January Jones enjoyed two dates with The Bachelor reality star

Actress January Jones got the inside scoop on all things The Bachelor after agreeing to go on two dates with the reality TV show's "villain", Nick Viall.

The Mad Men star is a huge fan of the dating competition, and even shared cutting commentary on Viall's choices for segments on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and The Late Late Show With James Corden in 2017.

"I was just blasting that guy," January recalled on the Armchair Expert With Dax Shepard podcast.

However, her interest in the show caught the attention of Viall himself, and he contacted the actress via social media, asking her out for a drink in a direct message (DM).

She shared, "Nick slid into my DMs and he's like, 'I'm so sorry that your perception of me is so negative. I'd love to take you out to coffee and see if I can change your mind.' I squealed!"

January almost turned Nick down, until her sister convinced her otherwise, and she used the opportunity to find out behind-the-scenes gossip about The Bachelor and its spin-offs.

"It was good. All I did was grill him about the show," she said. "We went on a couple dates."

The star went on to reveal she was "attracted" to the fact that Viall was "cast as the 'villain'" - even though he "had a bit of a brain".

"That's all we were talking about really," January shrugged. "But I got a lot of juicy inside stuff."

The dating confession emerges two years after the pair was first linked, but January and Nick both insisted their relationship was platonic as they declared themselves single.

January is no stranger to high profile romances - her previous exes include Ashton Kutcher and Josh Groban.