January Jones Sets The Record Straight About Those Nick Viall Dating Rumors Once & For All

After months of circulating chatter, January Jones quashed rumors that she's dating Nick Viall from The Bachelor. Completely setting the record straight on her relationship status, Jones revealed that while Nick is "super sweet," they're just friends. Jones recently spoke to Entertainment Tonight during CFDA's Runway to Red Carpet initiative. She explained,

"He's a friend of mine. He's super sweet. No, I'm single. But, he's a friend of mine and tells me lots of inside scoops."

Though the pair is not romantically linked, Jones and Viall's close friendship reportedly began shortly after he heard that she was a big fan of The Bachelor. During a March 2017 appearance on The Late Late Show With James Corden, Jones shared her love for the Bachelor franchise and revealed her ultimate dream of one day appearing on the show, according to People. Totally fan-girling over Bach alum, Ben Higgins, Jones went on to share:

“I watch the show, have a couple of glasses of wine, Ben gets kicked off and I’m like — ‘Oh, I’m going to be the next Bachelorette and get that guy.’ ‘And then [my publicist] says that’s going to ruin my career and I get shot down. But that’s my dream!’"

While admitting that she's a big fan of Ben's, things got even more interesting when Jones revealed that the Season 20 Bachelor was not even her "favorite.” Making it clear who she had her sights set on, Jones went on to say, “Nick’s pretty cute…,” leading many to assume that Viall may be more of her speed when it comes to dating.

Jones' comments during that sit-down seem to have been the motivation behind Viall getting in touch with the actor. Jones later revealed their first encounter during a return appearance on The Late Late Show in November. The 40-year-old Last Man on Earth actor explained,

"He asked me to battle him on Lip Sync Battle. So is that, like, his way of asking me out, or does he have a problem with me? I don’t know what that was. But I declined because I don’t need to be humiliated.”

While Jones said that she initially turned down Viall's invitation, a source for Page Six claimed that the two got closer after the Bachelor star asked Jones out for a drink and they hit it off.

And although the account of their meeting has never been confirmed by Jones or Viall, it appears that their friendship has grown since her on-air comments last November, with Jones recently pointing out Viall's willingness to share his inside Bachelor insight with her. Zooming in on clues about their friendship, fans quickly took notice of Jones and Viall's social media interaction, observing that the pair had been liking and commenting on each other's Instagrams in recent months, according to Us Weekly.

Despite the internet's shipping, both Jones and Viall have been seemingly adamant about their respectively single relationship statuses over the past few weeks. Jones' recent comments most certainly serve as the ultimate proclamation of her position as a bachelorette, while an Instagram post by Viall updated fans with details about his dating life.

Along with a photo of himself, the 37-year-old reality star shared a caption that revealed the current state of his romantic world. He wrote,

"Sees attractive woman...awkwardly leans against wall to put out the vibe. Reviews 50 versions of “hello” in head. Sees girl walk away. Goes home, eats frozen pizza....Life."

While Jones and Viall are not an item, per se, their friendship seems to have at least partially fulfilled Jones' ultimate dream of getting close to one of her favorite Bachelors.