Nick Viall has been both praised and criticized for calling The Bachelorette star Andi Dorfman out on unflattering behavior during Monday night's After the Final Rose special.
 
Andi had dumped Nick, the tenth season's runner-up, for fellow suitor Josh Murray, who ended up proposing to the show's star. Andi shockingly revealed she had never loved Nick even though it took her until the morning of her engagement to decide which man was the right person for her. However, Nick called Andi out for having "made love" to him in the fantasy suite, which sincerely seemed to confuse him.

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A devastated Nick has expressed he's still not completely over his "true love" in Dorfman yet he's hopefully on the road to mending his broken heart and moving on. Meanwhile, Dorfman has acknowledged she's never been happier in her life.

During a Tuesday conference call with reporters, Nick, a 33-year-old software sales executive from Chicago, IL, talked about his The Bachelorette experience. Below is a portion of his interview. To read more, click here and here.

Did you have any expectations when you gave Andi that emotional letter?

Nick Viall: I didn't have any expectations it would changer her mind, but I thought -- had she gone in a different direction -- that we had a chance at least. There are no guarantees, but we'd have a chance at something that was unique and special. To me, and throughout this experience, I think her and I felt the way we did because we talked so much and she talked so much.

Watching it back, we connected on every level: physically, emotionally, mentally. To me, the intensity and the passion, things like that, to me, that's the foundation of a relationship that I've always wanted. I think that's why I expressed that to her.

Are you still upset about Andi? Is it safe to say you're not completely over the breakup?

Nick Viall: I'm not still upset, no. Like I said last night, I think it was a big step for me to find closure. I didn't really know if I'd get any. I didn't know, I mean, how do you know what to expect going into live television and facing an ex for the first time in 10 weeks?

But I think last night was really helpful, and I guess waking up this morning and thinking about it, I was very surprised about her whole demeanor. Even when she walked out, I wasn't really expecting that. I was definitely caught off-guard.

So, I'm sorry, but are you over her or not?

Nick Viall: (Laughs) I'm getting there, yeah.  Yeah. I think I'm well on my way.

But you want to move forward, right?

Nick Viall: Yes. Yeah.

Do you have a dating life right now?  Have you been interested in any other girls? I know it's been a couple of months since filming concluded.

Nick Viall: No.  I don't have an active dating life, you know, I haven't been on any like actual dates, dates.  I certainly met people out and I met some great people and all, but nothing really of note or serious.

But, you know, I'm excited especially now that this is over. And from a privacy standpoint, I have a little bit more freedom I suppose that I didn't have a lot of the time [on the show]. I had to kind of keep things more under wraps, but I am excited to get out there and, you know, date.

When do you think your heart will be ready to accept a serious relationship again?

Nick Viall: You know, I think... Yes, it's possible. I mean, you never really know, right? You know, sometimes meeting someone you realize it kind of flips the switch.  You know, I think more than anything, at this point, I need to accept her decision and know that she's happy and she's confident in her decision.

I think that gives me a lot of, you know, the ability to move forward and get over it and be happy for her and Josh and just look at it as, you know, an incredible part of my life and hopefully a meaningful relationship to her.

But yeah, I mean, I think anything's possible and that really just, you know, I'm not really trying to look for love.  I think love finds you -- if that doesn't sound too corny. But, you know, I think I just kind of have to have an open mind and open heart and kind of see what happens. So, I'm not still distraught or anything like that. 

I mean, last night was a very emotional night, and you know, having watched the final episode moments before coming out onstage and seeing her for the first time and talking to [Chris Harrison], it certainly brought me back. And I'd be lying if I thought -- there are still feelings, and in some ways, there will always be feelings. But last night was a big step for me.

Josh said he fast-forwarded through all of Andi's solo dates with the other guys.  He only watched basically himself and the group interactions. Did you watch every minute of the show?  Did you actually spend a lot of intense time watching or did you not?

Nick Viall: I pretty much watched the whole thing. I mean, I think I fast-forwarded through some parts, but I didn't fast-forward through -- I didn't watch Josh propose to Andi. Yeah, I didn't watch that. I watched everything else. I thought it was important for me to do that -- besides watch her and Josh.

What did you learn the most from watching those parts that you weren't part of?

Nick Viall: Surprisingly enough, I don't know if I learned too much.  You know, I knew when things ended that she had a very different relationship with me than she had with Josh. I didn't know the details, like, at the time, she made me feel incredibly confident and it was hard for me to imagine her having a connection with someone else that she had with me.

I mean, even in the last episode when I made that comment to her, like it's hard to imagine two out of 25, and her response was it was hard to imagine two out of 1,000. I didn't really know how to take that other than very positively. But, you know, after realizing that she ended up with Josh, it was clearly a connection.

And she made it very clear that Josh was someone that was her type and she was very drawn to him. And watching it back, it was obvious that she was very drawn to him. Those two had a level of comfort that, in that short period of time, I don't think there was any way for us to match that.

With that being said, watching it back, I remembered our relationship and how it was, and I felt like watching it back, that's how I remembered it. It was just two very different relationships and she just chose one that she thought was best suited for her.

Since you pretty much watched the whole season, do you feel like the editing portrayed you in an appropriate way or in a way that wasn't really you? Do you have an objection to anything? Because obviously the show is edited for a maximum amount of drama.

Nick Viall: You know, I think as you guys know, they film so much, and given time constraints, they're only able to air such a little bit about it.  And like I said before, you know, if there's one thing I wish they could've shown more of, it's some of the friendships with some of the guys -- and clearly the ones that I had.

I was very confident; She made me feel very confident. I had a lot of insecurities too that, you know, they may not have had an opportunity to show for whatever reason why.

I said it wasn't like that I was trying to make, I don't know. I was hopeful -- I wanted to make friends, but once I started having incredibly real feelings for Andi, I didn't want to -- at that point, when she asked me to do things like take the initiative and trust and put myself out there, I very much listened to her.

And there's a reason why she repeated over and over that she feels like she knows me, because I tried to listen to her, you know? I tried to understand her, and that was my focus. I don't take any of that personally, like you know, guys were upset at times with me and that was shown. How people interpreted it, you know, maybe it was hurtful or disappointing, but that kind of answered your question, I don't know.

Are you excited to get past the time in which you must fulfill your contractual obligation and get back to your own life?

Nick Viall: Yeah. I'm really excited about that. I feel incredibly lucky to have the life that I have and the family and the friends and the career.  And I mean, when I was [cast], I decided last minute to do this. I was very reluctant to do it. That's only because of the support of my friends and family and, you know, my employer that they were so supportive that it almost encourage me to try something so extraordinary.

But I was very reluctant to do it. You know, I'm 33-years-old.  I felt like I really had everything except for that person, and I wasn't sure if I was really the right fit for something this extraordinary. But I am excited to move forward and to get back to my life -- especially now. I've been back in my life now for two-and-a-half months, but you know, watching it back every week -- given what I went through -- was not easy.

And, at the same time, I didn't want to ignore it and I didn't want to be afraid of watching it. I thought, in the long run, it would be helpful for me, doing that.  So, I am looking forward in a long way -- it's long-winded, like I usually do.

I know you touched upon this earlier in the interview, but if ABC approached you tomorrow and asked you to be the Bachelor, what would you say?

Nick Viall: I don't know. I mean, again, I just don't know if it's fair for me to even -- I really, no.

You'd say no?

Nick Viall: The first time people brought it up, you know, I don't mean to be redundant and dodge the question, but I haven't thought more about it than you know five minutes ago when someone else asked me the question.

But again, it would be incredibly flattering and it's something that I would have to be honest with myself about -- "Was I ready to find that love and be able to take it seriously and give the women I meet...?

You know, I want my heart to be fully ready for something like that, and I would have to talk to my family and friends and things like that, but I really have no idea.

For more from Nick's The Bachelorette interview, click here and here.


About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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