The host also shares his plans for officiating 'Bachelor in Paradise' weddings!
Chris Harrison teases what Bachelor Nation can expect from Nick Viall! Fans know Viall as a Bachelorette runner-up twice over, so what will happen when the tables are turned?
“I think he's been so unlucky in love that he feels like he's a little bit broken,” tells ET’s Nancy O’Dell. “He feels like it’s gotten to the point of, it’s not them -- maybe it’s me.”
Viall expressed similar sentiments as he left Bachelor in Paradise. In the season finale, he broke up with Jen Saviano, telling her he wanted to say he loved her, but couldn’t for some reason. Viall told cameras, “The scary part is feeling I’m incapable of saying ‘I love you’ to anyone.”
EXCLUSIVE: Chris Harrison Reveals Why Luke Pell Wasn’t Chosen as The Bachelor
Harrison says he’s ready to tackle Viall’s worry head on. “That is my goal this season,” he shares; the host wants to get Viall to say 'I love you!'
“He has fallen in love, so to a certain degree, he’s done his job,” Harrison says. “It worked! He fell in love with Andi [Dorfman], he fell in love with Kaitlyn [Bristowe], and they didn’t love him back, and he had his heart broken.”
It would seem Viall’s “runner-up” status will be a big part of marketing him as the Bachelor. Ben Higgins was “The Perfect Ben,” and Harrison recently joked with ET about what that makes Viall! He told ET's Lauren Zima, "He’s the James Marsden of the Bachelor,” meaning, like Marsden in many movies, Viall never gets the girl.
The key to breaking down Viall’s walls, according to Harrison, might be exposing him to types of women he hasn’t dated before. “We’re good at pushing the envelope,” he said. “Making you date and introducing you to people you wouldn’t normally be introduced to.”
To that end, Harrison insists the Bachelor team is trying to diversify in the casting process this season – something ABC said was a goal for the show. “I think they’ve made a concerted effort to do a better job,” he said. “And hopefully word has gotten out so that people understand that’s what we’re looking for ... I think they didn’t see themselves being represented, so they started shying away, rightfully so.”
Nick Viall Says He's 'Very Nervous to Be the Bachelor -- Here's Why
Another controversy for Bachelor Nation was Josh Murray’s fiery season of Paradise. He was accused of having ulterior motives in being on the show, and castmates (especially Viall) brought up the accusations Dorfman levied against him in her tell-all book. Harrison flat-out defended Murray. “He's a good guy,” he said. “He and Amanda are great. I wish them well.”
EXCLUSIVE: Josh Murray Gushes Over Amanda Stanton, Reveals Their Plans for Kids!
Murray and Amanda Stanton got engaged on the Paradise finale, along with Grant Kemp and Lace Morris and Evan Bass and Carly Waddell. Harrison says it’s his “pipe dream” to officiate all three weddings in one special! The host says he knows weddings are unique for different couples, but thinks the group would be OK with a joint affair since “they all fell in love together.” Harrison also hopes to officiate Higgins and Lauren Bushnell’s wedding soon, though he says they’d need a special of their own.
Bushnell recently opened up to ET about the pair’s wedding plans – watch the video below for more!