Chris Soules Defends Giving Nick Viall Love Advice

Former Bachelor Chris Soules offered Nick Viall love advice and caught some heat for doing so after his own relationship from the show failed. Still, he makes an excellent point as to why anyone looking for love would want to hear his point of view. At Hollywood Park Casino's viewing party of Bachelor Nick Viall's season finale last night, Prince Farming told Bustle that he was inclined to share advice partly because he wanted advice when becoming the leading man on the show. "I called every single recent Bachelor before I went on the show, whether they were successful in their relationship or not," said the 35-year-old.

Fans were crushed when Soules and his pick from his run on the show, Whitney Bischoff, called it quits. It also took fans by surprise because it was so soon. Although Soules and the Chicago native seemed like a great match, they announced they'd be parting ways after just six months of engagement, and two months after Season 19's proposal finale aired in 2015. To rub salt in the wound (not that there was much of one, since they seemed to have ended on good terms), Bischoff got engaged last July. Meanwhile, Soules is still on the hunt.

Although his relationship didn't work out, he explained why so much of it was out of his control. "It’s not about whether you’re successful. Most relationship stuff you can’t control. The experience in itself is something you can’t really [control] — it’s about understanding what you’re about to get into," he said.

His rollercoaster journey on the show is said and done (for now), but he didn't shy away from the fact that his failed relationship provided valuable insight. "The relationship between Whitney and I didn’t work. That doesn’t mean that I don’t have or can’t give solid advice to a friend," he said. "You learn from all that stuff."

It's understandable why getting advice from someone like Sean Lowe, who's still crazy happy with his wife Catherine Giudici after nearly three years, would be wanted. But it's also understandable why many people (including Bischoff, who commented on Twitter) were confused when Soules appeared on The Bachelor this season to offer up advice to Viall. But, Monday night, he stood by his words of wisdom.

"Who better to give advice than somebody who failed? And say, ‘Hey, this is what I would’ve done differently,'" said Soules. "Yeah, I want advice from multibillionaires for my financial status, but also somebody who’s been through bankruptcy. I wanna know all sides."

Completely valid, in my opinion. And hopefully, Prince Farming will take his own advice moving forward, because this farm boy just wants someone to love after all.