Imagine seeing your ex on the lineup for the next season of a reality show. Imagine your ex-boyfriend were looking for love on The Bachelorette. Okay, now imagine him losing in the final round of The Bachelorette(sad), and then joining the next season of The Bachelorette and again losing in the final round. Now imagine that he proceeded to appear on Bachelor in Paradise, making that the third time you flipped on ABC and saw your ex. Then, just imagine, that he then became the new Bachelor.
Oh, yes — imagine being Nick Viall's ex-girlfriend.
Fortunately for us, we don't have to. But, as fate would have it, one of Viall's ex-girlfriends happens to be a journalist and she wrote all about it. Kim Peiffer, the managing editor at InStyle, penned a personal essay about what it's like to watch an ex-boyfriend participate on all of these dating shows. And what it's like to watch them with her current boyfriend.
Her piece was originally published after Viall lost his second attempt at finding love in the summer of 2015, and was republished after the announcement that Viall would appear on Bachelor in Paradise. No one could have predicted that he would then go on to become the new Bachelor.
Peiffer details how the two met in a humbler place than reality TV, in Wisconsin as freshman college students, where they went on double dates all summer around downtown Milwaukee. She would later see very those same downtown bars and restaurants during the Bachelorette 's hometown dates. She recalls that he was "so sweet" and "so nice" and would even buy her roses on occasion. Peiffer, of course, notes the irony here.
She writes that as the summer came to an end, so did their fling. "I headed back to college, with fond memories and the confidence that Nick V. and I were definitely not meant to be," she says, adding that she wasn't ready for a serious relationship at the time. It seems like she made the right decision. She also revealed his hometown nickname, "The Violator," which is a bit creepy, but we will accept it.
In the end, it would definitely be entertaining, as Peiffer writes, to have all your friends and family blowing up your phone asking, "Wait... didn't you date him?" Who doesn't love a healthy dose of drama every once in awhile? The Violator certainly does.
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