How Former Bachelor Nick Viall Got Over the 18-Year Age Gap Between Girlfriend Natalie Joy and Himself
The Bachelor star Nick Viall is much older than his girlfriend, Natalie Joy. And in a recent interview, the reality TV star revealed how he got over the 18-year age gap between them.
‘The Bachelor’ alum Nick Viall felt anxious about the age difference between Natalie Joy and himself
Nick Viall is 41, and the 23-year-old Natalie Joy is almost two decades younger. The substantial age difference between them was something Viall admitted he was reluctant about early in their relationship.
“At first, it was something I think I was having a lot of anxiety about,” he said in a recent episode of the Call Her Daddy podcast. “Are we gonna be compatible? And I think early on that was part of the things I would worry about.”
“But the more I got to know her, the more I was just going to her for advice or just checking in with her,” he added. “I just felt like we met each other on the same wavelength and I always felt like she was my equal. But earlier on, it was something I had to get over. And it was a ‘me’ problem.”
How ‘The Bachelor’ star got over their 18-year age gap
Viall started getting more comfortable with the age gap between Joy and himself as he got to know her better. But as he recalled in his appearance on the Call Her Daddy podcast, The Bachelor star finally moved past it when he realized how he spoke of her to his friends.
“I always remember talking to certain friends, and I would be wishing that that gap didn’t exist because I would feel less nervous about it,” Viall recalled. “I’d always just talk through all the things that I loved about her or that she would do for me.”
After almost three years together, the couple is doing better than ever. And Viall credited their relationship to a deep mutual connection.
“I’m a big personality,” he admitted. “I don’t always feel like people, regardless of age, I can connect with. And with her, I never felt that disconnect.”
Nick Viall began dating Natalie Joy in 2019 after his split from ‘The Bachelor’ co-star Vanessa Grimaldi
Viall began his Bachelor journey as a contestant on Andi Dorfman’s season of The Bachelorette. He made it to the end but left as a runner-up when Dorfman chose Josh Murray.
After a short, unsuccessful stint on Kaitlyn Bristowe’s 2015 season and an appearance on Bachelor in Paradise, Viall became the lead of The Bachelor Season 21.
By the end of his season, he was engaged to Vanessa Grimaldi. However, their relationship ended less than a year later.
In 2019, Joy reached out to Viall via direct message. And after going out on one date, the two knew they had a real connection.
“She slid into my DMs — it was very romantic,” Viall quipped on his Viall Files podcast. “We kind of kept hanging out, and she finally got to a point where she was like, ‘I want to date,’ and I was kind of like, ‘I don’t know.’
“She just was like, ‘OK, this is what I want. It’s fine, no big deal, but I’m gonna go do my thing,’” The Bachelor alum continued. “And she did, and I was like, ‘What?!’ … She went and showed me exactly what I’d be missing.”
