Will Nick Viall Join Clare Crawley’s ‘Bachelorette’ Season?

Nick Viall Clare Crawley Bachelorette
JC Olivera/Getty Images; ABC/Paula Lobo

After four failed attempts at finding love on reality television, Nick Viall has seemingly moved on from The Bachelor world. But now that Clare Crawley has been announced as the upcoming star of The Bachelorette, the 39-year-old hunk might just be willing to give it another go.

After news broke that the 38-year-old Californian would be handing out the roses for Season 16 — making her the oldest Bachelorette the franchise has ever had — Nick took to his podcast, Viall Files, to show support. “She has all the qualities of a great Bachelorette,” he said, before gushing that she’s “beautiful” and “sincere.” “I think it’s fantastic. I’m really happy for Clare and I think it’s really smart of ABC to do this.”

Though he admitted that Clare wasn’t “on his radar” when it came to who the next leading lady would be, he feels she’s the perfect choice for the role. His feedback was so positive that his podcast co-host asked if he would consider joining her season, to which he joked, “Hey, you never know.”

And it seems as though he’s keeping the joke going. After ABC’s head of alternative programming Robert Mills tweeted that Clare’s dream guy sounds a lot like Nick, he responded, “Mills can you let me know where we might be traveling to so I know how to pack?”

While it seems to be just lighthearted chatter for now, it’s not the most farfetched thing that could happen on the franchise. After all, Clare and Nick have quite a bit in common. Both stars are in their late 30s and have appeared on multiple Bachelor shows in an attempt to find love. On top of that, they’ve both gotten engaged on television (Benoit Beauséjour-Savard popped the question to the hairstylist during Bachelor Winter Games while Nick famously proposed to Vanessa Grimaldi during his season of The Bachelor), and had to go through very public breakups.

And like Nick, Clare is seeking a level of maturity in her significant other and isn’t willing to settle. “I want a man comfortable in stuff he’s been through and self-aware enough to know what he’s learned,” she recently told People. “The most important thing I’m looking for is someone who can be vulnerable and open.”

Sounds like a match made in Bachelorette heaven…

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