Not every DM can lead to love. But lucky for Nick Viall, one did.
The Bachelor alum and host of The Viall Files podcast shared how DMs led to his relationship with Natalie Joy on the latest episode of E! News' digital series Down in the DMs.
"I think DMs are a great place to meet people," he said. "My current girlfriend slid in my DMs. Real clever, it said, ‘You're unreal.' I guess it was funny. I was more curious, wondering why I was unreal."
Having been in a happy relationship for nearly two years, Nick joked that Natalie can sometimes act like "DM repellent, in the best possible way."
"If anyone was trying to slide into my DMs in any romantic fashion," he said, "if you take one look at my Instagram, probably realize you're wasting your time."
The reality star has learned social media etiquette over the years, such as sending only one follow-up message to an unread DM before calling it quits.
"If you wanna pop it up to the top of their inbox because maybe they didn't see it, I get that," he said. "But other than that, maybe just decide that they're not that interested."
That was a lesson he learned the hard way when he decided to shoot his shot with actress Olivia Munn over DMs in 2019 when he was "super single."
"'Aiming high this year. Drinks sometime?'" he messaged The Rook star, who is now in a relationship with comedian John Mulaney. "I'm convinced she saw it and laughed and was like, ‘No way.' And then, later on, I asked if she wanted to come on the podcast—also didn't respond to that."
Another celeb Nick messaged about appearing on his podcast? Pretty Little Liars' Ashely Benson. "I heard she was a Bachelor fan," he shared. "And I wasn't expecting her to reply, but she left me on seen, so I was like, ‘That's such a tease.' Anyways, Ashely, if you wanna come on my podcast, love to have you."
As for more of Nick's DM tips, he says people shouldn't be afraid to get creative. "People can get more information from the sound of your voice, so I think a voice memo note is a pretty unique and clever way to slide into someone's DMs," he said.
But he advises against sending a DM to an ex. "Never slide with an ex. Past hookup? I mean, that's fine," he said. "There's a huge difference between an ex and someone you used to hook up with casually with mutual expectations. You know, if you're both like on a cold streak, go ahead and warm each other up and slide."
Check out more of Nick's DM advice in the full video above.
Check out The Viall Files podcast wherever podcasts are streamed.