Do you accept this Kleenex? Nick Viall is currently filming The Bachelor season 21, and Chris Harrison tells Mario Lopez in a clip exclusive to Us Weekly that the two-time Bachelorette runner-up recently had a bit of a breakdown during the journey.
Harrison is a guest on the Wednesday, November 2, episode of On With Mario Lopez, where he is promoting Who Wants to Be a Millionaire‘s Heroes Week. The Bachelor franchise’s longtime voice of reason does his best to assuage the fears of fans who may have been skeptical when the polarizing Viall was initially announced as the ABC dating series’ season 21 star.
“I know people were a little reluctant, and they’re giving him a hard time,” Harrison says. “I hope those people will just trust that we know what we’ve been doing over 15 years. He’s a good man — he’s a really good guy. And he’s doing a good job.”
The Bachelor host points out that Viall, 36, experienced some emotional moments, and Harrison even name-drops season 13’s Jason Mesnick, who has become a reference point among Bachelor Nation whenever one of the show’s leading men breaks down in tears. (As fans know, Mesnick unleashed the waterworks on a balcony over his agonizing decision to send home runner-up Molly Malaney; he changed his mind in the “After the Final Rose” that aired in March 2009, and he and Molly are now married with two children.)
“I will say — a little inside baseball because we’re in the middle of taping right now — he hit a little low point, as all of the Bachelors do,” Harrison reveals of Viall. “You kind of reach this emotional bottom where you get stripped down. If you know what a Mesnick is, I will let you know that he pulled a full Mesnick. There will be man tears on this season for sure.”
Additionally, a source tells Us that things for Viall and the ladies were initially calm until a recent turning point when the season became an “emotional mess.”
“Nick was handling everything really well — then everything hit him, and he had a full meltdown,” the insider says. “All of the girls have been crying too. Multiple girls have been crying.”
On With Mario Lopez can be heard daily in nationwide syndication. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire airs weekdays on ABC. The Bachelor returns to ABC in January 2017.
