Nick Viall has opened up about that awkward moment Liz Sandoz, a woman he had a one-night stand with months prior to filming The Bachelor, stepped out of a limo on Night 1.
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"I recognized her right away," Nick said during a Monday night appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live: Here for the Right Reasons.
As viewers saw on The Bachelor's debut Season 21 episode, Liz, a 29-year-old doula from Las Vegas, NV, revealed she had sex with Nick on the night of her best friend Jade Roper's January 2016 wedding to Tanner Tolbert. Liz decided to go on The Bachelor in order to get to know Nick a little better since they had chemistry.
Upon introducing herself out of the limo, Liz pretended that she didn't know Nick to test whether he'd remember her. But when neither individual addressed their pre-existing relationship, there was an elephant in the room they didn't get rid of until talking things out later at the cocktail party.
Although Nick claims he recognized Liz right away, he only appeared perplexed after she walked away from their meet and greet.
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"I was like, 'That's Liz.' She walks up and just has this grin, but didn't say anything. So I was just -- I'm thinking to myself, 'On the off chance that I am wrong, I didn't want to be like, Nice to see you again,' and her say, 'Nope, not me,'" Nick explained to Jimmy Kimmel.
"So I was like, 'Okay. I'm pretty sure this is Liz.' And she went with the whole, 'I'm going to see if he knows me.' I was caught off-guard by it, and she walked in and I was like, 'I know that's Liz.'"
Liz explained in the episode that Nick had asked for her phone number after sleeping together but she declined giving it to him.
"She gave me, like, the 'let's leave it alone' [response]. I said, 'Okay.' I was okay with it... I respected her decision," Nick said.
Liz opted out of exchanging numbers because she thought Nick was just trying to be polite, when in actuality, the Bachelor was frustrated she never tried to contact him after their fling. Her sudden appearance on The Bachelor therefore made him question her intentions and motives.
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"You're good at this getting dumped thing," Jimmy told Nick with a laugh.
"I mean really," noted Nick, who famously got dumped by two former The Bachelorette stars.
"You're the best at it," Jimmy joked.
Nick also claimed to not remember whether he returned to his own room or Liz's room the night of Jade and Tanner's wedding.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski