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Nick Viall Can’t Believe He Is ‘The Bachelor’ And Neither Can Luke Pell

By Perry Carpenter
Published on: 01:47 PST, Sep 6, 2016

Nick Viall never thought he’d be selected to star on The Bachelor.

He isn’t the only one who was stunned by the pick.

The Hollywood Gossip is reporting that Viall is still processing the fact that he is the next Bachelor and isn’t afraid to admit it.

“The look when it hasn’t quite sunk in yet,” Viall captioned a selfie on Instagram. “Couldn’t feel more fortunate. Incredibly thankful for all the support. We are going to have some fun! #thebachelor.”

Despite Viall’s optimism, many fans are not happy with the decision.

A petition has started to convince producers to bring Pell back into the mix, with the suitors eventually choosing which man they want to be with.

Viall, who will be finding love for a fourth time on reality TV, is not worried about the criticism. Instead, the Bachelorette star is looking forward to the coming season and handing out the roses himself.

“Wow!! Couldn’t be more excited, nervous, and thankful for this opportunity!! It’s going to be a wild ride,” he added on Instagram. “Thank you to everyone for all their support! So thankful!!!! HERE WE GO!!”

Pell was just as surprised as fans when ABC announced Viall as the next Bachelor.

After all, not only has Nick Viall tried and failed two times on the show, but he’s also currently starring in Bachelor in Paradise.

Pell had been in negotiations with producers and was convinced that he was going to be the one handing out roses next season.

Unfortunately, producers decided to “go in a different direction” at the last minute.

“We were all satisfied, had agreed to the contracts and everything was moving forward,” Pell revealed in an interview with Us Weekly. “I was checked in to my flight to come to L.A. I got a call from producers Sunday night at about 10 p.m. They said ABC had decided to quote-unquote go in a different direction.”

Pell even had his bags packed as was getting ready to fly out to meet with producers when the call came.

According to Perez Hilton, Pell is still a little upset with how things turned out.

While Pell is happy for Viall, he didn’t like “the way it was handled” and criticized producers for asking him “to be genuine and authentic and open and vulnerable” and still not giving him the part.

Not everyone is happy about the change in direction. Some of Viall’s Bachelor in Paradise co-stars are now speaking out against him.

“I am not a big fan of [Viall],” Lauren Himle shared. “He dated my great friend Jen on Bachelor in Paradise … but it was my understanding that they were still seeing each other after the show completed.”

Himle was part of Season 3 of Bachelor in Paradise.

Things obviously didn’t work out between Viall and Saviano, though it still isn’t clear why they decided to part ways.

As far as Pell is concerned, Yahoo reports that he is now focusing on his career in music and continuing non-profit work.

Meanwhile, People is reporting that Viall doesn’t regret having appeared three times on The Bachelor franchise and not found love.

Viall explained that he agreed to appear on Bachelor in Paradise to see “old friends” and hopefully “meet a girl.”

Instead, Viall used the experience to land one of the most coveted spots on reality TV.

While fans are still processing Viall’s selection, Chris Harrison believes producers made the right choice.

“So many names get thrown around and at the end of the day, as producers, we have to try and think and decide what’s best for the franchise and who is the most deserving and sincere person,” he shared. “At the end of the day, we all looked around the table and nobody could say it wasn’t Nick. You can’t shoot holes at the fact that he is just the most deserving and sincere person.”

The new season of The Bachelor premieres in January on ABC.

Tell us! Are you team Luke Pell or team Nick Viall? Let us know in the comments and check out a hilarious “promo” for the new season of The Bachelor courtesy of Jimmy Kimmel Live.

[Image via ABC]

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the bachelorette nick viall Bachelor in Paradise Andi Dorfman jojo fletcher Luke Pell
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