After many (so many) tries at finding love on multiple Bachelor platforms, Bachelor Nation’s favorite “bad boy” has finally found his person. Nick Viall and his girlfriend of two years Natalie Joy are finally engaged.
“For the rest of my life, it’s you,” the couple announced in a joint Instagram post on January 12, 2023 accompanied by photos from their engagement shoot. US Weekly has all the details.
The happy couple had been rumored to be the next to get engaged for several weeks now, so the announcement came as no surprised to their circle of friends. An insider had previously said that the pair were “very much in love” and could be the “next Bachelor Nation couple to get engaged.”
Fans first met Nick way back in 2014 (has it been that long?), when he competed on Season 10 of The Bachelorette and came in as runner-up for Andi Dorfman’s affections. He made another try the following year as a late entry on Katilyn Bristowe’s season, but again ended up in second place.
Next Nick was cast on Season 3 of Bachelor in Paradise to try his hand at finding love on the beach in Mexico. He was again unsuccessful, but he gained something of a reputation as an older, wiser counselor to some of the younger cast members. This was when Bachelor Nation’s opinion of Nick (and mine) started to change from thinking he was kind of a pompous ass to really liking him and wanting him to find love.
Having rehabbed his playboy image somewhat on BIP, Nick was a surprise pick to be The Bachelor on Season 21, which debuted in January 2017. This time he had better luck and ended up engaged to Québec native Vanessa Grimaldi, but they parted ways after only 5 months.
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The former software sales executive was first linked to Natalie in 2019. The couple didn’t actually start dating until July 2020. And then it was another six months before he and the surgical technologist made their relationship Instagram official in January 2021.
The couple first met when Natalie slid into his Nick’s Instagram DMs. “It was very romantic,” he admitted during an episode of The Viall Files podcast. “We kind of kept hanging out, and she finally got to a point where she was like, ‘I want to date,’ and I was kind of like, ‘I don’t know.’”
The Wisconsin native continued, “She just was like, ‘OK, this is what I want. It’s fine, no big deal, but I’m gonna go do my thing,’ and she did, and I was like, ‘What?!’ . . . She went and showed me exactly what I’d be missing,” Nick added.
Later that month, the couple went public when they appeared at the 78th annual Golden Globes in early 2021. “Their relationship is very real,” an insider told US Weekly at the time. “They’re pretty much inseparable. She practically lives with him because she’s at his house that much.”
In July, the pair marked their “1 year ish” anniversary while on vacation in Brooklyn (Brooklyn?! Who goes to Brooklyn on vacation?!). “Visiting the hotel where it all started,” Nick shared via Instagram, alongside a photo of him embracing Natalie. “Thankful for every moment I have with you @nnataliejjoy [heart emoji].”
Just a few months later, another insider spilled that the couple were already talking about expanding their family. “[They’re] both excited about being parents someday and equally excited about the possibility of it being with one another.”
Even though Nick is nearly 20 years older than his fiancée (he’s 42 and she’s 23), they seem happy together. As a longtime Nick fan, I’d be happy to see him settled in a solid relationship. He’s been looking for love for a long time, and I’m glad he finally seems to have found it. And I’d really love to see Nick as a dad! Mazel!
TELL US – DID YOU CHANGE YOUR OPINION OF NICK FOLLOWING HIS APPEARANCE ON BACHELOR IN PARADISE? ARE YOU HAPPY FOR HIM AND NATALIE? PLEASE SHARE YOUR CONGRATULATIONS FOR THE HAPPY COUPLE IN THE COMMENTS SECTION BELOW.
[Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for MTV]