Nick Viall has broken his silence following his split from fiancée Vanessa Grimaldi. The Bachelor alum admitted it’s been “harder these days” as he attended the Wrangler by Peter Max line debut party in L.A. on Monday, August 28.

“In times that aren’t great, you have to kind of spend time with your loved ones,” Viall, 36, exclusively told Us Weekly of how he gets through difficult periods. “I’m lucky enough to have friends outside of L.A. I’m heading back to Chicago this weekend, which I think will be good for me. I’m trying to stay positive, being around friends and family. It helps me stay positive. And you know, what helps me is just kind of believing in yourself. It’s obviously easy to get insecure and feel bad about yourself. You get in your head about things when things aren’t working out for you.”

Viall and Grimaldi, 29, got engaged during the season 21 finale of The Bachelor, which aired in March. Last week, the pair announced they were going their separate ways.

“It’s with a great amount of heartbreak for the both us as we have decided to end our engagement,” they told Us in a statement at the time. “We gave this relationship our all and we are saddened that we did not get the fairytale ending we hoped for. We will continue to be there for each other no matter what. This hasn’t been an easy decision, however, as we part ways, we do so with lots of love and admiration for each other.”

Indeed, Viall told Us that he and Grimaldi are “of course” still friends.

“I still love her very much. I’m not afraid to say that,” he told Us on Monday night. “I like to try new things, get out of my comfort zone. I know I have a lot of work to do in that arena. And it’s fun to try and I always appreciate the opportunity to try new things and that’s been a lot of fun.”

“I’m always trying to stay busy, especially right now with things,” he added. “My friends, my family and Vanessa and I are still very much each other’s support system. We’re trying to do that and it’s a challenge at times, but we still realize that we’re there for each other.”

As for if he still believes in love? “I mean of course, right?” he said. “And again, I was still lucky enough to find it with Vanessa.”

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