Local friends tell all about 'Bachelor' Nick Viall

Before he was denied both Kaitlyn Bristowe's final rose and Andi Dorfman's,  before he started handing out roses himself on "The Bachelor,"Nick Viall was just a guy from Waukesha running fast and chasing girls.

On Monday night, we'll hear from the women Viall rejected thus far on his quest for love on "Women Tell All," a reunion special for the ABC dating show. But in this story, Wisconsinites tell us about the hometown kid who grew up to be "The Bachelor."

Viall's parents, Mary and Chris, grew up in the dairy state and met at a church luncheon. Viall and his 10 siblings grew up in Waukesha. He graduated from Waukesha North High School in 1999 and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2004. Then he lived in Milwaukee before moving to Chicago and then recently to Los Angeles.

TV viewers can thank the wife of Viall's childhood friend Marcos Hernandez for his four appearances on "The Bachelor" franchise shows.

Viall often joined Hernandez and his wife Kaia Hernandez, a longtime "Bachelor" fan, to watch the dating show on Monday nights. Nick and Marcos would "shoot the breeze" while Kaia was glued to every second on TV. At times they joked about Viall going on "The Bachelor."

Marcos said one night after the show and some wine, Kaia went online to nominate Viall.

"Nick would have never done it himself," Marcos said. The couple thought Viall had a decent shot. He was from Wisconsin. He's an athlete. And his handful of serious relationships hadn't worked out. "Why are you having such a hard time in relationships?" the friends wondered.

When they later told Viall, Hernandez said, "he kind of scoffed at it."

Then Viall moved to Chicago for an account executive job with Salesforce. About 10 months after Kaia Hernandez submitted the nomination, Viall's phone rang. The ABC show invited him to a casting in Chicago. According to Hernandez, Viall said, "I'll go and see what it's all about."

Viall impressed and earned a slot as one of the men on Dorfman's season in 2014. The bachelorette liked what she saw and offered her first impression rose to Viall, then 33. On a hometown date, we saw Viall take Dorfman to such Milwaukee establishments as the Milwaukee Public Market and Lakefront Brewery. The friends met with Viall and Dorfman at Lakefront Brewery for beers and polka dancing.

They glimpsed what Viall experiences in the world of "The Bachelor." Hours of filming was edited into just a short bit on the show.

While Viall was off filming, his friend Dave Pudlosky predicted that Viall would make it to the final two and not win because he's "very competitive, good looking, sweet and down to earth." Pudlosky was right. Dorfman dumped Viall before the final rose ceremony. The same thing happened again on Bristowe's season. On "Bachelor in Paradise," Viall broke off his summer camp romance with Jen Saviano in the final episode.

Hernandez met Viall in kindergarten at Lowell Elementary School. They’ve been friends since, playing soccer and participating in Cub Scouts together. Through sports, Pudlosky became inseparable friends with both. "It was the opposite of what Nick's going through in his love life — it was love at first sight," Pudlosky said.

Pudlosky said Viall was "skinnier of course" back then when they were "just running around and chasing girls." We saw evidence of Viall's escapades on this season of "The Bachelor" when he took Danielle L. on a date in Waukesha. Sitting on a hill overlooking a field, Viall told her about hooking up with girls in the park. He was described as "one of the cool kids" with his charm and intelligence.

At Pudlosky's wedding, Hernandez served as his best man, but Viall played a major role, too. Viall walked with Pudlosky's little sister who has Down syndrome. "She means the world to me and it was important to me that he be with her on my wedding," Pudlosky said.

While the friends lead different lives, especially since Viall moved to Los Angeles, they remain loyal.

"Really Marcos and I, within reason, will do whatever for Nick," Dave Pudlosky said.

In college, Viall lived with Pudlosky, who played baseball for the Panthers. Viall's "big move" with girls was to watch the 2001 romantic comedy "Serendipity" and buy a bottle of wine, Pudlosky said.

After college Viall lived downtown. The group played beach volleyball at Bradford Beach, participating in rec leagues and pickup games. They also hung out around Cathedral Square and were regulars at Jazz in the Park.

Rob Hesslink met Viall through Hernandez when the pair were living in Milwaukee after college about eight years ago. Hesslink said the group would often get together to make homemade pizzas. Viall's favorite toppings: cheese, sausage, mushroom and green pepper. He also said Viall loves burgers, especially at Elsa's on the Park.

While from Brew City, Viall usually opts for whiskey — straight up or on the rocks. "Yes, we were all beer drinkers at one point," Hernandez said. "We've gotten plenty." Viall even interned with MillerCoors, he said.

"I was going through a tough time — a divorce — he was the first one to reach out to me and call me and we got together and talked," Hesslink said. "He’s not just the guy that’s going to send you a Facebook message or text. He literally called me and said let’s get together and chat. He’s got a real big heart. And he’s a genuine guy."

Most of the storyline this season came from Corinne, a 24-year-old with a nanny who came on strong with Viall. The other contestants, upset by Corinne's sexually aggressive behavior with Viall in a bouncy castle, told him about her gaps in real world knowledge. "She did not know how to clean a spoon," fellow contestant Raven told Viall.

The moment raised the question: does Viall know how to wash a spoon?

"Yes he does but he traditionally has had a fairly dirty apartment," Hesslink said. "So that spoon might be sitting there for quite a while until he needs it again. I’m sure he does know how to load a dishwasher."

The friends said they don't know the outcome of the show.

"I just hope he finds what he's looking for," Pudlosky said.

Fast runner, good teammate

In his school years Viall focused on sports and excelled at running.

"He was very active," Nick's father Chris Viall said. "He was always busy with something — soccer, baseball. In middle school, he started running track. Some weekends he was doing all three."

On "The Bachelor," he's been modest about his athletic past, with small mentions of "running in college." But he was fast.

"Pick the running event and Nick Viall will probably win it," began a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel story published May 15, 1999.

Jamie Mosley coached his first cross-country season at Waukesha North High School in Viall's senior year. Viall hadn't planned to run cross country that fall, preferring to focus on preparing for his last track season in the spring. But after a call from Mosley, Viall signed on to the team.

"Having a guy like Nick on the team was important for us," Mosley said.

Mosley said Viall never liked running long distances.

"Anything over an 800 is boring," Mosley remembered Viall saying.

Mosley said no matter how Viall felt, the runner would complete every repetition of tough interval workouts assigned under the goal time. Mosley valued Viall as a team member because his hard work and perseverance was "a contagious part of him for the young guys."

Viall ran year round to hit his running goals. In the winter, Chris Viall said, Nick would run interval workouts on the indoor track at the Pettit National Ice Center in Milwaukee.

"I have to tie his legacy into the success that we’re having here," Mosley said.

The pair just spent one season together as runner and coach, but Mosley watched Viall return when his younger brothers Luke and Sam later ran for Waukesha North. "When he spoke, I swear for his brothers if he said it, it was gospel," Mosley said.

That spring, Viall won state in the 800-meter run at the 1999 WIAA Track and Field Championship, completing two laps around the track in 1:55.69.

After graduating from Waukesha North High School in 1999, Viall started college at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and ran for the track team. He later transferred to UWM.

Pete Corfeld coached Viall when he ran at UWM. Viall was a standout on the team. A captain, he was part of a quartet that set a school record (since eclipsed) in the 3,200-meter relay.

When Corfeld saw his former runner shirtless on national TV, Viall's chiseled physique shocked him. "I was like 'oh my God,'" Corfeld said. "He wouldn't have been able to run that fast with those muscles."

Viall also worked for the school newspaper, the UWM Post, in the business and advertising department.

His family watches

Viall's parents and two younger sisters who still live at home watch the show together on Monday nights in Waukesha.

Chris Viall limits what Bella, 12, can see. She wasn't allowed to watch "Bachelor in Paradise" this summer. She also won't watch the episodes with the fantasy suite overnight dates. Bella made a cameo appearance earlier this season when "The Bachelor" traveled to Wisconsin for a round of dates.

Nick is the second oldest of 11 children. There's a 25-year age gap from the oldest to the youngest, so Viall has said he often felt like more of a father figure to his siblings.

"Nick in the family was always kind of a peacemaker," Chris Viall said. "He wasn't an instigator."

We'll see eight members of the Viall clan in the finale episode March 13. The family spent a week in Finland meeting the final contestants and seeing reindeer, snowmobiling, and having a bonfire. They hoped to see the northern lights, but it was too overcast. It was Chris Viall's first time overseas.

Out of all his children, Chris Viall said he wouldn't have thought Nick would go on the dating show.

"I probably would have guessed one of his sisters before I would guess him," he said.

But it didn't surprise him completely.

"He's always been adventurous," Chris Viall said. "he's never been afraid." For example, Viall started his career in accounting and then switched to sales. "He really liked dealing with people and found out he was pretty good at it. He's not easily intimidated by a challenge."

The family is looking forward to seeing Nick on "Dancing with the Stars," which premieres March 20.

He'll even have the same partner as former Green Bay Packers wide receiver Donald Driver. Professional dancer Peta Murgatroyd and Driver twirled, swayed and boogied to win the competition in 2012.

In the fifth grade, Nick and Mary Viall grooved to "Twist and Shout" and won a mother-son dance contest at school.

"So maybe that's a good omen," Chris Viall said.