Nick Viall: It wasn't personal when Vanessa Grimaldi considered rejecting my proposal, it was refreshing!

The Bachelor couple Nick Viall and Vanessa Grimaldi left the show's 21st season in love, engaged and ready to start a future together.


During the finale Monday night on ABC, Nick proved the fourth time is the charm and got down on one knee to ask Vanessa's hand in marriage. The 29-year-old special education teacher from Montreal, Quebec, Canada couldn't have been more thrilled to accept Nick's proposal in Rovaniemi, Finland.

But with Nick's final decision came heartbreak for the runner-up, Raven Gates, a 25-year-old clothing boutique owner from Arkansas. Nick could definitely relate to Raven's situation since he had finished as the runner-up twice before on both Andi Dorfman and Kaitlyn Bristowe's seasons of The Bachelorette.

During a Tuesday conference call with reporters, the happily-engaged couple, Nick, 36, and Vanessa, 29, talked about going public with their romance and what's next for them. Below is the concluding portion of their interview.

Vanessa, has your acting background played a role in discussions you've had with Nick about staying in Montreal, Canada or moving to the United States? 


Vanessa Grimaldi: No. It's funny that I acted -- barely acted back in Montreal. It's something that I kept into in the summertime while I wasn't working since school does go from September to June. And it was something that I did as a part-time thing for a very short amount of time. 

With all the talk about immigrants working in the U.S. -- and this is a serious, non-political question -- are you worried about getting deported if you work or if it's perceived that you are working? 

Vanessa Grimaldi: Well, I'm, you know, taking the necessary legal steps for that not to happen. And that's all I can do at this point. 

So, Vanessa, you're trying to get a work visa? 

Vanessa Grimaldi: Yes. 


Do you guys each have a favorite date that you went on during the show? 

Nick Viall: I mean, for me, I think, my first one-on-one with her. 

Vanessa Grimaldi: Yes. I'll have to agree. 

Nick Viall: You know, for several reasons. I think zero gravity is literally potentially a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Sometimes that phrase may be used a little more loosely than it should be. But also, well, I was developing feelings for other women at the time.

You know, getting emotional on that date, I had so many fears and trepidation about this all working out. And while I certainly didn't know that Vanessa was going to be the one at that point, I think that day gave me an incredible amount of confidence and great feelings that this actually could work out for me. And for me, that was a really big moment in the process. I think that's something I'll always cherish. 


Vanessa Grimaldi: I'll have to agree. I really did love our one-on-one. But since I'm very close to my family and my students are very close to my heart, so it's very important for me to bring Nick into that world. And I was very excited for my loved ones to see our relationships. So the hometown with Nick. So yes, hometown to me was probably one of my favorites. 

Were there any moments that the viewers didn't get to see that you wish would have been shown? 

Nick Viall: Sure. 

Vanessa Grimaldi: Yes. 

Nick Viall: You know, like an endless amount. You know, one thing I told Vanessa early on -- right after we got engaged -- I just kind of prepared her for the fact that, you know, in general, there are so many moments that never get shown overall.


And that's the fact that she'll probably feel like there are a lot of great moments between us that won't be shown. But I think it's important to remember those moments between us. And certainly, you know, I think Vanessa sitting here would love for all those moments to be shown. But you know, for a lot of reasons, that's just not possible. 

Nick, you said a few times during the finale that you kept fighting your feelings of love for Vanessa. So I'm just wondering why.

Nick Viall: Well, because there were other women there, and that was kind of the name of the game. I think out of, not only respect for the other women, but out of respect for Vanessa, you just have to do that. 

Again, like "Bachelor world" is not normal, you know? There is nothing normal about it. And so, sometimes, I think people try to compare the outside world with the "Bachelor world." You just can't do it. I mean, Ben Higgins is a good friend. 

Ben joked a lot about Night 1 and about a lot, like, "Do not tell two women you're in love with them. In fact, you are not to go that far." Because all jokes aside, that wasn't easy on him and something that he had to deal with. I owed it to Vanessa and I owed it to other women to really make sure about my feelings.


And the one benefit of that very imperfect world -- you don't get a lot of time with any of the women. But to challenge each relationship and pivot against other relationships, while not ideal, really helps you figure out the genuineness of your feelings with each relationship. 

I think that alone really, you know, helps people, not only myself at the end but other bachelors and bachelorettes before me be confident [with their choices] because they put that relationship up against so many challenges and still came out on top. 

Vanessa, before the proposal, you were obviously unsure if you were even going to say yes. So did those doubts go away during the proposal or when did you realize that you were sure about saying yes.

Vanessa Grimaldi: I mean, it was a process for me to understand how I wanted things to end up. I was hoping to have those questions clear for me before the proposal. And I remember having a conversation with Nick at the end of my last dates with him, and I wanted to go to bed knowing that I was going to wake up wanting to say yes to the proposal if he was going to propose. 

So at the proposal, I was scared that something may have shifted in his relationship with Raven and that maybe he wasn't going to propose to me, but I was confident going into the proposal that I was ready to say yes if he would want an answer. 

Nick, watching it back, what was your reaction to seeing that Vanessa considered rejecting your proposal, that she was so uncertain at times? 


Nick Viall: Vanessa and I have had a lot of conversations, and you know, in our relationship, one thing I really appreciate was just how open we were. I think that the differences in the "Bachelor world," I think sometimes -- you know, I don't know, it's because people have seen so much, we kind of take certain things for granted.

And I really appreciated not only Vanessa's realism, but you know, I wanted being realistic as well. I mean, the fact that we were even considering an engagement after knowing each other for not a very long time is a crazy proposition.

So the fact that Vanessa was willing to consider that, as well as I was, but we were still willing to ask each other tough questions, and I didn't take it personally. In fact, I found it very refreshing. 

And it actually gave me a lot of confidence that if I were to ask Vanessa, I'd be asking someone who actually really considered it, that really thought about the pros and cons, and really thought about the risks that she'd be taking and what was ahead.

Because the last thing I wanted to do was get engaged to someone who could be caught up in the moment and then think about all those things and want to get engaged, and then kind of think, "Holy crap, what is ahead of me?" So I appreciated all of our conversations, and I think it's played a role in terms how our relationships been able to move forward since then. 

To read more from Nick and Vanessa's post-The Bachelor interview, check out Reality TV World's The Bachelor 21 page.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski