The Bachelor alum Nick Viall feels cast members from the franchise can be petty and a civil war might soon break out.
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"I feel like there's a civil war brewing amongst Bachelor Nation cast... and it's all social media's fault," Nick said during a recent appearance on The Bachelor Hour podcast, which is hosted by Season 13 The Bachelorette star Rachel Lindsay.
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"You're right in the middle of it," Nick, who starred on The Bachelor's 21st season in 2017, told Rachel.
Nick went on to explain the divide he believes exists between cast members and how older The Bachelor and The Bachelorette stars tend to have different personalities and/or motives from the more recent stars.
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"[Kaitlyn Bristowe]'s season was kind of the beginning with social-media hype and then [JoJo Fletcher]'s season, and now we're full-blown social media, and it's also gotten younger," Nick said.
Kaitlyn starred on Season 11 of The Bachelorette in 2015, while JoJo's The Bachelorette season aired the following year.
"And then there's like the JoJos and Kaitlyns and [Tanner Tolbert] and [Jade Roper] and me and you, [Rachel] are kind of in that. And then you have, like, [Hannah Brown] and [Colton Underwood] who started this new wave of cast members. And there's this constant -- it's like high school."
Tanner competed for Kaitlyn's heart on The Bachelorette, while Jade looked for love on The Bachelor's 19th season starring Chris Soules in 2015. (Jade and Tanner later met and fell in love on Bachelor in Paradise's second edition, and they're now married).
Colton and Hannah are the most recent stars of the franchise, as both of their seasons wrapped earlier this year.
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Nick went on to describe the two groups as the Sharks and the Jets, referencing the famous musical West Side Story, which portrays rival gangs in New York City in the early 1960s.
"There are like the Sharks and the Jets... and everyone is pretending to be friends and everyone is going after the same Fab, Fit, Fun deals," Nick claimed.
"And everyone is just jockeying for position and talking sh-t. It's kind of fun!"
Fab, Fit, Fun is one of many products The Bachelor and The Bachelorette alums may get paid to advertise on their Instagram accounts. Fans may also have noticed teeth-whitening systems were widely being promoted by a variety of reality TV stars in the last couple of years.
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"There's going to be this big rivalry. It's like the Marvel civil-war movie [Captain America: Civil War] where everyone is kind of friends and it's like, 'We all kind of like each other,' but then there's a big fight," Nick told Rachel.
"I wish you guys could see Nick right now," Rachel responded in her podcast. "He's moving around like he's a puppeteer."
Rachel then acknowledged "things are changing in The Bachelor franchise," adding, "some may say for good and some may say for bad."
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"You seem to thoroughly enjoy the way things are moving," Rachel noted. "And you also..."
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"I just adapt to the times," Nick pointed out.
"You are from a different time, but at the same time, you seem to relate to or be friendly with the newer cast of Bachelor people," Rachel explained.
Nick reiterated how he likes to adapt to the changing times.
"And we're only talking four or fives years, so I like to joke," Nick said.
"But again, I use that Marvel civil war movie, Captain America movie, because we are all friends and we have common experiences, but I equate Bachelor world -- it's very high school-ish and can get really petty and things like that."
Nick, however, wasn't trying to suggest he's without fault just because he's in the older group.
"We all have been guilty of, at times, being petty and maybe responding to our own insecurities of criticism," Nick admitted.
"And so, yeah, it's kind of like that. And some fan equated us to all Marvel characters, which is kin of fun and made me think of that."
Nick subsequently revealed, "I was Iron Man."
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Rachel wanted to know which character she was compared to, but Nick couldn't recall.
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"I didn't make the cut?" Rachel asked with a laugh.
"I think it was because I'm slightly senior and snarky and I think [cerebral]," Nick explained. "And [Ben Higgins from Season 20] was Captain America."
There has been drama recently between members of The Bachelor franchise. Colton has called Rachel out for being a hypocrite before, while Rachel also had a falling out with Raven Gates.
It doesn't appear that everyone gets along, especially when there's competition for Instagram followers and endorsement deals.
The Bachelor's 24th season starring Peter Weber is set to premiere Monday, January 6 at 8PM ET/PT on ABC.
Meanwhile Hannah, who starred on The Bachelorette's fifteenth season, is currently competing on Dancing with the Stars' 28th season.
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