I distinctly remember watching Kaitlyn Bristowe’s season finale of The Bachelorette for two reasons: the final two contestants and her sparkly dress. Besides having serious wardrobe envy, I was surprised at Kaitlyn’s choices for her final two men. The whole fan base seemed to know that Shawn Booth would be the winner, but many were left wondering why she chose to break Nick Viall’s heart instead of Ben Higgins’.
In the most recent episode of her podcast, Off the Vine, Kaitlyn shocked listeners with the real reason she kept Nick around until the very end—to keep her season exciting. While it was ultimately her choice, she had to think about the fact that she was on a TV show.
“I knew it was going to be Shawn, and in the last little while—oh, this is a big secret—I wanted my final two to be Ben and Shawn,” she said, “because I knew I would hurt Nick. But I couldn’t because then apparently it would’ve been boring, my season, and at that point I was like, ‘Whatever, it was going to be Shawn.'”
Nick is no stranger to doing certain things for ratings. After being on two seasons of The Bachelorette, one season of Bachelor in Paradise and his own season of The Bachelor, it’s hard not to think that his excessive appearances are about more than finding love. He’s from Milwaukee, a city with a population of a half million people. There has to be some potential there, right? I just hope he gets his happily ever after someday.