Nick Viall is speaking out in Thomas Jacobs’ defense after The Bachelorette guys call him out for being honest about thinking about being The Bachelor lead.
One of Katie Thurston’s biggest storylines so far has been about Thomas and his admission that yes, he had considered becoming the next Bachelor star if he doesn’t succeed at winning Katie’s heart.
After successfully ousting Karl Smith for raising suspicion that some of the guys are there for the wrong reasons, there now seems to be another united front as they continue to call out Thomas for just that.
Week after week, we’ve watched them call out Thomas for doing the absolutely unthinkable. How could he dare to come on The Bachelorette along with more than 30 other men in hopes of building a relationship with Katie and have an exit strategy?
Now, he’s got the support of Nick Viall, who made his Bachelor Nation debut on Andi Dorfman’s season of The Bachelorette, and when that didn’t work out, he didn’t exactly shrink away and return to his old life. He literally made a career out of his Bachelorette fame and became The Bachelor, and he was on Bachelor in Paradise.
Nick is easily one of the most successful reality stars to rise through the Bachelor Nation ranks, and he doesn’t see anything wrong with that as long as you’re not doing it for the wrong reasons.
Nick Viall defends Thomas Jacobs
“No one talks about it out of fear of what happens. It is bulls**t, right? Every guy [has] thought about [being the Bachelor],” Nick said on Us Weekly’s Here for the Right Reasons podcast. “I don’t know how it was before [because] in the past, I think people genuinely came for the experience, but social media has changed it.”
Nick is certainly telling the truth. It’s not uncommon for social media counts to jump massively once they are announced as a contestant on one of The Bachelor franchise shows. It would be silly not to take advantage of that new business opportunity. But what it all boils down to is that famous line, “Are they here for the right reasons?”
The big question is whether Thomas is interested in Katie at all. Or if he wants to make it far into the competition, sending possibly more loyal guys home while he continues to build his popularity for a business opportunity. Thomas insists that he has deep feelings for Katie.
But Nick says it goes even deeper than that.
“What always happens is first your friends, like, they’re excited you’re on the show. And then your friends are like, ‘Well, oh, my God, imagine you could even be the next Bachelor,” he said.
“And I honestly think everyone’s sincere reaction to that and [mine was], like, ‘No, that’s never going to happen. That’s crazy.’ And that was my sincere thought too. And I remember when Andi broke up with me and I’m in the Dominican Republic and I was just a mess, but I had a thought of … ‘I mean, wow, top two, like, I wonder if I have a shot of being the Bachelor?’ Of course, you think about that stuff.”
Nick Viall hints at Thomas Jacob’s future
“I don’t have problems with anything Thomas said. I do think they captured the spirit of Thomas. And that is a guy who’s really just kind of, for whatever reason, maybe he’s a bad guy, or maybe he’s too nervous, is kind of full s**t,” Nick told Us.
“I think they accurately capture that. And again, I don’t think Thomas is a bad guy. I’m sure he’s a great guy. I hope he’s on Paradise. I think, you know, he will really mix it up there, but I think they accurately captured what was going on in the house with Thomas.”
It seems, at this point, that Nick would have a good idea who is going to be on Bachelor in Paradise and who is not. So, don’t be too surprised if you see him pop up there.
The Bachelorette airs on Mondays at 8/7c on ABC.