Former 'Bachelor' Star Faces Backlash Over Upcoming Age-Gap Dating Show

Yahoo

a day ago

Nick Viall is one of the most polarizing Bachelor stars, not only for his time on the franchise, but for the relationship advice he offers on his podcast, The Viall Files.
Now, he and his wife, Natalie Joy, are capitalizing on their 18-year age gap marriage with a new Netflix dating show, Age of Attraction. The news was announced on July 18 by the streaming network, revealing that the show will launch in 2026.
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The logline for the series reads, 'Age is thrown out the window as singles search for their soulmates with help from hosts Nick Viall and Natalie Joy. Is love truly ageless, or will the years come between them?' The eight-episode series will feature contestants ranging in age from 22 to 59 years old.
This age-gap idea is not much different from the reality star's relationship — Viall is 44 and Joy is 26 years old, and they share one child, daughter, River, 1. His decision to marry a much younger woman has gotten him in hot water quite a few times.
On his March 26 podcast, Viall joked, 'Age gaps are in. I always say, when it comes to age gaps, looks matter.' Even though he made the statement in jest, the internet criticism reached a boiling point because Bachelor Nation fans take issue with his casual approach to his May-December affair.
'Their obsession with trying to justify their very concerning age gap is just gross,' wrote one Reddit user in The Bachelor forum. 'Ew to Netflix for greenlighting this. Hope their show is a monumental wreck and tanks so hard. And so fast,' another account added. Of course, some viewers are definitely going to hate-watch the series just for research. 'I'm gonna get judged so hard for watching this,' admitted another user.
Viall and Joy began dating in July 2020 after she slid into his DMs on Instagram with a simple, 'You're unreal' comment. It was love at first DM. They soft-launched their relationship on social media in October 2020 when they posted pool snapshots from the same location. It took them until January 2021 to go Instagram official.
The former Bachelor contestant addressed the age-gap controversy in June 2022 on the Call Her Daddy podcast.
'At first, it was something I think I was having a lot of anxiety about,' Vial said. 'You know, like, 'Are we going to be compatible?' And I think early on, that was part of the things I would worry about. But just the more I got to know her, the more I was just going to her for advice or just checking in with her, I just felt like we just met each other on the same wavelength, and I always felt like she was my equal.'
Joy contributed her thoughts on the situation, 'We realized we were on the same stages of life, and we were ready for the same things … I'm in a place where I want to get married and have children, and he's also in that same place. We both have big careers and aspirations and jobs and stuff that we both love.'
Viall and Joy got engaged in January 2023, welcomed their daughter in February 2024, and were married in April 2024.Best of SheKnows
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