be relatable and certainly not be harsh or anything like that,” Nick says. “Natalie was often the first person I would have read my pages.”
Of the new book he says, “I kind of talk about the difference between ‘f-boys’ and players. Maybe I’m dating myself, but players is a term that was more common back in the day. And I would describe those people [as those] who truly have an alternative motive, right? They’re putting up a front in order to make you believe that they have stronger feelings than they really do.”
Haven’t we all dated a few of those?
Nick and Natalie announced their relationship on Instagram in January 2021, after quietly dating for months, making this the longest relationship we’ve seen him in since he first appeared on Andi Dorfman‘s season of The Bachelorette in 2014.
Following his initial appearance on The Bachelorette, Nick returned to add drama to Kaitlyn Bristowe‘s season in 2015, where he caused upset among the other contestants by sleeping with Kaitlyn halfway through the season. He was the runner-up both times.
After joining Season 3 of Bachelor in Paradise, Nick redeemed his tarnished image by becoming kind of the “Big Brother on the Beach,” where he was a sympathetic ear/counselor for some of the lovelorn women on the show.
Following his turn on BIP, Nick was the surprise choice (some might say “shocking”) for the next Bachelor in 2017. His season ended with him getting engaged to Vanessa Grimaldi, but the two called it quits five months later.
These days Nick says that he prefers getting into a relationship, rather than staying in what he calls a “situation-ship.”
“A situation-ship is not an acceptable relationship status,” Nick says. “If you’re in a situation-ship, you are accepting less than you deserve.”
As for his current relationship with Natalie, Nick says, “I wouldn’t be in a relationship with her if I didn’t think it was possible, you know? She’s the first person I’ve called my girlfriend, minus TV, in a long, long time.”
Perhaps our little Nick has grown up and become more than just a “player.” I wish him well.
TELL US- WHAT DO YOU THINK OF NICK AND NATALIE’S RELATIONSHIP? DO YOU THINK THEY’LL LAST?
[Photo Credit: Presley Ann/Getty Images for MTV]
