Nick Viall Names the Best Bachelor Nation Season — And Yes, It’s 1 of His

Nick Viall is removed from Bachelor Nation now, but he still has thoughts about one of his stints being one of the best in franchise history.

While speaking with social media star Loren Gray on the Thursday, August 22, episode of his “The Viall Files” podcast, the 43-year-old gave a brief explainer of which seasons she could easily start with as a newcomer to the franchise.

“Obviously, you could start anywhere [because] they’re all the same,” Nick said. “If I had to pick one? Hannah Brown’s [was] a good season. Kaitlyn [Bristowe’s] was pretty good, the one I was on.”

He continued, “If you’re just talking objective, like, good high-stakes drama, then Kaitlyn and Hannah’s [are] pretty solid.”

Former ‘Bachelor’ and ‘Bachelorette’ Leads: Where Are They Now?

Kaitlyn served as the Bachelorette for 2015’s season 11, a role she initially split with Britt Nilsson. On night one, the men voted which woman would be the lead for the remainder of the season. Kaitlyn, 39, won and carried on with the show as Britt, 37, was sent home. In the middle of the season, Nick asked to join after finding Kaitlyn interesting when he watched her appearance on Chris Soules’ prior season of The Bachelor.

Nick, who was previously the runner-up on Andi Dorfman’s season of The Bachelorette,  also finished in second place in Kaitlyn’s episodes behind Shawn Booth. After leaving the show brokenhearted, Nick joined the cast of Bachelor in Paradise season 3. Despite a connection with Jen Saviano, Nick left the beach single before being named the season 21 Bachelor.

Nick got engaged to Vanessa Grimaldi at the end of the season, but they broke up shortly after returning to the real world. They have each moved on with their respective spouses, Natalie Joy and Joshua Wolfe.

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Nick, for his part, has since asserted that The Bachelor does not foster true love.

“To me, love is about that trust and that understanding of where you are and not constantly worrying about how someone feels about you,” Nick exclusively told Us Weekly in 2022. “And the whole premise of The Bachelor is to be kept in the dark about how someone feels about you until the very end and that is not building trust and understanding.”

He continued at the time, “There’s so little we get to know about the people we end up in relationships [with], but truly, I felt real feelings. I would never take back what I said in any of those times because in that moment, I meant it and I felt it. I just realized after getting out of that world that wasn’t necessarily the type of love that I feel like I have in my relationship now or the type of love I desired in relationships when I was dating outside of The Bachelor. But again, the feelings are real.”

Years after Kaitlyn and Nick’s respective seasons, Hannah, 29, was the season 15 lead. She got engaged to Jed Wyatt on the show, but they split before the finale aired. Hannah is currently engaged to Adam Woolard but hasn’t rushed to plan a wedding.