Taylor Swift's anthems of love and heartbreak are extremely relatable for fans, especially former The Bachelorette lead Katie Thurston, who is pairing songs from the newly-released Red (Taylor's Version) with men from her season. When the re-recorded album dropped on November 12, Katie launched her 12 Days of Messy, which each day matches an ex with an angsty Taylor track that reminds her of the guy. While some pairings are obviously in good fun, Katie's followers are reading heavily into the meaning behind others.
Throughout The Bachelorette season 17, Katie experienced her share of highs and lows in the journey to find love. She fell hard for single dad Michael Allio, who pulled himself from the competition to be with his young son. She then thought Greg Grippo would be one of the last men standing. But after an unforgettable outburst, he headed home when Katie refused to use the word "love" while several men still remained in the competition. Though she was happily engaged to Blake Moynes for several months, they announced a split at the end of October, realizing they're "not compatible as life partners." Through it all, Katie maintained a tell-it-like-it-is attitude and consistently called out men who didn't treat her right. In this regard, she has much in common with Taylor.
At the suggestion of one of her followers, Katie started the 12 Days of Messy series on Instagram. For 12 consecutive days, she is pairing a contestant from her Bachelorette season with a Red (Taylor's Version) song. Katie kicked off the series with a bang by linking ex-fiancé Blake Moynes to the hit "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together." This surprised many fans, who questioned whether Katie and Blake are on good terms like they previously stated. On the second day, finalist Andrew Spencer was matched with "Run" – a song from the vault that features Ed Sheeran. The lyric, "There's a chain 'round your throat, piece of paper where I wrote, 'I'll wait for you,'" pays homage to the note Andrew left Katie after she eliminated him. It read, "If you change your mind, I'll be waiting."
The third day took a more humorous turn as Katie matched besties James Bonsall and Aaron Clancy with "Girl at Home." During their time on Bachelor In Paradise season 7, these San Diego friends spent more time hanging out with each other than pursing the women on the beach. In the end, they ultimately decided to leave together and are currently roommates. Katie's most recent post for day 4 matched Thomas Jacobs with "I Knew You Were Trouble." Thomas was swiftly eliminated by Katie when she learned he had ambitions to be the next lead on The Bachelor. However, he's now in a committed relationship with former Bachelorette Becca Kufrin.
In the midst of her 12 Days of Messy, Katie took to her Instagram Story to urge followers not to take the series so seriously. "Maybe it's just a title, maybe there's more to it, maybe it's absolutely nothing. I mean, think about it. Twelve songs, 12 guys is a lot," she said. "But I'm very excited. I'm enjoying it. No hate intended. Some of Taylor's songs are messy. Some of them are nothing but love and respect." Katie used The Bachelorette villain Thomas as an example, stating, "He obviously is very different than what we all see on TV just like all the other guys are." For anyone who wants to follow along with 12 Days of Messy, Katie is sharing each entry in her Instagram Highlights.
The Bachelorette airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
Source: Katie Thurston/Instagram