Nick Viall hopes his future daughter will accept his rose explanation for his Bachelor past.
Not that Viall, expecting a baby girl with fiancée Natalie Joy, is embarrassed by the four-season franchise stint that saw him compete on two rounds of The Bachelorette and spend a summer in Paradise before doling out roses as The Bachelor.
"Everything I have now in my life comes from my time on The Bachelor," he explained in an exclusive interview with E! News, "so for all the ups and downs I experienced, I have a lot of gratitude in terms of where it got me."
But, yes, he acknowledged, "I'm sure she'll learn about my experiences and we'll have some fun with it. I'm sure she'll give me a hard time."
And then, ideally, she'll ask for his help on finding a partner who's there for the right reasons. "I hope so," joked the Don't Text Your Ex Happy Birthday author. "I hope one of her first words is 'boundaries!'"
Of course with weeks until his parenting journey begins, he's got some time to formulate any talks of the birds and bees variety.
"I'm sure we'll have a ton of conversations before that even becomes relevant," said the 43-year-old. "But, listen, I think as a father, my biggest job is obviously give her love and teach her how to make decisions for herself. That is to me what it's all about. I hope to be by her side for a very long time, but I won't always be there."
For now he's looking forward to the best sort of two-on-one dates.
Admitting he has "rose colored glasses when it comes to parenthood" (no pun intended), the Wisconsin native, who grew up the second oldest of 11, is eager to lean into some of his well-practiced skills. "We had diapers in the house most of my childhood," he noted. "I've changed a few diapers in my day. It's been a while, but they say it's like riding a bike."
As for the rest of it, "I've been so anxious to be a father for a really long time and whatever obstacles or stresses that come with parenthood, I'm just seeing it as all part of the experience," Viall continued. "I'm really just excited to meet my daughter, excited to bring her into this world, be a parent and see what she looks like. All those first moments. I obviously want her to be healthy and happy, those are the only nerves."
He and surgical technologist Joy, who got engaged last January, "have got a lot of heavy lifting out of the way," when it comes to baby prep, he said, noting that the bulk of their 2024 wedding has been planned as well.
"There are always going to be stresses with everything," Viall allowed. "But Natalie and I are just so focused on what we do have rather than things that we have to worry about. So we're just focused on gratitude and feeling lucky because we do have so much to be grateful for, truly, with everything we have in our lives."
Plus, he added, they're excited to have their little girl as a plus-one at their vows. "I think that that will be a real special moment to have her be a part of it and in photos," he shared. "It will be a great memory."
And for any days where it all feels too much, he's got a secret weapon. "I think everyone knows what it's like to have cold and flu symptoms and just how crappy that can feel, especially when you have a lot going on as I do," he explained of partnering with Mucinex. "It's hard to stay in bed all day. So Mucinex Kickstart has been a real help to me when I wasn't feeling well."
Because in addition to impending fatherhood and wedding planning, he's juggling his recently launched Envy Media company and the podcast that started it all.
"I am just grateful that The Viall Files, I think, has become a destination for people who have a story to share and want a platform to do that," he said of his recent slate of guests that's included Allison Holker, Josh Peck and basically every reality star you've watched on Bravo or ABC. "And we're just grateful to be able to offer our great guests a chance to do that."
Fellow Bachelor alum Rachel Lindsay, who he briefly courted as the Bachelor, has an open invite to return, though he's certainly not nudging his old friend to rehash the details of her recent split from husband Bryan Abasolo.
"Listen, breakups are very challenging and emotional, I'm sure she's going through it," he explained. "It's not fun for anyone regardless of who initiated the breakup. And I know people like to pry and get the details, but I know how hard it is for people on both sides and I just wish her and Bryan nothing but the best. I'm sure we'll have her back on, but I don't want to be pushy. I'm sure she will share when she's ready."
He and Joy are also sure to divulge their experiences as they navigate the next phase of their journey. "When Natalie's on the show with me, we're just kind of talking about the things we love talking about and having fun," Viall said of working with his future wife, "so that makes it really easy."
It's the same go-with-the-flow approach they're bringing to parenting.
"I think we're just trying to be flexible," he explained. "We have a lot of great family members and friends to help us. And, you know, just expect the unexpected and try to enjoy it is the feedback we get the most. And that's what we're really focused on."
And they're not the only Bachelor alums proving that they are, in fact, here to make (miniature) friends. Can we steal you for a sec to have you check out the newest Bachelor babies?
Nick Viall & Natalie Joy
The Bachelorette, Bachelor in Paradise and The Bachelor alum received his best rose yet when his fianceé gave birth to their daughter River Rose Viall Feb. 2.
Sharing a series of sweet images of their baby girl, the couple wrote, "The best part of life starts now."
Amanda Stanton & Michael Fogel
The Bachelor season 20 alum, who won season three of Bachelor in Paradise and also competed on the following season of the spinoff in 2017, welcomed her first baby, Rosie, with her husband Jan. 24, 2024. This is her third daughter, as she is also a mom to Kinsley and Charlie from a previous marriage.
Astrid Loch & Kevin Wendt
The Bachelor in Paradise alums welcomed son Nash Lochland Wendt just before Thanksgiving in Canada. The little one joins brother August.
"Happy Thanksgiving from our now family of 4," Kevin wrote on Instagram Oct. 8. "Everyone meet our son Nash Lochland Wendt 10.7.23. Astrid and baby boy are doing great and ready to come home today. Our new favourite moment in life was watching August meet Nash, smiling the whole time and kissing his new baby brother."
Becca Kufrin & Thomas Jacobs
The Bachelor in Paradise couple found paradise in parenthood when they welcomed son Benson Lee Jacobs Kufrin on Sept. 21, 2023.
Tia Booth & Taylor Mock
Nearly eight months after getting engaged at The Bachelor Live On Stage show, the couple welcomed their first child together, a baby boy named Tatum Booth Mock, on Dec. 6, 2022 at 6:13 a.m.
Vanessa Grimaldi & Joshua Wolfe
What a gift! The former Bachelor contestant gave birth to son Winston on her 35th birthday on Sept. 29, 2022.
We're not calling it the most dramatic birth story ever, but "in a wild turn of events," shared the finalist from Nick Viall's season, after 90 minutes of pushing, she and her husband of nine months welcomed their honeymoon baby in an emergency C-section Jan. 18, 2022. "What was life before him???" the Arkansas native pondered of 8-pound, 6-ounce Gates Zev Gottschalk. "I can't recall."
But she is certain she and her Bachelor in Paradise love match aren't done building their family. "We'd like two or three," she told Us Weekly. "But Adam has said, you know, we'll see how I do with two and then go from there."
Ashley Iaconetti & Jared Haibon
The Bachelor in Paradise fan-favorites welcomed son Dawson—named after Leonardo DiCaprio's Titanic character—in January 2022.
Courtney Robertson & Humberto Preciado
Is this winning? Seventeen months after the Bachelor season 16 victor gave birth to her first child, son Joaquin, in June 2020, she and her husband set an extra seat at their Thanksgiving table for the early arrival of daughter Paloma.
A "small, but mighty" 4 pounds, 15 ounces, their newest addition "is the sweetest girl in the whole-wide-world," she raved on Instagram at the time. "Her smile lights up our days & warms my little mama heart."
Consider Nov. 20, 2021 arrival August the couple's final rose at the end of a long journey. Referencing their cycles of intrauterine insemination and IVF—one of which resulted in an ectopic pregnancy—the Canadian-bred firefighter raved of his bride-to-be, "She is my absolute hero for everything she went through the last 2 days in the hospital, and the last 2 years doing everything it took to get this perfect munchkin."
Their plans for a family actually dated back to some early conversations on 2018's Bachelor in Paradise, she shared on Instagram, and yet "even in my wildest dreams I couldn't have imagined how amazing this would all feel."
Arie Luyendyk Jr. & Lauren Burnham
Having raced into the world of parenting—welcoming daughter Alessi four months after their January 2019 vows and her little brother and sister in June 2021—the retired driver is ready to pump the brakes.
"I think we're so happy because we have our boy, we have the two girls," the season 22 lead said in 2022 of twins Senna and Lux completing their family. "And I'm already 40, guys. I can't be having kids any later than this in life. I want to be like an active dad. So, I think three is OK."
Lauren Bushnell & Chris Lane
"Big, Big Plans", they said? On June 8, 2021, Bachelor season 20 final rose recipient and her country singer husband invited all nine pounds of Dutton Walker Lane onto the ranch.
The couple had another run around the rodeo on Oct. 16, 2022, when they welcomed son Baker Weston Lane.
Years after failing to collect a rose in week six of Arie Luyendyk Jr.'s Bachelor season, the health coach grew her own little flower, giving birth to daughter Andara Rose Bowles Mar. 31, 2021 less than a year into her new romance with the San Diego-based entrepreneur.
Though she admitted on pal Scheana Shay's podcast it was "scary" to learn she was pregnant "so soon in a relationship" and while still wed to Bachelor in Paradise love match Chris Randone, she "just knew this was an incredible lesson for me to grow, to lean into love, to have faith in myself and Miles and my future and know that God gives us only what we can handle."
The cutest little stowaway you ever did see. On Feb. 12, 2021, The Road Les Traveled creator and her fiancé invited daughter Nora Blanche Kavanagh along for the ride and she's already proven herself to be a natural adventurer.
"Someone told me not too long ago that traveling with a baby isn't a vacation," The Bachelor and The Bachelor Winter Games alum admitted. "It's a trip. A change of scenery. A relocation of parenting. I feel this in my bones." And yet following jaunts to Hawaii, Miami, New York and Kavanagh's native Australia, "I wouldn't trade a thing if it means I get to show this girl the world."
Three's a crowd? Hardly. Since youngest Reed joined the mix in November 2020, the Bachelor in Paradise OG sweethearts have strongly considered rounding out their family with a fourth.
Tolbert told People he's "10 percent open to the idea," but his bride's baby fever burns much stronger.
Agreed the mom of Emmy and Brooks, "Four would be a great number. They'd have the buddy system! There's just something special about the mother-child bond and I just love it."