Blake Horstmann revealed that he could hardly breathe after releasing his text exchange with Caelynn Miller-Keyes during his time on Bachelor in Paradise. It was a much-maligned decision that Horstmann mulled over before pressing post, and even weeks after the season ended, he's still being asked about conflict that occurred in the first few weeks of season six.
By the time Paradise had ended, the drama between Horstmann and Miller-Keyes had seemed like forever ago. He dated basically half the cast after moving on from Miller-Keyes, even though the two co-existed on the same beach for nearly the entirety of the season. At the Bachelor in Paradise reunion, however, the conversation between what actually happened between Horstmann and Miller-Keyes ate up a large chunk of time. Even after both sides were given an opportunity to air their dirty laundry, the audience still isn't entirely privy to what exactly went down from Stagecoach Music Festival until the time they stepped foot in Mexico. What can be deduced, however, is that Horstmann's decision to reveal the text exchanges didn't do him any favors. It wasn't easy for Miller-Keyes to see those conversations made public, and it turns out it took quite the toll on the man who shared them as well.
Horstmann, speaking on the Bachelor Happy Hour podcast (via: Us Weekly) said he "thought really hard about it" before sharing the texts that detailed the casual relationship that he and Miller-Keyes had before the show. Horstmann denied that his friends, Dean Unglert and Nick Viall, told him not to post the messages, they simply warned him of the consequences. At the end of the day, Horstmann concluded, "As hard as it was, I felt like that was the only thing I could do to get my truth out there.”
He's not kidding about how serious he took the action. Horstmann claimed he had to breathe in a paper bag the night he sent the texts free into the expansive social media landscape. For her part, Miller-Keyes was still shaken about the move during the Bachelor in Paradise finale. She said, “I truly feel disgusting that everyone has seen that sh*t. That to me is the lowest of the low."
This situation, very clearly, should have been resolved before it was plastered on Instagram for Bachelor Nation to make their own ill-informed judgments. The text reveal only enflamed strong feelings that fans had for either Horstmann or Miller-Keyes. Those who were against Horstmann's slippery dating tactics dubbed it a smear campaign against an innocent Miller-Keyes. Those who believed Horstmann felt Miller-Keyes saw the messages as proof that she was only coming after Horstmann on Paradise to improve her own self-image. The truth is likely somewhere in between both extremes. But on a show like Bachelor in Paradise, the sensationalized storylines are much easier to sink our teeth into. Though it wasn't the smartest choice, Horstmann fueled the suspense of the early part of the season when he posted the texts, and for that, the show is likely grateful.
Source: Us