“Honestly, if I had to pick a different person from my season it would not have been Nick [Viall], who was second,” the Georgia native, 33, said on the Wednesday, January 27, episode of Dax Holt and Adam Glyn’s “Hollywood Raw” podcast. “It would have been Chris Soules, who was third.”

Dorfman previously appeared on Juan Pablo Galavis‘ season 18 of The Bachelor in January 2014 before removing herself from the competition. She was announced as the lead for season 10 of The Bachelorette, which premiered in May 2014 and ended up accepting a proposal from Josh Murray instead of Viall, 40, who was her runner-up. Dorfman and Murray, 36, confirmed the end of their engagement in January 2015.

If given the chance to redo her Bachelorette days, the attorney wouldn’t think twice about pursuing Soules, 39.

“He was my buddy, my friend. I really liked Nick and Josh. … Chris was like my safety blanket,” Dorfman said on Wednesday. “He was the guy I could go on a date with and I knew that we would have a good time. There wasn’t a ton of pressure.”

Spending time with the Iowa native during filming came as a “relief” to Dorfman — but she questioned the level of comfort she had with him.

“I knew when the final three came down, I needed to actually get serious about these final two,” she explained. “So I kind of had to remove him as a safety net. But it definitely wouldn’t have been Nick. It wouldn’t have been anyone else, I don’t think.”

In June 2020, Dorfman and Viall sparked rumors that they had rekindled their flame when they met up for a run in California but the “Viall Files” podcast host was quick to shut down the speculation. “Sorry for the buzz kill … not dating. Additionally, the only benefits that come from this friendship is conversation and running tips. Enjoy the day,” he commented on an Us Weekly Instagram post at the time.

Three months prior, Dorfman joked that she had to restrain herself from reaching out to her exes while quarantined at home during the coronavirus pandemic. “I’m about two days and/or three martinis away from texting all of my exes,” she joked in an Instagram Story in March 2020 before sharing a glimpse of a blank group message to Viall and Soules.

While she’s toyed with the idea of reconciling with some of her former flames, Dorfman denied dating any of the contestants from her season after breaking up with Murray.

“Most of my season went on to be Bachelors. Both Nick and Chris went on to be Bachelors at some point,” she said on Wednesday. “I actually really enjoyed doing [The Bachelorette]. It was great, I traveled. Even though it didn’t work out for me, I still have a great taste in my mouth about it. … I don’t think I’d want to do it again.”

This story originally appeared on: US Magazine - Author:Meredith Nardino