I just got a Apple Watch and was trying to add to my Apple phone 8 but it won’t

Wow. You bought an obsolete Apple Watch. A Series 1 watch is VERY old at this point. It was introduced in 2016 and has been retired for some time now. You need to get help from Apple directly to see if or how it can be paired to your iPhone.

What model Apple Watch and is your iPhone updated to iOS 16 or higher (current version is 16.2)? Is the watch brand new or previously owned?

I'm glad you were able to get it up and running.