Rachel Bilson Admits to Faking Her Relationship With Nick Viall

Rachel Bilson is coming clean about her fake relationship with Nick Viall. The O.C. actress, 41, opened up about trolling the internet with romance rumors during a sit-down with the 42-year-old Bachelor alum on Viall’s podcast The Viall Files. Bilson and Viall sparked speculation back in 2019 by leaving flirty comments on each other’s Instagram posts, but during the March 23 podcast episode, the two friends revealed what was really going on between them at the time.

“No, Nick and I never dated,” Bilson confessed. “We did troll the internet.” The two agreed at the time that they were both “epically single” and “wanted the attention,” which sparked their ploy to get headlines – and promote a Bachelor Nation podcast they were planning, which was going to be called Making Love With Nick and Rachel. Viall revealed that that show, meant to be a spinoff of The Viall Files, was supposed to star Bilson as the celebrity host and the former Bachelor as the reality show insider. 

“I think it would’ve done well. I mean, [The Viall Files] is doing great. But I think it would’ve been excellent,” said Viall. Bilson agreed, noting that she was the one who bailed after a more lucrative offer created a scheduling issue. “I did bail! Look, it’s a fine line [between] acting and podcasting and you know…” she confessed. Despite Making Love never coming to fruiting, Viall said he was grateful that “everyone’s thriving.”

And while their relationship was all for show, both Viall and Bilson have managed to move on with real relationships, with Viall announcing in January that he and fiancée Natalie Joy were engaged after two years of dating. Bilson’s relationship status has made headlines in recent weeks as well, as she told Whitney Cummings during a recent podcast episode that she didn’t have an orgasm through penetrative sex until she was 38.

The revelation had fans digging back through Bilson’s dating history. The actress was linked to Bill Hader from 2019 to 2020 and before that was married to Hayden Christensen, with whom she shares daughter Briar Rose, 8. Bilson also famously dated her O.C. co-star Adam Brody. During the March 23 episode of The Viall Files, Bilson clarified her revelation with Cummings “has nothing to do with any partner.”

“Apparently, there were certain names brought up in both regards, and I’m not OK with that because it has nothing to do with that,” she told Viall, explaining that she won’t be shaming “or giving a trophy to any other exes.” She added, “Nobody was involved other than myself. It was all about me. It’s all about knowing my own body and my own self.”