Nick Viall has four seasons of experience on the Bachelor franchise, but on Monday he tackled a new challenge: facing 19 of his ex-girlfriends.
On ABC's Bachelor: Women Tell All (WTA) special, he sat in the hotseat with his most recent ex-girlfriend Rachel Lindsay, who made history when she was named the 13th Bachelorette and ABC's first black lead in 33 seasons. Onstage, Nick told the Texan attorney he "couldn't imagine anyone better" to lead ABC's next season. "I think the guys are really really lucky," he added, while Rachel responded with confidence, "They are!"
Following the WTA taping, Nick told The Hollywood Reporter it's an "amazing decision" to cast Rachel as the franchise's first black star. "Rachel’s an exceptional person. It was a no brainer to cast her." As for their breakup, he told THR he "[doesn't] have any regrets" about saying goodbye. "It had more to do with the other relationships. In that world, it’s not about finding flaws. It’s just about being thankful there are other relationships that you are compelled to focus on." He wished Rachel nothing but the best, offering this advice: "She should be who she is. I think as long as she stays true to herself, it’ll be great."
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As for Nick's own pursuit of love, he told THR he was "nervous the whole way through" on his last day, when he had to choose between Raven and Vanessa: "Any guy would be lucky to have [the final two women]. I was lucky enough to have the two to choose from, but I hate to say the word choose." The Bachelor, who cried throughout his season, says emotions were still running high when he filmed the finale. "I was hopeful but you never know," he said. "Anything is possible in the Bachelor world. I was prepared for anything."
Once the Bachelor finale wraps next week, he insists there's no turning back. "I’m not taking a break. I’m definitely done with the Bachelor franchise, but I’m very grateful for my time. It’s had its ups and downs. It’s been a long journey. And I’m ready to say goodbye to it." So, don't hold your breath for a Nick cameo on Rachel's season.
If Nick is, in fact, ready to call it quits on the franchise, Monday's Women Tell All marks one of his final moments filming on a Bachelor set. So what happens when ABC producers put almost 20 of Nick's ex-girlfriends again in one room? Believe it or not, many feminist moments and American pride came out of the reunion. Led by Liz and "season villain" Corinne, the women overall defended themselves against slut-shaming ("Women, especially in these times, we should be building each other up, not tearing each other down"). While Russian native Kristina touted that she's proud to be an American, adopted into "the land of opportunity" — a powerful moment during the day of President Trump's revised travel order.
See how the rest of Nick's exes acted when back in the spotlight when THR ranks Nick's 19 former girlfriends below.
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Rachel, 31, attorney from Dallas, TX
Image Credit: Mitch Haaseth/ABC Rachel is officially the most eligible bachelorette on Monday's stage, which is why she easily tops the Women Tell All ranking.
The next Bachelorette found closure while in the hotseat with Nick and seems very ready to pursue her own journey as the 13th Bachelorette. In the three months since her breakup with Nick, the Texan lawyer tells Chris Harrison, "I've moved on since then." When Nick joined her onstage, she shared that Nick "definitely made me a believer. I learned so much about myself and what I want in life… and so i have to give [Nick] the credit for that."
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Kristina, 25, dental hygienist from Lexington, KY
Image Credit: Mitch Haaseth/ABC Kristina's story of her immigration and adoption into the U.S. played heavily in the face of Trump, who signed a revised travel ban Monday targeting those seeking new visas. The dental hygienist elaborated on her childhood in Russia, before she emigrated and was adopted by American parents who brought her to the "land of opportunity." She said, "We live in a place where we have a voice. We have opportunity. In Russia, we don't have that." Chris Harrison added to the political moment, "You truly embody the American dream. You are the American dream."
We learned earlier on The Bachelor that Kristina suffered from extreme hunger, ate lipstick and fled to an orphanage after her birth mother kicked her out of the house at the age of 5 or 6. On Monday, she offered more details: "Growing up I just didn't have anyone. I built up a wall and didn't let anyone get too close to me." She adds that teenagers in her orphanage turned to prostitution to "fend for themselves."
The Russian beauty's story remind us that some beautiful things can come out of this reality show: thanks to her appearance on TV, some of the children she grew up with in the orphanage reached out to her to reconnect, she said.
Following the taping, Kristina tells The Hollywood Reporter that she credits the show for inspiring her to "open up" for the first time in her life. Her adoption story is "something I did hold dear to me, to my heart. I had my friends come up to me and be like, ‘I didn’t know this about you.’ That’s how dear I hold it to me. They were like, ‘I didn’t know you had that about you.’ Which in a way is amazing because they got to know me for me, versus my past.”
Kristina also said she is "open-minded" about going on Bachelor in Paradise, "but I am not going to rely on finding love on The Bachelor or any [part of the] franchise. If it happens in a real-life setting, great because that’s ultimately what I want.”
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Corinne, 24, business owner from Miami, FL
Image Credit: Mitch Haaseth/ABC Kudos to Corinne for staying true to herself. Love her or hate her, it's hard not to give the woman credit for never bowing down from who she is, cheese pasta fanatic and all.
The 24-year-old started off the day with a little post-show pregrame: champagne and cucumber slices, of course. On set, she took time to defend her love of naps and her nanny Raquel: "I would never disrespect her … There is no way in Hell I would ever call her a cleaning lady."
In the hotseat, Corinne also bickered with her "show-enemy" Taylor, but eventually accepted the mental health counselor's apology for saying she would not be Corinne's friend on or off the show.
Fan of the "serious business owner"? Get your "Make America Corinne Again" signs and "platinum vagine" t-shirts in order (both were in the studio audience tonight); Corinne told The Hollywood Reporter she plans to return to the spotlight, "I’m already doing some auditions for some big stuff so hopefully only good things come from that." Meanwhile, she has not "even explored the idea yet" of joining Bachelor in Paradise.
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Liz, 29, doula from Las Vegas, NV
Image Credit: Mitch Haaseth/ABC Kudos to Liz, who will forever be known as the woman who had a one-night-stand with the Bachelor franchise’s fourth-timer. Of course, the 29-year-old's sexy rendezvous with Nick at Jade and Tanner’s wedding was once again brought up, but this time it was done so for a moment of redemption. The doula owned her story, patted herself on the back for being “brave” enough to go on the show and offered a bit of advice for women (and some men) everywhere: “It doesn't matter your shape, doesn't matter your sexual past, it doesn't matter what you have done, you deserve a man who loves you for who you are and who's gonna fight for you, for who you are.” Her fellow women applauded her in a show of female camaraderie rarely seen during the usual bloodbath of a reunion special.
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Taylor, 23, mental health counselor from Seattle, WA
Image Credit: Mitch Haaseth/ABC Is it time to empathize with Taylor? The 23-year-old was an emotional wreck tonight as she disclosed the level of cyber bullying she has faced since the season premiered. The counselor cried as she explained how much hate she's received online for acting mentally unstable on the show, despite being in the mental health profession in real life. "I've worked my ass off to achieve the things I have … and anyone who's in the helping profession should be encouraged to continue their path and not be shamed for it," she said while in the hotseat, broken down by her altercations with a resoundingly cheerful Corinne.
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Danielle L., 27, small business owner from Los Angeles, CA
Image Credit: Mitch Haaseth/ABC Poor Danielle, who is still worked up over her Bachelor breakup. The Californian was in tears as she attempted to find closure with Nick, telling him it "really hurt" that he ended their relationship after the two-on-one date — especially after telling her he could see an engagement in their future. The Bachelor responded, "Between the time we had our first one-on-one and the two-on-one there were a lot of relationships for me that were surpasssing, in my mind, our relationship." Tough love, Danielle.
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Christen, 25, wedding videographer from Tulsa, OK
Image Credit: Mitch Haaseth/ABC Christen continued to come to the defense of her friends during the at-times tense reunion. We also enjoyed one more look at the virgin's epic reaction to Liz's one-night-stand story, during a WTA season recap:
Christen's reaction is everything. #TheBachelor pic.twitter.com/0BkO94nKDX
— ChristinaSchoellkopf (@c_schoellkopf) January 10, 2017
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Danielle M., 31, neonatal nurse from Nashville, TN
Image Credit: Mitch Haaseth/ABC Honestly, Danielle M. seems better off without Nick. The Tennessee sweetheart was glowing on stage in her new platinum blonde 'do, as Danielle told her ex, "I have no hard feelings. I'm happy for you."
The 31-year-old told The Hollywood Reporter she looks forward to returning to her Nashville life away from the cameras, continuing her career as a neonatal nurse. "I love my job. I've thought about Paradise, I think it would really depend on who's going to be down there. I would obviously love to just go down and hang out with all my friends," she tells THR, adding that Vanessa, Taylor and Kristina have visited her in the Southern city after filming wrapped. "I'm hopeful to find love at some point, I don't know if that's with the Bachelor franchise or if that's just in everyday life," she continues. "I'm definitely gonna stick with nursing, but I've always been a person where with every opportunity that comes my way, if I feel like it's a good one, I'm gonna do it."
Her only regret on the show is "ever saying I was not great enough, but in that moment [when Nick broke up with her], it was such a knee jerk reaction," she tells THR.
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Alexis, 23, aspiring dolphin trainer from Secaucus, NJ
Image Credit: Mitch Haaseth/ABC If you're still obsessed with the dolphin-shark after tonight's Women Tell All, you're in luck. When The Hollywood Reporter asked if she would return for BIP, the 23-year-old exclaimed, "Hell yeah. I’m 100% so down for Bachelor in Paradise." The aspiring dolphin trainer has a message for Rachel: "She better get good guys [on The Bachelorette] because I’m going to take her leftovers."
Also, points for the goofball admitting that her costume during the first rose ceremony was, in fact, a shark, despite pressure from ABC's team to say otherwise. After she admitted her costume was not a dolphin after all, "All the producers hated me and were like, 'Alexis, what the Hell?" she tells THR. "But I said I was a dolphin at heart, so that’s all that matters."
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Jaimi, 28, chef from New Orleans, LA
Image Credit: Mitch Haaseth/ABC Update: Jaimi is still a badass. The chef from the Big Easy confidently showed off her septum ring again, reminding us of her epic one-liner from night one: “You have some balls and so do I.”
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Sarah, 26, grade school teacher from Newport Beach, CA
Image Credit: Mitch Haaseth/ABC Sarah kept it mellow tonight and left her running shoes at home. On night one, she sprinted to the Bachelor Mansion in sneakers — still her most memorable moment.
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Josephine, 24, registered nurse from Santa Cruz, CA
Image Credit: Mitch Haaseth/ABC Was Josephine's dark lipstick meant to distract us from her forever being known as Bachelor's "awkward hot dog girl"? We'll find out this summer, if she joins Paradise. For now, we applaud her for coming to the defense of Corinne for exploring her sexuality with Nick: "Who are we to judge?" Is it anyone's business but hers and Nick's? Nope.
Never forget. #TheBachelor pic.twitter.com/XxDehxxu1h
— ChristinaSchoellkopf (@c_schoellkopf) January 17, 2017
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Hailey, 23, photographer from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Image Credit: Mitch Haaseth/ABC Hailey really stepped up to the plate tonight to come to Liz's side. Saying America knows her as only the girl who slept with Nick, Hailey rattled off Liz's non-Bachelor related accomplishments, including her charity work. The Canadian also preached a powerful message: "You should never feel ashamed for what you do with your sexuality. That is your choice." This is certainly a refreshing side of Hailey — three weeks before the 23-year-old exited the show in tears, she first introduced herself to Nick on night one with a cringe-worthy pickup line: “Do you know what a girl wearing underwear says?” (“No”) “Neither do I.”
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Jasmine G., 29, pro basketball dancer from San Francisco, CA
Image Credit: Mitch Haaseth/ABC Jasmine copped to a few things tonight, including apologizing for being the first woman to majorly call Corinne out for having a nanny. Though her volleyball shove of Corinne made it on the clip reel, her self-proclaimed choking fetish didn't even get a mention. #Missedopportunity.
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Lacey, 25, digital marketing manager from Manhattan, NY
Image Credit: Mitch Haaseth/ABC Welcome to the friend zone, Lacey. The now brunette New Yorker calls Nick out for talking up Josephine during their alone time together. She asks her ex-boyfriend, "Was that you friend zoning me? Don't talk to your kinda girlfriend about your other kinda girlfriend." Nick basically responds by saying he didn't feel any sparks with Lacey. Defeated, she quips: "I'll see myself out."
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Dominique, 25, restaurant server from Los Angeles, CA
Image Credit: Mitch Haaseth/ABC The waitress did not serve up anything memorable on tonight's special.
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Astrid, 26, plastic surgery office manager from Tampa, FL
Image Credit: Mitch Haaseth/ABC Remember Astrid, the contestant who forgot a sports bra on a track and field date?
The plastic surgeon office manager (who has never addressed whether or not she's had her own plastic surgery done) did not earn much air time tonight. So for better or for worse, her hot tub makeout with Nick, while the two were fully clothed in workout gear, will remain her most memorable TV moment.
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Whitney, 25, Pilates instructor from Chanhassen, MN
Image Credit: Mitch Haaseth/ABC Whitney, who made little impression during her time on the show, also sat most of the night with a straight face and opting out of the group bonding moments. Irrelevant on the show, and sadly, irrelevant after.
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Elizabeth, 24, marketing manager from Dallas, TX
Image Credit: Mitch Haaseth/ABC Elizabeth was nearly unrecognizable during the WTA. She also threw out cheesy one-liners to make more air time; i.e.: "I'm all about unleashing a Khaleesi but you were a slob kabob sometimes," she told Corinne.
