From The Bachelorette to Dancing With The Stars, Kaitlyn Bristowe has had some experience in the world of reality TV. This time, Bristowe is competing for the Mirrorball Trophy, and not for the heart of a gentleman or two. But Bristowe's life before reality TV was a lot different than it is right now.
Bristowe was born in Leduc, Alberta, Canada, a small town just south of the city of Edmonton. She grew up with her ballerina mother, and wanted to follow in her footsteps. As an adult, Bristowe moved to Vancouver, BC on a dance scholarship to pursue her passion and love for dancing. Narcity reports that Bristowe attended several dance auditions and eventually landed a spot on the BC Lions CFL team. According to People, Bristowe's dance background is mainly in hip-hop and "ballroom is just a whole other beast." Bristowe revealed that she also has experience with jazz and tap dancing, but hopes "they don't throw in a tap routine because I faked my way through tap dancing my whole life." Bristowe put her dancing career on hold after she got the call of a lifetime; she was asked to be a contestant on The Bachelor.
At the age of 29, Bristowe appeared on season 19 of The Bachelor, where she vied for the heart of Chris Soules. She was later sent home by Soules after he developed a closer connection with the other contestants, runner-up Becca Tilley and winner Whitney Bischoff. The audience loved Bristowe's sense of humor and her quirky personality, which made her stand out from the rest of the girls. She later went on The Bachelorette with fellow season 19 contestant, Britt Nilsson, and competed against Britt to be the lead. The suitors ultimately chose Bristowe and she became the new Bachelorette. Bristowe had quite the season during her stint as Bachelorette. At week four, Bristowe made the controversial decision to allow Nick Viall, runner-up on Andi Dorfman's season of The Bachelorette, to join the show after "running into him" during a group date in New York City. This caused a huge rift in her group of men, but Bristowe felt this was a decision she needed to make for herself. Bristowe and Viall famously had sex after a one-on-one date that caused a riot in Bachelor Nation, and she was shamed for sleeping with someone who wasn't in her final three. Bristowe ultimately didn't choose Viall, and got engaged to Shawn Booth on the final episode.
Since her time of The Bachelorette, Bristowe's life had some downs, but a lot more ups have come her way. Her and the winner of her season, Shawn Booth, sadly ended their relationship after over 3 years together. Not too long after their break up, Bristowe met Jason Tartick, a former contestant from Becca Kurfin's season of The Bachelorette. The two have been dating for almost 2 years and their relationship seems to be going strong. However, Bristowe has more than a thriving love life going for her. The former hip-hop dancer has a popular podcast called Off the Vine With Kaitlyn Bristowe that a number of past Bachelor/Bachelorette contestants have appeared on. She also has several other thriving businesses such as Dew Edit, a line of scrunchies, and a line of wine called Spade and Sparrows.
Kaitlyn Bristowe made quite an impression on people after being thrown into the Bachelor universe. While she hasn't done much professional dancing since before her Bachelor days, she is sure to kill it on this season of DWTS.