Nick Viall - Bachelorette 11 - *Spoilers - Sleuthing* - Discussion #3

nutty1 wrote:Do you think Kaitlyn really had an option to let Nick go, if she didn't want him to stay? I do think she wanted him, but I have a feeling she wasn't even given a choice. Nick is ratings gold.

Lucas15 wrote:

nutty1 wrote:Do you think Kaitlyn really had an option to let Nick go, if she didn't want him to stay? I do think she wanted him, but I have a feeling she wasn't even given a choice. Nick is ratings gold.

No - I don't think she had any choice. While Nick isn't the first contestant who's come back from another season, no one in recent seasons has stayed beyond one episode so I think the producers wanted that. IMO in addition they wanted Nick in the final two because no one will know what's going to happen on the ATFR regardless of what happens at the FRC and they want viewers to tune in to see what he'll do.

Alanna wrote:

Lucas15 wrote:

nutty1 wrote:Do you think Kaitlyn really had an option to let Nick go, if she didn't want him to stay? I do think she wanted him, but I have a feeling she wasn't even given a choice. Nick is ratings gold.

No - I don't think she had any choice. While Nick isn't the first contestant who's come back from another season, no one in recent seasons has stayed beyond one episode so I think the producers wanted that. IMO in addition they wanted Nick in the final two because no one will know what's going to happen on the ATFR regardless of what happens at the FRC and they want viewers to tune in to see what he'll do.

IA. He is SO fun to hate-watch! Goldmine of entertainment, I don't blame tptb for bringing him back into our lives

Kaitlyn Bristowe risking it all for Nick Viall

Doling out roses on The Bachelorette can be a thorny job. So before kicking off her journey to find love three months ago, Kaitlyn Bristowe sought out advice from past stars of the ABC franchise. Season 10 lead Andi Dorfman told Us she had several conversations with the outgoing Vancouver, British Columbia, resident. "I just told her to do your thing and don't worry about the details," said the aspiring fashion designer. Bristowe says her top takeaway from their talks was the importance of following her gut instinct. "She told me to always go with how I'm actually feeling, and not to get lost in the Bachelorette world," Bristowe recently told Us. "To actually just go with my heart."

On the June 8 episode, her heart leads to Dorfman's ex: Nick Viall. The man most famous for shaming Dorfman on-air - "If you knew how in love with you I was, why did you make love with me?" he asked of their fantasy suite romp - surprises Bristowe by crashing one of her New York City group dates. Bris­towe is shocked - and downright giddy. Just out of earshot of her other suitors, the 29-year-old dance instructor gushes about finally meeting her crush - the man she had swapped flirty texts with for a month preshow. Hours later, she sneaks out of the date again to meet up with Viall, 34, and the two share a steamy makeout. Their chemistry, built up with weeks of what a source describes as "hot and heavy" messages, was just too hard to ignore. Says the show insider, "Kaitlyn said her heart skipped a beat when she first saw him."

Her mind, however, was racing. Four weeks in to her love hunt (Mondays, 8 p.m.), the brunette had already developed feelings for several guys (see: rugged ex-football player Ben Zorn, 26, and charming personal trainer Shawn Booth, 28). And after repeatedly declaring that she saw her husband in the group, she worried throwing Viall in the mix would be a slap in the face. Despite agonizing, she just couldn't let Viall go. Says a source, "Kaitlyn had to do what's right for her, even if others disagree."

The Men Strike Back

Bristowe's 14 other hopefuls were far less welcoming. Though she told E! News May 20 some guys were understanding ("(They) said … 'If this is something that could potentially be your happily ever after, then you have to explore that,'" she explained), most derided the decision. Booth, for one, wonders why she would need to bring in another guy if the pair's connection is so strong, and he outwardly questions their entire relationship.

Others take an even tougher stance. Having already gone to great lengths to impress her (enduring boxing matches, Broadway auditions for Aladdin and even sumo wrestling in skimpy mawashi), they're less than pleased that Bristowe allows a new guy to waltz right in. Florida realtor Ryan Beckett, 32, labels her choice "annoying" and "silly," while Missouri-­based auto finance manager Tanner Tolbert, 28, who dubs Viall a "c-ksucker," calls the decision disrespectful. "Some of them have a really hard time with it," says a show insider, noting that Booth, Zorn and sweet dentist Chris "Cupcake" Strandburg, 28, struggled mightily. "They're upset and jealous."

Nick's Smooth Moves

They're also at a distinct disadvantage. Two months before the other men stepped out of their limos toward the beauty, the Chicago software sales exec was already sending come-ons. Impressed with how Bristowe carried herself on Chris Soules' season, "he developed a crush," says a Viall pal, and wrangled her number from a show producer. "They started talking in January, before Chris' season ended," says the show insider. Their notes quickly turned from friendly to fiery. "They weren't text­ing like, 'Hey, I want to get to know you,'" says the show insider. "It was a heavy, heavy, heavy flirtation. Kaitlyn found him incredibly charming." A Viall pal isn't surprised, adding the deep-thinking ex-athlete - whose passionate demeanor helped win over Dorfman - often has that effect on women. "Nick is a hopeless romantic," says the friend. "Flowers, candles, rose petals, chocolates. I honestly don't know how he comes up with some of his stuff."

He was forced to stop his suggestive missives to Bristowe - the source says "they bordered on explicit" - once she was tapped for The Bachelorette. And the free-spirited Canadian was left wanting more. Though Bristowe now had her pick of 25 men, she admitted she missed her frequent conversations with Viall. Says the insider, "She felt they had this unspoken connection."

Viall wasn't willing to let that bond unravel. At first, he hoped for the best. When Bristowe decamped to the mansion to face off with fellow Bachelorette wannabe Britt Nilsson in mid-March, he kept his phone at his side. Explains a friend, "He was really hoping that Britt would be the one picked and Kaitlyn would be texting or calling any minute," explains the pal. "When that call never came, he thought they may have missed their chance." The show insider says Viall cringed at the thought of sitting back and watching the girl he liked find a new mate: "He made it very clear he wanted to come back on board." Explains the friend, "He realized he either had to let the infatuation go or get aggressive, and he decided to take a leap of faith."

Not There to Make Friends

But to Bristowe's suitors, his on-camera arrival looked more like a grab for screen time. On the June 8 episode, ex-investment banker JJ Lane, 32 - a.k.a. one half of the Brokeback Bachelor bromance - tells the guys he believes Viall is looking for self-promotion, not a wife. Others wonder why the guy who embarrassed Dorfman in front of 7 million-plus viewers was being given another chance. "He's already had his shot. Why come back?" questions Idaho welder Joshua Albers, 31, in the season preview. Explains the show insider, "The guys were upset she brought another guy on board, but they were particularly annoyed that the guy was Nick."

Viall does little to help his own cause. The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee grad's cockiness made him enemy No. 1 on Dorfman's season (even nice guy Soules told Us at the time that he questioned his intentions), and he didn't fare much better this go-round. "Nick is not somebody who gets along with everyone," says the show insider of Viall. His win-at-all-costs attitude doesn't win him any friends. (In the season preview, he was seen warning competitors: "Don't make out with the girl I like.") Says the show insider, "He's a very polarizing person. The guys hated him."

Following Her Heart

Still, the Viall insider insists he was there for the proverbial "right reasons." Though it may seem "like he wants to remain in the limelight, he has absolutely no agenda other than to be happy," says the pal. "His decision to go was strictly based on his interest in Kaitlyn." And unlike booted suitor Kupah James, 32, who told Bristowe he wanted to stay because she was "sexy," "pretty" and "hot," Viall was attracted to the dirty-joke lover's boldness and confident nature. "When he first described Kaitlyn to me, he spent under 30 seconds describing her appearance," says the friend, "and about 10 beers' worth of time talking about her personality, their connection and how happy he was to have that type of relationship in his life."

For Bristowe, it was the belief that their chemistry - which she described on the show as "instant" - could actually last a lifetime. "She has this huge attraction to him," says the show insider. "She's like a moth to a flame." And even the guys' anger isn't enough for her to second-guess her decision. "She was so into this guy," says the show insider. "She doesn't regret bringing him back at all."

Love Is Like …

Nobody ever said these contestants were Shakespeare

Farming

"You plant a seed, you hope it grows. Sometimes, the weather isn't always on your side, but with a little bit of luck, something beautiful can come from it. And that's the type of love that I want to find, and hopefully this journey's gonna get me there." - Farmer and Bachelor Chris Soules

Bungee Jumping

"That is the epitome of building a relationship, free-falling together. And we did that. Literally…. If we could jump off a bridge together, we could do ­pretty much anything." - Juan Pablo Galavis' ex Chelsie Webster

Welding

"Love and welding have a lot in common. With the right amount of heat and plenty of friction, two pieces can become one. Sparks are going to fly." - Welder and Kaitlyn Bristowe's Suitor Joshua Albers

Go-Karting

"Today is about going fast. Just like the high-adrenaline, blood-pumping, heart-pounding feeling that you get when you meet somebody who you're falling in love with." - Desiree Hartsock's Runner-Up, Drew Kenney
Nasty Bromance Breakup

They showered together, then nearly came to blows

For Clint Arlis, JJ Lane's rejection is harder to swallow than Bristowe's. Sent packing by the Bachelorette on the June 8 episode, Chicago engineer Arlis, 27, is blindsided by the man he admitted to "falling in love" with: 32-year-old Denver former investment banker Lane. After Bristowe tells the guys Arlis' intentions are impure, says a show source, Lane demands Arlis apologize for wasting her time. A befuddled Arlis calls him a "piece of s-t." But postshow, "JJ reached out and they got together," says a source. "They're very good friends."

All About Nick

Notoriously intense in his first run on The Bachelorette, Viall gave Dorfman an illustrated book of their romance and appealed to her in a letter after she split with him. ("To me, if there is no risk of being totally crushed … then there is no way it can be great," he wrote.) But a source says he's more than his aggressive persona. The religious family man (he has 10 siblings!), says a pal, "is fun-loving and social."
Sun, Sand and Sobbing

Bachelor in Paradise's cast is ripe for drama

Tenley Molzahn The 31-year-old is single - and ready to mingle in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - since her 2014 split with Bachelor Pad love Kiptyn Locke.

Mikey Tenerelli Season 9's hunky plumbing contractor, 32, will show off his CrossFit body while looking for romance on the show (premieres August 2).

Ashley Iaconetti Bring on the mascara-streaked tears! The beauty blogger, 26, became famous for meltdowns while courting Soules in season 19.

Ashley Salter In season 19, the kooky NYC-based hairdresser, 25, confused pomegranates for onions and chased around feral cats. Good times.

Lucas15 wrote:

nutty1 wrote:Do you think Kaitlyn really had an option to let Nick go, if she didn't want him to stay? I do think she wanted him, but I have a feeling she wasn't even given a choice. Nick is ratings gold.

No - I don't think she had any choice. While Nick isn't the first contestant who's come back from another season, no one in recent seasons has stayed beyond one episode so I think the producers wanted that. IMO in addition they wanted Nick in the final two because no one will know what's going to happen on the ATFR regardless of what happens at the FRC and they want viewers to tune in to see what he'll do.

nick_viall28 Welp... Here we go! #thebachelorette #bachelorette #bachelornation #livewithrisknotregret 20min

eliza3 wrote:Am I the only one totally dreading the appearance of Nick?  Didn't like him last season - can't imagine I'm going to change my mind this season.   For me, the man drama and Nick's "game playing" are distractions I can do without.

MHO is that Kaitlyn saw through him finally but I sure wish she would have sent him packing sooner than later.