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Vanessa Grimaldi Admits She and Nick Viall ‘Would’ve Broken Up Sooner’ If Not for Engagement
Spill the tea, girl! Bachelor Nation alum Vanessa Grimaldi confessed that she got engaged to Nick Viall on The Bachelor out of fear of receiving “backlash” from fans. The Canadian babe got very candid on Bachelor in Paradise alum Taylor Nolan‘s podcast, “Let’s Talk About It With Taylor Nolan.” Both ladies were contestants on season 21 but Vanessa divulged some interesting secrets that she said didn’t make it on-screen.
“I didn’t want to get engaged. They didn’t air this … I had a conversation with him, and I said, ‘Listen, wouldn’t it be better if we just date outside of the show and then get engaged? Because that’d be more meaningful. We’d get to know each other,'” the 32-year-old recounted about her time on the show, which aired back in 2017, during an exclusive clip obtained by Us Weekly.
The reality starlet claimed that Nick, 39, had a different perspective about what getting down on one knee meant for their relationship … and fans at home. “He said, ‘I know to you it could be just a piece of jewelry, but there’s so much meaning towards us leaving engaged because there’s going to be so much attention. There’s going to be so much, like, backlash on us once we’re done with the show. At least this is going to hold us so much more. It’s going to hold us together. It’s going to hold us together more than it’s true. ‘Cause you have, like, something you’re working towards, right?'” she continued, recalling their conversation at the time. “And I wouldn’t have said yes if I didn’t picture him as someone that I could’ve potentially grown with.”
The pair split in August 2017 — barely six months after the finale aired. However, Vanessa confessed that they would’ve fizzled even quicker if not for the Neil Lane ring between them. “He brought up something really important, and I think if we weren’t engaged, we would’ve broken up sooner,” she added.
The brunette beauty has since moved on with businessman Josh Wolfe, and Vanessa credits being on the reality show as the reason why her new beau “slid into my DMs.” Everything happens for a reason, right?
As for Nick, he exclusively told Life & Style that he has “an active dating life,” but confessed that he is done looking for love in the Bachelor world.
It looks like these exes were better off going their separate ways!
