'The Bachelor' doesn't leave you the same way it found you.
Being the Bachelor is the experience of a lifetime, but it won’t leave you the same way it found you.
ET's Lauren Zima spoke with Nick Viall and Ben Higgins at the 2018 iHeartRadio Music Festival at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Friday, where they predicted that new Bachelor Colton Underwood will be “eaten alive” by the process.
"I think we're going to see him struggle," Higgins shared. "I think it's going to be a very authentic journey of, like, struggling, success, failure, lot of tears. The problem is, he's pretty indecisive."
“I was surprised by the choice, but I also think, kind of to Ben's point, I mean I get why they picked him,” Viall added. “Colton, by his own admission, has mentioned that he's got a very limited dating life. I'll be interested to see how that kind of plays out in the season. I'm not specifically talking about his virginity and things like that, but just dating in general, and to Ben's point, he does have to be decisive.”
Fans saw Underwood’s indecisiveness play out on season five of Bachelor in Paradise, where he went back and forth on whether he wanted to pursue a relationship with Tia Booth, whom he briefly dated before appearing on Becca Kufrin’s season of The Bachelorette. Though he eventually decided to cut things off, his emotional response to that breakup -- and his recent one from Kufrin -- left Bachelor Nation divided by Underwood’s Bachelor announcement.
Some fans were pleased to see the former football player get another chance at finding love, while others were concerned that Underwood, fresh off two breakups and an emotional reveal that he's a virgin, might not be ready for the job. Higgins and Viall both seem to part of this group -- though neither of them are still with their final picks (Lauren Bushnell and Vanessa Grimaldi, respectively) from their seasons of The Bachelor.
"It's very difficult to be the Bachelor and go through that process," Viall explained. "It's that much more difficult post filming to try to, you know, protect that relationship and kind of go through some of the trials and tribulations that kind of come with the show, the kind of outside influences and stresses that come with it, and again, it'll be curious to see how Colton handles that with limited dating experience in general."
"Everybody takes it very seriously, in terms of their desire to hopefully meet someone and fall in love, because there's a lot of pressure that comes from [being] the Bachelor," he added. "You feel that pressure going through the process, and that part can eat you alive."
“It destroyed me,” confessed Higgins, who previously revealed that he took the show so seriously he “didn’t allow myself to have any fun.” “I was always on edge, I was always waiting for something to erupt and occur that caused havoc in the house and I just didn't allow myself to be kind of, like, at peace. I hope he's able to do that, but it is emotionally taxing.”
“I've never been the same,” Viall agreed.
“I never will be the same,” Higgins insisted.
See more in the video below and join the conversation at ET's Bachelor Nation Facebook group here.
The Bachelor returns this January on ABC.
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