Nick Viall and Kaitlyn Bristowe Have a Complicated 'Bachelorette' History

There are few people in Bachelor Nation who have been on as many shows and had as many chances to find "the one" as Nick Viall. At this point, his name is one that most fans, both new and old, know of. And whether you love him or hate him, there's no denying that his relationships with both Andi Dorfman and Kaitlyn Bristowe set the stage for his future in the franchise.

Now, some fans might be wondering what happened between Nick and Kaitlyn. He appeared on her season of The Bachelorette after he was on Andi's and he made it far, but things didn't quite pan out for them.

Since then, Nick managed to find romance again in Bachelor Nation, but his past with Kaitlyn is still very much part of The Bachelor's history.

When Nick competed for Kaitlyn's love and roses on Season 11 of The Bachelorette, it wasn't his first rodeo. He had vied for Andi's affection the previous season and even made it to her final two. The same thing happened with Kaitlyn's season, but Nick is always a bridesmaid and never a bride, because like Andi, Kaitlyn chose the other one of her final two and Nick was sent packing.

But their romance actually started before Kaitlyn was cast on The Bachelorette. Nick said in a January 2019 episode of his podcast The Viall Files that they started talking after he was on Andi's season and before Kaitlyn got the call to lead her own Bachelorette season. When she went on, Nick crashed a date and became one of her potential suitors.

Nick and Kaitlyn rekindled some of what they had prior to her season, and they even hooked up before the fantasy suite dates. But midway through his marriage proposal in the season finale, Kaitlyn stop him and chose Shawn Booth instead.

On the After the Final Rose special, Nick asked Kaitlyn what she was thinking when she turned him down after they had said "I love you" to each other.

Kaitlyn responded, "I think at the end of the day, no love that I had was the one that I had for Shawn. I think that is the only explanation."

Even though things ended on not-so-great terms, when Nick was named as the Season 21 Bachelor lead, Kaitlyn told Us Weekly that she supported him.

"Everyone deserves to find someone," she told the outlet in 2016. "I hope it works out."

Wherever Nick goes in The Bachelor franchise, trouble seems to follow. While it's safe to say he probably won't be on another Bachelor show as a contestant or lead any time soon, he has left his mark in many ways. His first foray into the franchise was on Andi's Bachelorette season, where he made it to the final two only to be let down when Andi chose Josh Murray instead.

They didn't speak again until the Season 10 After the Final Rose special during which Nick said the words that went down in Bachelor Nation infamy and are still talked about years later.

"Knowing how in love with you I was, if you weren't in love with me, I'm just not sure why you made love with me," he said, outing their intimacy.

Since the mess Nick left behind on both seasons of The Bachelorette, he has managed to turn his reality TV fame into something pretty legitimate. His on-screen exes are even on speaking terms with him.

Like them, though, his name will forever be linked to the shows.

Watch The Bachelorette on Mondays at 8 p.m. EST on ABC.