Josh Murray has spoken. Nick Viall was named the season 21 Bachelor on Tuesday, August 30, and Murray, his Bachelor in Paradise season 3 nemesis, was quick to react on Twitter.
First, Murray, 32, retweeted his sister Stephanie Murray, who had tweeted right after the news broke: “And you wonder why the edits have been the way they have in BIP.” This is an apparent suggestion that the show’s producers went out of their way to make viewers more sympathetic to Viall than to Murray. (The two men have sparred since their days competing for Andi Dorfman‘s affection on The Bachelorette season 10 in 2014, with Murray landing Dorfman’s final rose.)
Shortly after that, the former baseball pro was a bit more gracious in his own tweet: “Despite our differences, I am truly happy 4 @viallnicholas28 everyone deserves love and he is no exception — this is your time, go find her!”
Murray and Viall, 35, have butted heads throughout their stint on Bachelor in Paradise season 3. The friction started when Murray asked Amanda Stanton on a date shortly after she had been on one with Viall, leading Viall to suggest that the Famously Single alum was pursuing the single mom out of spite.
Viall frequently spoke to the camera and to his costars about Dorfman’s recent tell-all, It’s Not Okay: Turning Heartbreak Into Happily Ever After. Viall said he was inclined to believe that the harsh claims about Murray in Dorfman’s book are true, although Murray himself dismissed them as “fictitious.”
On the August 30 episode, Murray told Stanton that Viall was trying to “sabotage” their relationship.
Many other Bachelor Nation members have weighed in on Viall getting picked, including The Bachelorette season 12 standouts Chad Johnson, Chase McNary and Evan Bass. Jen Saviano, who dated Viall on Paradise, reacted by posting a gif of Amy Schumer downing an enormous glass of wine.
Bachelor in Paradise airs on ABC Mondays and Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET. The Bachelor returns to ABC on Mondays in early 2017.
