The Bachelor star Nick Viall insists his desire to star on Season 21 had nothing to do with his image or reputation.
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"I never looked at it as a redemption. I was aware that I wasn't always a fan favorite," Viall told Extra.
The 36-year-old software salesman from Wisconsin first competed on Andi Dorfman's season of The Bachelorette, and after finishing as the runner-up, announced on After the Final Rose the couple had sex in the Fantasy Suite. (Dorfman's fiance at the time, Josh Murray, was waiting backstage).
After becoming a controversial figure in The Bachelor franchise, Viall went on to fight for Kaitlyn Bristowe's heart on the subsequent eleventh season of The Bachelorette. Viall got slapped with accusations he was appearing on the show again for the "wrong reasons."
"One word.... RUN! Okay two... RUN FAST! #TheBachelorette," Dorfman tweeted as a warning after it was revealed Viall would appear as a suitor on Bristowe's edition.
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Viall memorably had sex with Bristowe mid-season on The Bachelorette during their first one-on-one date in Ireland, which angered her now-fiance Shawn Booth. Viall then finished as a runner-up once more.
Viall's third stint on a reality dating show was Season 3 of Bachelor in Paradise this past summer. Although he developed a serious relationship with Jennifer Saviano, he failed to fall in love and dumped her at the Final Rose Ceremony.
Briefly after Bachelor in Paradise finished airing in late August, producers decided to make Viall the next The Bachelor star.
"He has just become that perennial, second place guy who wants to find love and is as sincere, if not more sincere, than anybody about finding it," The Bachelor host Chris Harrison told People in early September. "It's about giving him his chance to find love. Who deserves it more than him?"
"I'm probably as prepared as anyone," Viall told Extra of his fourth return to the franchise. "I've learned a lot being on all those seasons, to focus on what's important."
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Although Viall fully anticipated the highs and lows of a Bachelor's journey going into filming, he admitted to Us Weekly it was "incredibly tough dating multiple women" when trying to make the show an enjoyable experience for everyone.
"But at the same time, you have to be selfish to try to meet your needs and find someone you're potentially in love with," Viall said. "Anyone who takes it seriously and wants to make it a genuine experience is going to have their dark moments. And I certainly had mine."
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski