The Bachelorette contestant Blake Moynes recently opened up regarding the news of ex-fiancée Katie Thurston connecting with fellow contestant John Hersey, accusing Katie of “emotional cheating.” Blake became the frontrunner in Katie’s season of The Bachelorette as soon as he arrived, which was slightly later than the other contestants. While Blake and Katie finished the season stronger than ever, the engagement was cut short in October 2021.
Katie’s season was trademarked by Blake’s arrival after fellow contestant Greg’s exit from the show. While Blake arrived later than the other men, he was specifically requested by Katie and received a one-on-one date as soon as he arrived on the scene. Humorously, Blake had previously attempted to connect with Katie during her time on The Bachelor after her famously censored limo introduction. While there wasn't a ton of chemistry via DMs, they hit it off instantly during his time in Katie’s season, and Blake became a clear threat for the other men competing. Katie and Blake got engaged in August 2021, but the engagement was called off less than three months later.
In a recent episode of Mike Johnson and Bryan Absolo’s Talking It Out podcast, Blake dove into the dirty details of the proposal and his ex’s connection with fellow contestant John. Blake described himself as feeling “stupid and foolish for allowing it to happen, I guess, at some degree.” He continued by admitting that he doesn’t believe there was “any physical cheating." He is still frustrated due to the strong belief that a connection was forged outside of his relationship with Katie, which led him to feel there were emotional feelings that Katie was dishonest about.
“There was clearly emotional [cheating] for it to transition as quickly as it did. I don’t know if it was partially me too,” Blake further reflected. “Was she in some sense emotionally cheating to some degree? Because I wasn’t able to provide something with words of affirmation, which I know I struggle with sometimes.” On the other side of the coin, Katie’s representatives reported to Page Six that the relationship between Katie and John became romantic less than a month after the engagement to Blake ended. Blake confirmed that he lacks the answers. Katie’s new romance comes as a surprise to him as much as the rest of Bachelor Nation.
The question this raises is how legitimate are Blake's concerns and how much of his urgency is simply due to heartbreak. No one likes hearing that their ex has moved on quickly, so nobody is denying the pain he is likely feeling after learning about Katie and John’s relationship. Especially since both Blake and John fought for Katie’s affection during their time on The Bachelorette, Blake is rightfully at a loss for understanding where things went wrong. Fans of The Bachelorette often enjoy waiting to see if the love between the final two will last and all too frequently find the bachelors and bachelorettes exploring love with other contestants instead. Katie seems to have followed the same pattern as these former contestants in exploring how things might turn out with John. It's just up in the air if this new love with John will be the lasting love that Bachelorette fans rooted for with Blake.
The Bachelorette airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. EST on ABC.
Sources: Talking It Out/Apple Podcasts, Page Six