New couple alert! He might not have found lasting love in Bachelor Nation, but Nick Viall‘s romance with girlfriend Natalie Joy seems to be going strong.
The reality TV alum, 40, and Joy made their relationship Instagram official on Wednesday, January 27, after initially being linked in 2019. While they’ve kept their connection under wraps, the twosome have left hints that things between them were heating up on social media, often posting from similar locations. For Halloween 2020, Joy dressed as Lois Lane while her beau donned a Superman costume — but they didn’t share a true couple’s pic at the time.
Viall searched for The One on several seasons of the ABC dating series, first appearing on Andi Dorfman‘s season of The Bachelorette in 2014. After finishing as runner-up, he returned for Kaitlyn Bristowe‘s season the following year. The Wisconsin native had a stint on Bachelor in Paradise in 2016 and was crowned the lead of season 21 of The Bachelor later that year.
The “Viall Files” podcast host ended his Bachelor run engaged to Vanessa Grimaldi, but the pair called it quits in August 2017, just five months after their love story played out on the season finale. Before making things official with Joy, Viall opened up about the struggles of dating during the coronavirus pandemic.
“I’m chatting it up. [Doing] FaceTimes, Zooms. I will say single people out there are as eager as ever,” he revealed during a May 2020 episode of Demi Burnett‘s “Big Demi Energy” podcast. “I think it’s a great time if you’re single to actually make new connections and get to know people — granted not ideal to not have the option to meet them in person and do some of those other things. … You can focus on getting to know someone. I’ve been trying to do a little bit of that.”
One month later, fellow Bachelor Nation star Ashley Iaconetti played coy about Viall’s love life after he previously shut down speculation that he was dating Burnett, 25, or Dorfman, 33.
“I have an idea but if he hasn’t said anything about who it is then I’m not saying anything,” the Bachelor in Paradise alum, 32, teased during a June 2020 episode of her “Almost Famous” podcast with Ben Higgins, who wondered whether Viall had found a new flame within the Bachelor world. “If it’s who I’m thinking about, no.”
Us editors discuss Colton Underwood’s coming out in this Here for the Right Reasons podcast highlight!
Scroll down to learn more about Viall’s girlfriend.
