Already have an account?
Get back to the

Amanda Stanton Opens Up About Dating Nick Viall: He Only Kissed Me When the Cameras Were On

Don’t believe what you see? Amanda Stanton became the center of a tense love triangle this week on Bachelor in Paradise, and she explained on her blog on Wednesday, August 10, why she agreed to go on a date with Josh Murray so soon after her outing with Nick Viall.

Related: PHOTOS: 10 Times 'The Bachelor' Made Our Heads Explode!

Murray, 31, arrived on the ABC romance series in the Monday, August 8, episode, when he quickly made a move for the single mom, despite knowing she had recently gone on a date with Viall, 35. Viall told the Paradise cameras he was miffed that the pair would constantly make out in front of everyone, given that Stanton and Viall had previously kissed. (The guys’ friction dates back to their time fighting for Andi Dorfman‘s love on The Bachelorette season 10.)

Related: PHOTOS: Biggest Costar Feuds Ever! These Celebrities Can’t Stand Each Other Off-Screen

Stanton revealed in her blog that she has “been completely overwhelmed with the amount of hate I have received since Monday night.” However, she didn’t think viewers got the full picture of her connection with Viall.

She explained that she and Viall had spoken about a month before filming began, and while she had “a big BIG crush on Nick going into Paradise,” her attraction was tempered by the fact that he told her he was hoping to spend time on the show with Stanton’s Bachelor season 20 costar Jen Saviano.

Related: PHOTOS: 'Bachelor' and 'Bachelorette' Engagement Rings Through the Years

“Mine and Nick’s date didn’t go as well as it was portrayed on the show,” she wrote. “It was a fine first date. We had good conversation. We kissed. But there weren’t those ‘sparks’ like I was hoping for.”

Stanton wrote in the post that Viall appeared to only show interest for her while ABC’s cameras were rolling. “One thing that stood out to me was that he would hold my hand or kiss me … but as soon as the cameras were off, he would stop or let go of my hand. Now if someone is really into you, they’re going to show affection to you whether there are cameras on them or not. I TRULY felt like he wasn’t that into me.”

Amanda Stanton and Nick Viall
Amanda Stanton and Nick Viall

Additionally, Stanton pointed out that Viall told her at the rose ceremony he “wanted to get to know Leah [Block] and I BOTH better, and reminded me ONCE AGAIN that he was also ‘very excited for Jen to arrive.’ He told me he wanted to be on the same page as far as dating other people and made it CLEAR AS DAY that we were going to both explore our options.”

“I appreciated his honesty with me!” the single mom continued. “But this is why when Josh arrived the next morning, I didn’t hesitate to say yes to the date! I would NEVER intentionally hurt [Viall] or go on a date without talking to him first if we hadn’t had that talk the night before! Like I said before, Nick did nothing wrong! He really is an amazing guy and was nothing but honest with me! Can we just squash this?!”

After the August 8 episode aired, Murray tweeted, “Aside from the unnecessary drama, my first date with @amandastantonnn was the best first date of my life, what an amazing woman!”

For his part, Viall told Us Weekly exclusively on Wednesday, August 10, that his time on Paradise made him more aware of Murray’s “snakiness.”

Tell Us: Whose side are you on in the drama?

Bachelor in Paradise airs on ABC Mondays and Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET.  

In this article

Got a Tip form close button
Got a tip for US?
We're All Ears for Celebrity Buzz!