New 'Bachelor' Nick Viall on 'Bachelor in Paradise' Experience
"It has been a challenge to kind of let my guard down," he admitted.
— -- He's going to be the next "Bachelor" star, but Nick Viall originally wasn't sure that he wanted to appear on "Bachelor in Paradise."
However, prior to being cast as the new "Bachelor," the two-time "Bachelorette" runner-up told ABC News that despite his early reservations, he's glad he did the show.
Though his relationship with Jen Saviano didn't end with an engagement, he's still happy to have met her, calling her "great."
"I’m really lucky that Jen showed up because obviously she’s someone that I really had my eye on," he said. "She was one of the most amazing women that I've ever met."
The reality TV star, who appeared on both Andi Dorfman's and Kaitlyn Bristowe's seasons of "The Bachelorette," said that he did not come to Mexico with any expectations, instead hoping to "let this play out and see where it went."
"For me, it has been a challenge once I got here to kind of let my guard down," he said. "This environment can be very powerful. It can do a lot of great things in terms of accelerating relationships forward and I probably resisted that a little bit more than say some of the other couples. There's no right or wrong, but for me, I just wasn't quite willing to step on the gas in that sense, but Jen has been great. She's awesome."
Viall admitted the little spoiler last night on "After Paradise" when his new season was announced, and said he has nothing but positive things to say about Saviano.
"I respect Jen tremendously," he told ABC News before the announcement.