The Ultimatum’s Nick Tramontin Talks Alcohol Issues During Experiment

The Ultimatum: Marry or Move On season 3 star Nick Tramontin regrets certain aspects of his experiment participation.

“I definitely did not love how I handled myself,” Nick, 38, said during the Thursday, December 26, episode of “The Viall Files” podcast with now-ex Sandy Gallagher. “[I should have done] way more of this [drinking water], less of the other stuff I was drinking. It’s pretty clear, I think.”

He added, “I wasn’t sleeping, you know, I was having a very difficult time being in my apartment and it just, kind of, tallied up and tallied up and tallied up and I was far more emotionally volatile or reactive than I would ever want to show up for somebody that I care for. I don’t think I showed up with my true authentic self.”

Nick and Sandy, 28, had dated on and off for approximately nine months before joining the cast of The Ultimatum: Marry or Move On season 3. On the show, one partner issues an ultimatum either to progress the relationship by getting engaged or calling it quits altogether. To do so, each couple temporarily enters into a “trial marriage” with another costar. Nick paired up with Mariah Zernik, while Sandy matched with J.R. Warren. (Mariah ultimately left the experiment early to reunite with now-fiancé Caleb Lefterys, meaning Nick was alone for the duration of the three-week trial.)

“I think that’s just hard to digest in any scenario, especially when you have to watch it on television,” Nick recalled on the podcast, noting he had his “ebbs and flows” with substance abuse struggles before filming The Ultimatum. 

He explained, “I recognized through the experience that I needed to take a harder look at it. It had been something that came up in our relationship prior that I would sometimes feel like I had it together and then sometimes I would dip back into it.”

According to Nick, he wasn’t “getting the kind of mental health support and system” to avoid using alcohol as a means to “escape” his life and feelings.

“I was not in a good mental place, I think that’s pretty clear,” the artist recalled, citing his drinking and sleep deprivation as contributing factors.

After the show wrapped amid Nick and Sandy’s breakup, he “did go to check in and see what I could do for myself to change that behavior.”

“I never recognized it as something that I really needed to get help with and it’s been hard,” Nick said. “It’s something that is so socially accepted and especially on shows like these where everybody’s having a drink and people are moving it around. It’s really hard to take a step back from yourself … and look at that pattern.”

Nick, who found that he was “numbing” his emotions by drinking, did praise Sandy’s tireless support of his sobriety through the years.

“No matter what my frustrations were with her, the show and the breakup, she was always consistently supportive of me and getting to a better place,” Nick stressed.

Sandy, for her part, admitted that it was “really hard to navigate” Nick’s patterns of substance abuse but would always “drop everything” to help when she could.

“I really gave it my all with trying to be there for you and show up for you,” Sandy said. “I would drop everything and go make sure he was OK if he was struggling with certain things.”

Nick and Sandy both stressed that they remain on amicable terms since they parted ways. He has also started dating again, telling podcast host Nick Viall that they are “far more on the same page” than he ever was with Sandy.

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

The Ultimatum: Marry or Move On is currently streaming on Netflix.