Nick Viall’s Girlfriend Has A Surprising Connection To Bachelor Nation

Being the Bachelor may come with the promise of fairy tale romance, but more often than not, it doesn't result in a long-lasting relationship. Take it from Nick Viall, who ended up still single after appearing on the franchise four times. However, Nick is dating someone new, according to his latest Instagram post.

On Wednesday, Jan. 27, Nick made his relationship with Natalie Joy Instagram official when he posted a video of them playing a virtual reality game. Over on her account, Natalie revealed that this is the happiest she's ever been. Some background on the southerner: Natalie has no connection to Bachelor Nation. In fact, she's a surgical technician who was vaccinated in December so she could continue working on the frontlines of the pandemic, and the two have been linked since 2019. That said, they've kept their blossoming connection on the down-low avoided posting pics together on social media.

It's unclear how Natalie and Nick met, but she is close friends with Sarah Hyland, who is engaged to Bachelor In Paradise bartender Wells Adams. Perhaps they met through the mutual ABC connection.

Before the two confirmed their relationship, Bachelor alum Ashley Iaconetti hinted that she knew who Nick was dating. "I have an idea but if he hasn't said anything about who it is then I'm not saying anything," Ashley said during a June 2020 episode of her Almost Famous podcast, per Us Weekly. Her co-host Ben Higgins then inquired, "Is it somebody from the Bachelor world?" To which Ashley responded, "If it's who I'm thinking about, no."

According to Us Weekly, Nick confirmed on his own podcast The Viall Files that he was seeing someone, but he declined to go into more detail. That was likely because his dating life has been the subject of intense scrutiny since he and his Bachelor winner Vanessa Grimaldi broke up in late 2017. In 2018, Hollywood Life claimed Nick was getting "flirty" with Haley Ferguson (of the Ferguson twins) on Instagram, though Nick later clarified that they’re just friends. "I love her to pieces, [both] her and her [twin] sister Emily. No, we're not dating!" he said.

Nick was also rumored to be dating Mad Men star January Jones in 2018, but she similarly told Entertainment Tonight that they were just friends. In 2019, Nick was linked to both Rachel Bilson, who’d appeared on his podcast that July, as well as fellow Bachelor alum Demi Burnett. However, Nick has since insisted that he never dated either woman. "I’m not dating Demi,” he told Us Weekly at the Vulture Festival in Los Angeles in November 2019, adding that he and Bilson are also just friends.

Most recently, Nick had to fend off rumors that he reconnected with Andi Dorfman, whose Bachelorette season he initially competed on, after the two were reportedly seen running together in Los Angeles. However, Nick once again shot down the rumors down on his podcast. "Andi and I are friends, we've been friends, we've been strong acquaintances over the years," he said. "[I’m] not dating Andi, but I welcomed her to LA and she seems to be doing great and she’s into the whole running thing and I’ve been running a lot lately and so, yeah, nice to see her.”

He then said he can't see himself dating anyone from Bachelor Nation, which makes sense considering that's never worked out for him before. It only took two Bachelorette seasons, a stint on Bachelor in Paradise, and leading The Bachelor for him to learn that.

Additional reporting by Lindsay Denninger and Kelly Schremph.