The Bachelor alum Nick Viall and actress Rachel Bilson have sparked dating rumors through their flirty exchanges on Instagram.
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Nick, 38, apparently slid into The O.C. alum's direct messages on Instagram -- strictly "professionally," or so he claims -- and asked her to appear on an episode of his The Viall Files podcast in July.
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Rachel, also 38, accepted Nick's invitation at the time, and then the pair had some playful banter during the podcast episode.
"There was one time you may have commented on my Instagram and I noticed it, and I was like, 'Woo, really?!'" Nick said, putting a hand over his heart.
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After laughing, Rachel replied, "You didn't slide into my DMs then! You could've told me you were excited about it!"
"There was a thought!" Nick admitted at the time.
To promote the podcast episode, Nick posted a photo with Rachel on Instagram and teased it, "Will we choose to forgo our individual rooms..." in reference to The Bachelor's famous Fantasy-Suite dates.
Rachel commented on the picture, "He slid into her... DMs. #sheaccepted."
But Nick clarified on his podcast, "I slid into her DM to ask her to come on -- professionally."
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Rachel, who is mom to a four-year-old daughter named Briar, opened up about her struggles trying to date as a single mother during Nick's podcast, according to Us Weekly.
Now, in recent weeks, Nick and Rachel have been exchanging some flirty messages on Instagram, creating speculation they may be involved or at least romantically interested in one another.
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"Cute dress," Nick commented on a photo of Rachel with her former Hart of Dixie co-stars Scott Porter and Wilson Bethel on August 4, according to Us.
Rachel reportedly complimented Nick's "sweet cuffs" on one of his pictures that same month, and she also cracked a joke about a plunger in the comments section of Nick's Charmin ad with Becca Tilley on September 9.
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Nick also noticeably wrote "nice mountains" on a photo of Rachel sitting on a rock in the desert as recently as Saturday, September 14, Us reported.
Reports surfaced in September 2017 Rachel and her now ex-fiance, Hayden Christensen, called it quits on their relationship after dating for nearly a decade and welcoming Briar together.
Following two failed attempts at finding love on The Bachelorette and one season of Bachelor in Paradise, Nick starred on The Bachelor's 21st season.
He ended up getting engaged to Vanessa Grimaldi, but the pair split about five months after the finale aired in March 2017.
Gossip surrounding Nick's relationship with Rachel isn't the first time rumors have sparked about Nick potentially dating a celebrity.
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Nick was once linked to actress January Jones, but the Mad Men alum shut down dating speculation in February 2018, telling Entertainment Tonight she was single and Nick was just her "super sweet" friend.
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