Ashley Iaconetti had Bachelor fans buzzing when she posted a video of Nick Viall, 38, and Haley Ferguson, 26, to her Instagram story over the weekend…especially since she included the caption, “I ship it.” Then, Nick furthered rumors that something might be going on between himself and Haley when he commented on one her newest Instagram pics with a ‘fire’ emoji. But, alas, there’s no romance here! “Haley’s a good friend,” Nick told HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY at the weTV reality TV panel on Dec. 11. “I love her to pieces, [both] her and her [twin] sister Emily. No, we’re not dating!”
As of right now, Nick is single, but he told us that dating is ‘going great’ for him. “Life’s an adventure,” he explained. “I have yet to meet my person that I know of. Maybe I’ve met her and I just don’t know yet. I’m just actively open to meeting someone. The advantage of dating and having it not work out is you get to learn about yourself and as you get older you become a little more selective and narrow in on what you’re looking for. I suppose the hope for me is that, even though I didn’t find it yet, I hope I’m lucky enough to find it and it will be someone who’s a really great match for me. At least that’s the hope!”
Nick first appeared on The Bachelorette during season 10, during which he vied for Andi Dorfman’s heart. He was the runner-up that season, and left the show devastated when Andi chose Josh Murray instead. However, Nick turned for a second shot at love when Kaitlyn Bristowe was the Bachelorette during season 11, and once again, he ended in second place after Kaitlyn accepted Shawn Booth’s proposal.
He went on to appear on season three of Bachelor in Paradise, where Haley was also a contestant following her time on season 20 of The Bachelor with Ben Higgins. Nick dated Jennier Saviano from Ben’s season of The Bachelor during his time on Paradise, but they split before the finale and he went on to become the Bachelor himself for season 21. He proposed to Vanessa Grimaldi on the show, but they split just two months after the finale.
Since then, Nick has been living the single life, but clearly he’s still very hopeful that he’ll find the one. “Whether it’s at a bar or grocery shopping, you just never know — you never know when you’re going to meet someone,” he told us. “I just try to have that mindset.”