Former The Bachelor star Nick Viall is backing January Jones' claim they are not dating.
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"I'm single now, so I'm not dating January Jones," Viall, 37, told People at a Hollywood event on Wednesday for which he said he brought "a friend."
Viall insisted of 40-year-old Jones, who is best known for her former role on Mad Men, "We're friends... [I'm] not in a serious, committed relationship."
Dating rumors sparked in mid-January, when a source told Page Six that Jones and the former The Bachelor star had been dating for about two months already.
Jones also got people talking when she liked and commented under one of Viall's Instagram photos on January 6. She posted an eye-rolling emoticon as well as a heart emoji under a photo of Viall looking handsome in a tuxedo.
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Late last month, however, Jones put speculation she was romantically involved with Viall to rest.
"He's a friend of mine. He's super sweet," the actress had told Entertainment Tonight. "No, I'm single. But, he's a friend of mine and tells me lots of inside scoops."
Jones is a huge fan of The Bachelor, and she discussed the ABC reality dating show last year during an appearance on The Late Late Show with James Corden.
Jones had joked to Corden of Viall, "You don't know if you like him or if he's a scumbag, but that's why I'm attracted to him, maybe." She also called him "pretty cute."
"She went on The Late Show in mid-November and said Nick had reached out to her and tried to get her to lip-sync battle with him," a source had told Page Six, referring to Spike TV's Lip Sync Battle series.
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"She declined, but then he asked her out to a drink and she accepted. They've been seeing each other since."
Jones also allegedly celebrated her 40th birthday with Viall at Inkwell in Los Angeles, and the pair was joined by some of the blonde beauty's former Mad Men co-stars.
Nick took a break from dating following his split from The Bachelor's Season 21 winner, Vanessa Grimaldi, but he's putting himself out there again to find the right person.
Grimaldi and the former software salesman-turned-entrepreneur and aspiring actor got engaged on the show's finale that aired in March 2017.
Viall and the Canadian special education teacher announced their decision to part ways and end their engagement, however, nearly five months later.
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"I just want someone to make memories with, hopefully make me a better person, give me a chance to help them do the same, and have some fun," Viall told People on Wednesday.
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski