Nick Viall says 'Bachelor' run isn't try at 'redemption'

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- Nick Viall says his forthcoming Bachelor run isn't an attempt at redemption.

The 36-year-old Bachelorette and Bachelor in Paradise alum revealed in an interview with Extra that he signed on for The Bachelor Season 21 knowing he "wasn't always a fan favorite."

"I'm probably as prepared as anyone," Viall said of his return to the franchise. "I've learned a lot being on all those seasons, to focus on what's important."

"I never looked at it as a redemption. I was aware that I wasn't always a fan favorite," he added.

Viall was the runner-up on both The Bachelorette Season 10 with Andi Dorfman and The Bachelorette Season 11 with Kaitlyn Bristowe. He developed a reputation as a villain in Season 10, and famously revealed on the after-season special that he and Dorfman had sex.

"One word.... RUN! Okay two... RUN FAST! #TheBachelorette," Dorfman tweeted as a warning after it was revealed Viall would appear on Bristowe's season.

Viall later had a third attempt at love on Bachelor in Paradise Season 3, but was not one of the three couples who got engaged on the finale. He was announced as the Season 21 Bachelor in August.

"He has just become that perennial, second place guy who wants to find love and is as sincere, if not more sincere, than anybody about finding it," Bachelor host Chris Harrison told People at the time. "It's about giving him his chance to find love. Who deserves it more than him?"

Viall told Extra he plans to take his time and "figure out which women [he] has the strongest connection with." The Bachelor Season 21 will premiere Jan. 2 on ABC.