Nick Viall gave out his final rose, and she wasn’t even on The Bachelor.
The former lead celebrated his approximate one-year anniversary with girlfriend Natalie Joy in Brooklyn, NY after he tried to find love on two seasons of The Bachelorette, one season of Bachelor in Paradise and leading his own season of The Bachelor.
The Wisconsin native, 40, posted two pics on July 9 on Instagram of him and Natalie, 22, in the bathroom at The Williamsburg Hotel, giving her a kiss on the cheek in each photo.
“Celebrating 1 year ish, by visiting the hotel where it all started,” he captioned the ‘gram. “Thankful for every moment I have with you @nnataliejjoy.”
The “ish” part of Nick’s caption may come from the pair’s initial uncertainty about their exclusive relationship status.
“I think we were both unsure based on where we were in each other’s lives,” he said on his podcast The Viall Files in February 2021. “Then we just kept hanging out. She kind of got to the point where she was like, “I want to date,’ and I was like, ‘I don’t know.'”
Bachelor Nation’s Still-Rosy Romances
Nick realized how much he wanted to be with Natalie when he thought she was going to walk away from him. Luckily, things worked out for the couple. And Nick says people in his circle are definitely a fan of Natalie.
“Everyone loves her,” he said on his podcast. “Without question, everyone likes her more than me…without question. It makes me a little insecure about myself.”
The couple went public in January 2021 on Instagram after months of romance speculation from fans. They reportedly started dating after Natalie slid into Nick’s DMs. Nick’s relationship with her is his first public one since ex-girlfriend Vanessa Grimaldi, who received his final rose on the season 21 finale of The Bachelor, which aired in March 2017. Nick and Vanessa broke up later that year after being engaged for five months.
In 2019, Nick and Hart of Dixie alum Rachel Bilson stirred romance rumors with some flirty Instagram exchanges. He later said the two hung out at a dinner with friends. Later that year, she began dating Bill Hader. The two broke up in 2020 after less than a year.
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