Netflix and former Bachelor star Nick Viall are being slammed by viewers over a ‘gross’ dating series about age-gap relationships.
Age of Attraction, which was announced by the streaming giant this week, promises to match singles with their soulmates, regardless of age.
It will be hosted by Viall, 44, and his wife Natalie Joy, 26, who is 18 years his junior.
‘Age is thrown out the window when singles search for their soulmates. Is love truly ageless, or will the years come between them?’ Netflix said in a brief statement.
While little else is known about the series, the participants range from age 22 to 59.
The eight-episode first season was already filmed in Canada, but it won’t air until next year.
A lot of viewers have already expressed their displeasure with the controversial series.
Netflix is launching a new age-gap dating series hosted by Nick Viall, 44, and his wife Natalie Joy, 26, who is 18 years his junior
‘They can’t seriously have thought this would be a good idea,’ commented one.
‘Nick Viall creating a dating show centered around age gap relationships… this man is not right in the head,’wrote another.
A third commented, ‘We got “looks don’t matter” with love is blind. Now we’re getting “age doesn’t matter”. What’s next?’
Age of Attraction also received a negative reaction on Reddit, with one user writing, ‘I love that the youngest age is 22, older than Natalie was when they started dating.’
A second said, ‘I hate this. But… I wonder if they will show older women with younger men, or just continue to promote lecherous older men.’
Despite now being married with a child, Nick and Natalie’s relationship has been criticized by fans for years due to their almost two-decade age gap.
It’s unclear exactly how old Natalie was when they started dating, with various estimates putting her age at anywhere from 19 to 21.
Despite now being married with a child, Nick and Natalie’s relationship has been criticized by fans due for years due to their almost two-decade age gap
A lot of viewers have already expressed their displeasure with the controversial series
During an appearance on The Squeeze podcast in 2023, Nick said that he turned Natalie down ‘many times’ before they got together due to her age.
‘The age for me was something I was self conscious about,’ he admitted.
Natalie also said that she’s been trolled online relentlessly due to the age disparity.
‘It’s definitely weird to have so many people give you their opinions,’ she said.
‘DMs of mean comments about [how] I’m a “child bride”. Just terrible, terrible things people would call me,’ she continued.
‘I was like, I am going to spend the rest of my life with this man, and I knew it and he didn’t, so I was like, I’m gonna hang on because he’ll come around.’
It’s unclear exactly how old Natalie was when they started dating, with various estimates putting her age at anywhere from 19 to 21
Nick and Natalie married on April 27, 2024, after dating for four years.
They started dating in July 2020, after she slid into her direct messages on Instagram.
‘I think DMs are a great place to meet people. My current girlfriend slid in my DMs. Real clever, it said, “You’re unreal.” I guess it was funny. I was more curious why I was unreal,’ he told E! News in 2022.
The couple went Instagram official in January 2021, with the lovebirds making the red carpet debut four months later.
The duo got engaged in January 2023 and announced she was pregnant with their first child in August 2023.
Their daughter River Rose was born on February 2, 2024.
