Katie Thurston and John Hersey, who first met when John competed for Katie's heart in The Bachelorette season 17, announced their split after seven months of dating. With 30 contestants vying for Katie's love in Palm Springs last year on the ABC reality TV series, Katie and 28-year-old bartender John didn't form a solid connection, resulting in John being eliminated during week 2. Blake Moynes joined the group the next week after previously starring in The Bachelorette season 16. Although Blake was a late addition to the show, he won over Washington native Katie, and the two became engaged in August 2021.
Just two months later in October, however, Katie and Blake announced their separation and admitted that their relationship simply wasn't working out. Shortly after Katie and Blake's engagement ended, news broke in late November that Katie and John were dating after they grew close post-filming. After going public on Instagram in early December, Katie and John shared dozens of photos of themselves together on their respective accounts; the duo even attended Coachella with Love Is Blind season 2 stars Deepti Vempati and Kyle Abrams in April.
Despite fans hoping that Katie and John would become the next Bachelor Nation couple to get engaged, the duo announced their surprising breakup after seven months in the early hours of June 21. 31-year-old Katie was the first to reveal her new single relationship status, with a message posted on her Instagram Story simply reading, "Statement: no we aren't together." Bachelorette fans immediately recognized that Katie was referring to her relationship with John, especially considering that the two haven't been pictured together since shortly after their time at Coachella. A few hours later, John posted a more detailed explanation on his own Instagram Story, confirming, "As Katie stated earlier, we are no longer dating. This decision was not made lightly, and it was obviously not an easy one to make."
Writing that he loves "being able to share special moments," with his 110,000 Instagram followers, John called the end of his relationship with Katie "sad," though he didn't disclose what led to him and Katie going their separate ways. "I appreciate every one of you that has supported us throughout this journey," John finished. "We could not (and would not) be here without you." Naturally, fans following Katie and John began to comb through their social media profiles to find any previous hints of a problem, with many flocking to a post uploaded by John on June 15. While Katie unsuspectedly commented on John's advertisement for Daily's Cocktails with, "Immediately, no," users are now speculating that the statement was not made in jest. One person even questioned, "Is [Katie's comment] the shade that started the end?"
Katie and John aren't the only now-former couple that fans are mourning, as The Bachelorette season 18's Michelle Young and Nayte Olukoya announced their own breakup on June 17. While Katie sent home John during her season of The Bachelorette, Canadian-born Nayte proposed to Michigan-native Michelle last December during the season 18 finale. If that wasn't enough, Michelle and Nayte were then gifted a hefty $200,000 check from ABC during the "After The Final Rose" special. While both former Bachelorette couples have yet to say anything more about their respective breakups, fans are waiting to find out why Katie and John broke up, especially considering Katie's short, sweet and to-the-point statement.
The Bachelorette season 19 premieres July 11 at 8 p.m. EDT on ABC.
Sources: Katie Thurston/Instagram, John Hersey/Instagram