‘The Bachelor’ Star Nick Viall Says Virgin Bachelor Colton Underwood Has Only Had Two Girlfriends

Nick Viall knows his way around Bachelor Nation. After landing as runner-up on Seasons 10 and 11 of The Bachelorette, he found summertime romance on Season 3 of Bachelor in Paradise before being crowned The Bachelor 21, where he ended his season with a short-lived engagement to Vanessa Grimaldi.

With such an extensive dating history—and that’s just his made-for-TV dating resume!—Viall speaks from experience when talking about upcoming Bachelor star Colton Underwood. In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, Viall pointed out Underwood’s scant dating history as he looks for love on the ABC reality show.

“He’s had, like, two girlfriends and I think one of them was Becca [Kufrin] and he dated Tia [Booth] for a day.”

Viall admitted that he didn’t have much advice for Underwood because he came into the Bachelor experience with a very different past than the former NFL player. But Viall added that “when it comes to looking for someone to settle down with,” he’s “really curious as to how those conversations are going to go” with Colton and his wifely wannabes.

Nick Viall also weighed in on Underwood’s self-proclaimed status as a virgin. While some members of Bachelor Nation have expressed doubt over Underwood’s admission that he is a 26-year-old virgin who is “waiting for the right heart,” Viall says he believes him.

“It’s a weird thing to lie about. Listen, I think it’s great. I’ve met Colton, he’s a great guy, he’s as genuine as anyone in the franchise that I know and if you’re going to be a virgin, that’s great but I don’t think he’s gotten any awards for it so it’s a weird thing to lie about. If anything, it’s probably gotten him more criticism for it so I take him at his word.”

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Nick Viall previously told E! News that while Underwood may be starring on The Bachelor for the “right reasons,” he needs to “be decisive” when dealing with 25 women on the ABC dating show.

“Colton is an aware person,” Viall noted. “He wears his heart on his sleeve. The difficult thing about being the Bachelor is making people feel bad when you break up with them. But you can sometimes make them feel worse by not being forthcoming with your feelings. He’s got to follow his heart.”

Colton Underwood made headlines for his bombshell virginity announcement to Becca Kufrin on her season of The Bachelorette, as well as his floundering feelings for Tia Booth on Bachelor in Paradise. Underwood previously told Kufrin that he has been in love once, but the feelings were not reciprocated.

“It was after college,” Underwood told Kufrin during a Bachelorette date. “It was a little over a year ago. I said ‘I love you’ in the beginning very quick and I didn’t get it back. And I’ve only been in love once, so it was hard because you don’t feel like you’re enough.”

Underwood admitted that his ex did the breaking up, but he promised Kufrin that the experience didn’t scare him away from falling in love again.

“I don’t want you to think that because I’ve been in love once that it’s in any way a bad thing,” Underwood said. “I do want you to know that as much as my guard is up and my walls are up, that only having said the world love once is because obviously, I hold a lot of weight behind the word. Because it has so much significance.”

Many Bachelor fans think Underwood was referring to his relationship with Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman when he told Kufrin about his heartbreak. Underwood and Raisman made their red carpet debut as a couple at in late 2016 but split about six months later. Last year, Underwood confirmed his split with Aly Raisman, telling the Lincoln Journal Star that the couple’s relationship “ended fine.”

Colton Underwood’s season of The Bachelor will debut in January on ABC.