ABC/Rick RowellIn what was perhaps the most unexpected moment in Bachelorette history, we found ourselves crying real actual tears for Nick Viall last night! And we're not even ashamed to admit it.
Sure, Kaitlyn and Shawn's ending was great and all the best and mazel etc., but if you're like us, you also can't help but think about what's next for poor, heartbroken Nick, who was pretty much thrown under the bus for the sake of good TV. (And, um, good TV it was—ABC won the night in ratings, with its best summer Monday in two years.)
As you Bachelorette fans know, this was the second time poor Nick was dumped on a Bachelorette finale, as Kaitlyn cut off his proposal to eliminate him and #NickForBachelor was all over the Twitterverse last night.
So any chance Nick will rise from his self-proclaimed "biggest joke in the world" ashes, and become the next Bachelor?
We're told it's still looking like the next Bachelor will be Ben Higgins. However, discussions have been happening with Nick, as recently as yesterday, according to sources, about him being involved again in some way with the next Bachelor or Bachelorette. The question, of course, is whether he'd be willing to put himself through that again. In a conference call today with reporters, Nick himself said that he would never consider going on Bachelor in Paradise and isn't really interested in meeting other contestants from the show.
Perhaps they could give him a one-episode speed-dating special called "The Other Guy Finally Finds Love?" (You can keep our 10 percent for that idea, ABC.)
And, just to make you feel even more sympathetic toward Nick, a little scoop on something you did not see on last night's finale—the breakup was even worse than we thought. "When Nick first started proposing," a source tells us, "he got emotional and choked up. Kaitlyn actually took his hand and said, ‘Keep going.' They didn't show that. It was a small moment, but an important one. It made Nick think she was encouraging him."
We get it. The heart wants what it wants, but holy hell, that breakup was a giant gut-punch.
Our sources also revealed that although Kaitlyn may have been encouraged by show producers to prolonge the breakup with Nick to make it better TV, the decision, ultimately was hers. "At the end of the day, no one has a gun to their heads," says a Bachelorette insider. "Whether or not producers suggested it doesn't really matter. All they can do is make the suggestion. Everyone is free to do whatever they want and she could have stopped him at any time. Nick lost some respect for her because of it."
We also just chatted with Shawn and Kaitlyn in New York and yes, they did talk Nick and a surprising moment between Shawn and Nick you didn't see on TV. Stand by for that scoop!