You're already going to have your hands full during The Bachelor premiere on Jan. 2, just trying to keep track of Nick Viall and the 30 women vying for his heart. But I need to give you one more assignment, one woman in particular that I want you to keep your eyes on — Liz. So, who is Elizabeth "Liz" Sandoz from The Bachelor? She has a shocking connection to the show that I've actually never seen before, no matter how many times Chris Harrison has tried to hype me up with voiceovers right before the show cuts to commercial. First, the basics: There are two Elizabeths on the show this season, but our girl is the brunette who goes by her nickname, Liz. She's 29 years old and works in Las Vegas as a doula, which means she works one-on-one with women throughout the pregnancy process, often right up to and including the birth. She has tattoos, enjoys the movie Bridesmaids, apparently travels the world doing good, according to her Instagram account, and has hooked up with Nick before.
*Record scratch* Wait, what was that last one? Yup, you heard me right — when Liz steps out of the limo, it will not actually be the first time the potential couple sets eyes on each other, although it seems that producers kept it a secret from Nick that one of his former flings would be showing up on night one. (Or night two, I guess. Eep.) So how did the two even meet? Well, although she lives in Las Vegas now, Liz apparently grew up in Nebraska, where she was best friends with none other than Jade Tolbert née Roper. Obviously, Jade has had her own turns on Bachelor Nation shows and would presumably recommend the experience, as it's netted her a husband in the form of Tanner Tolbert. The two ladies are so close that Liz was actually the maid of honor at Jade's wedding on Valentine's Day 2016; that's her on the right in the photo below.
Nick was invited to the wedding as well, and according to Reality Steve, the two met, danced, and ultimately spent the night together. The leak-tastic blogger has already seen the first episode, set to air on Monday, and he says that Liz is one of the 10 women that the show profiles, giving audiences a closer look at a select few contestants before Nick starts trimming down the group. In that interview, Reality Steve says that a producer questions Liz, "So you spent the night together?," and Liz responds, "Depends on how you define that term. I plead the 5th." But apparently later in the episode, she comes clean about her one-night stand with Nick, saying that he'd asked for her number afterward, but she hadn't given it to him, worried he was just being nice.
So now here she is, showing up on Nick's season because she's worried she missed her shot with him, in a move shockingly close to the one he pulled himself on Kaitlyn Bristowe's season. Except that Liz is starting at the beginning of the season, and she and Nick have apparently done a bit more than talk. I'm interested to see how Nick handles her presence being sprung on him like this, on national television in front of 29 other women whom he presumably hasn't already slept with. But Nick is such a sex-positive guy, and so interested in keeping things equal, that I'm confident he won't hold his past with Liz against her.
But as for getting to know more about Liz, we all have to wait until Monday's premiere.
