Nick Viall speaks up in dishy ‘Bachelor Nation’
While none of Nick Viall’s onscreen romances worked out, the Waukesha native has made a lasting impression on the “Bachelor” franchise.
Viall, who cut a wide swath through “The Bachelorette” and “The Bachelor,” has a prominent role in Amy Kaufman’s new book about the TV dating franchise, “Bachelor Nation: Inside the World of America’s Favorite Guilty Pleasure” (Dutton), which publishes Tuesday — the same day the current season of “The Bachelor” wraps up its twopart finale.
(The first part airs Monday at 7 p.m. on ABC.)
It’s no surprise he’s all over the book — Viall appeared on four shows in the franchise from 2014 to 2017.
Kaufman, a Los Angeles Times reporter, has covered the show with a blend of enthusiasm, snark and forthrightness that’s won her a massive online following — and got her banned from official “Bachelor” events.
Here are three things Kaufman uncovered about Viall in the book.
1. He thought the backlash from his “After The Final Rose” comment was a double standard.
In a 2015 interview with Viall, Kaufman brought up his most controversial moment: what he said to Andi Dorfman after she slept with him but then rejected him:
“If you weren’t in love with me, I’m just not sure why, like, you made love with me.”
His words were widely decried by “Bachelorette” viewers as slutshaming.
“I’m not trying to defend it — it wasn’t the platform,” Kaufman reports Viall telling her during their interview. “But I also wasn’t trying to shame her. If sex isn’t shameful, then you can’t shame someone for saying they’ve had sex. The truth is, if a girl had done that, all the feminists in the world would have been like, ‘You go, girl! Way to call him out!’ “
2. The first-impression rose struck his competitive chord.
Despite the encouragement of his friends, Viall initially was reluctant to step away from his job at Salesforce to compete in “The Bachelorette” the first time in 2014. But when Dorfman gave him the firstimpression rose, “he instantly decided he was in it to win it,” Kaufman writes.
Viall became a surprise midseason competitor in 2015 through the social media connection he previously had made with that season’s “Bachelorette,” Kaitlyn Bristowe. He ended up the runner-up that season, too.
3. He admittedly likes all the attention.
Kaufman interviewed Viall prior to his season as star of “The Bachelor,” when he chose Vanessa Grimaldi (that’s history now), then performed on “Dancing With the Stars.” He talked with Kaufman about the ambivalence of being famous for appearing on reality TV. Kaufman writes:
“… He acknowledged that he got a rush from being recognized. Sometimes, he said, he’d walk into bars and catch himself looking to see if anyone noticed him.
“‘And you’re like, “What am I doing?” I try to tell myself this isn’t going to last. I’m aware of how forgettable we all are.’
“He may be aware of that fact, but he seems to be doing his darnedest to fight it.”