Nick Viall, former contestant and lead of The Bachelor franchise, has been hush hush about his love life since his last broken engagement, but when called out directly on his own podcast, the Milwaukee native confirmed he did have dinner with The O.C.'s Rachel Bilson. Bilson and Viall have sparked rumors since Bilson was on Viall's podcast The Viall Files in July and have since been caught swapping flirty comments on social media.
Viall is a household name to Bachelor fans as the former software salesman was runner up on seasons 10 and 11 of The Bachelorette. After being rejected by both Kaitlyn Bristowe and Andi Dorfman, Viall, 39, appeared on season 3 of Bachelor in Paradise before being made the lead of The Bachelor season 21. During the finale, he got engaged to Canadian Vanessa Grimaldi, but the pair split after only a few months. Despite being a public figure and a fan favorite, Viall has been pretty quiet about his love life since his time on reality tv.
Recently however, fans have noticed Viall and Bilson sharing subtly flirtatious captions over social media, and even a since deleted picture on Viall's Instagram of a potential dinner date. Although Bilson's face was not included in the photo, Us Weekly shares Fashion Police's Brad Goreski calling Viall out on his own podcast, recognizing Bilson's attire in the photo from earlier that day. Goreski asks Viall directly if he was at dinner with Bilson, to which Viall responds, "I was, yeah. We hung out, and her friends were there too... a bunch of people." Even though Viall said earlier this month that Bilson was "a friend," Bilson and her friends have said the relationship is "private," leaving the situation ambiguous.
Bilson, 38, split from Star Wars star Hayden Christensen back in 2017 after almost 10 years together. The actress, who shares a 5 year old daughter with Christensen, is best known for her role as Summer Roberts on The O.C., but more recently played Dr. Zoe Hart on Hart of Dixie. Like Viall, Bilson has been very private about her love life. She has only dated a few men publicly, including ex co-star Adam Brody, which could explain the apprehension to confirm a connection with Viall.
Viall is not the first Bachelor alum rumored to be "dating" a Hollywood celebrity. Tyler Cameron from The Bachelorette season 15 dated supermodel Gigi Hadid earlier this year, and Mike Johnson, also from The Bachelorette season 15, had a brief fling with musician Demi Lovato. And while it’s becoming a more popular trend, dating A-listers isn’t completely new to the Bachelor franchise. The Bachelorette season 12 contestant Wells Adams is engaged to Modern Family's Sarah Hyland, The Bachelor season 16’s Ben Flanjik briefly dated Keeping Up with the Kardashians' Kris Jenner following her separation from husband Bruce Jenner in 2013, and recently, winner of The Bachelor season 20 Lauren Bushnell married country musician Chris Lane. Viall himself has in the past been linked to Mad Men's January Jones.
For fans of The Bachelor, Viall and Bilson getting together is nothing short of epic. Viall has won a place in the hearts of Bachelor Nation by being an earnest straight shooter despite being dumped on national television while proposing... twice. The former contestant is certainly deserving of love from a sweet California girl like Bilson, but time will tell if the two will actually get together. "I'm certainly hoping to settle down when the right person comes," said Viall, "I'm not trying to put pressure on myself."
Source: Us Magazine