When it comes to love, Rachel Bilson and Nick Viall were just playing the long game.
Fans of the OC alum and the Bachelor Nation leading man will recall how they linked up back in 2019 following a series of flirty social media messages. But whatever romantic chemistry they had at the time turns out to have been faked!!
Related: Nick Slams Kaitlyn Bristowe Over Comment About Being ‘Brainwashed’ By TV Producers!
This week, the 42-year-old released a new episode of his popular Viall Files podcast. In it, he had Bilson on for an in-depth interview. The two got to talking about a lot of things, as Nick’s guests tend to do. But one frank admission really caught our attention!
Referencing their 2019 “romance,” Rachel opted to finally come clean:
“Nick and I never dated. We did troll the internet.”
She went on to clarify that it was for fun, and not love:
“We were just messing around. Not together, but I mean with the internet.”
Sooooo this is them admitting they were there for the wrong reasons?!?!
LOLz!
Nick explained how the not-actually-together duo simply wanted the gossip world to focus on them:
“[We were] epically single and we wanted the attention.”
TBH, it worked well! They got all the publicity they wanted! According to Viall, the fake relationship plot popped up after he and Rachel connected on a July 2019 episode of this very same podcast. They had such good (platonic) chemistry that they thought about developing a new podcast called Making Love.
But as Nick explained, that didn’t work out:
“It was going to be called Making Love With Nick and Rachel. I had an Instagram saved already for it. Then she got some gig, and then she bailed on me.”
Oops!
With the podcast out the window, the romance was gone, too. Rachel explained:
“It was literally to get attention for the podcast. It was like, ‘OK, it’s a tease-up to what we’re doing.’ Even though it didn’t come to fruition, that was the intention.”
So it goes sometimes. Haven’t we all been there? Faking a high-profile romance to produce a podcast, only for it all to fall apart because your co-host has to film a movie. Totes relatable. Ha!!
Related: Seems Like Nick Has Moved On Just Fine With His New Fiancée!
Anyways, Viall ended on a high note:
“It all worked out. You’re thriving, we’re thriving.”
Amen to that! Reactions, Perezcious readers?? Were you duped?!
[Image via MEGA/WENN]
The post Rachel Bilson & Nick Viall Totally Faked Their Memorable 2019 Romance -- Here's Why! appeared first on Perez Hilton.