The Bachelorette and its multiple spinoffs have long been something of a romantic chess game, and the pieces have been rearranged yet again as former contestants Katie Thurston and Blake Moynes continue to make moves following their break up.
For those who need a refresher, Thurston first met Moynes as the star and titular love-seeker on season 17 of The Bachelorette, which aired in August of 2021. Moynes proposed to Thurston as the winner of that season, and the pair were briefly engaged until Oct. 2021.
Thurston went on to date John Hersey, a contestant on her season who placed eleventh after she initially eliminated him in week two. Thurston and Hersey maintained a brief romance for a few months, but likewise also headed for Splitsville and called it quits in June of 2022. More recently, Thurston and Moynes reconnected on the currently airing season of Bachelor In Paradise, where Moynes was shocked by the arrival of his ex-fiancee during the ninth instalment of the Bachelor spinoff.
Seeing both Thurston and Moynes on our screens again has raised questions as to why the couple went their separate ways in the first place. So, why did Katie Thurston and Blake Moynes break up after their appearance on season 17 of The Bachelorette?
Why did Katie Thurston and Blake Moynes break up after The Bachelorette season 17?
Thurston and Moynes announced their split just two months after the finale of The Bachelorette season 17. In a joint statement, the couple confirmed that they were going their separate ways but had remained grateful for the moments they had shared together. The statement outlined that the pair were simply not “compatible as life partners,” though they maintained a friendship and mutual respect for each other.
While the statement went some way in underlining the reason behind the split, sources close to Thurston and Moynes later revealed that long-distance took its toll on the pair’s relationship. A source told Us Weekly that Moynes’ job as a wildlife manager — which took him on overseas trips on a regular basis — became “too difficult for [Thurston] to deal with.” While Moynes’ career was one of the attributes that Thurston was most drawn to, the couple simply “couldn’t make the long-distance work,” the source said.
Thurston is originally from Washington, but moved to San Diego to film The Bachelorette. For his part, Moynes lives in Canada, but travels all over the world — including a 2021 trip to Kenya, Africa — for his line of work. Thurston herself hinted at the difficulty maintaining a long-distance relationship in 2021, telling Us Weekly that she was “winging her life” and planning trips to San Diego to visit Moynes.
At the time, Thurston said that the relationship was “still new to us”, and that the pair were focusing on themselves while “figuring it out.” Naturally, the break up was a topic of conversation during the current season of Bachelor In Paradise, in which Moynes has made a connection with fellow contestant Jess Girod.
During a recent episode, audiences learned that Moynes and Thurston had broken up over the phone, with Thurston revealing that while they had ended on good terms, Moynes later admitted to not responding to the voice memos Thurston sent after the break up out of bitterness, though it appears the pair might be rekindling their romance on Bachelor In Paradise.
Following her surprise arrival on the show, Thurston was seen blushing when asked if she still had feelings for Moynes, and Girod was given a harsh truth about their own budding romance. Moynes shocked his new flame by admitting he was “not getting there” in terms of his feelings for her.
Girod appeared disheartened by Moynes’ seeming interest in Thurston, especially given his confessional in which he reminisced on his former fiancée. Moynes told audiences that he hadn’t seen Thurston in the two years since their break up, and admitted that he had been in love with her during their run on The Bachelorette.
For her part, Girod revealed she had intentions of continuing a romance with Moynes, but said she wasn’t quite at a place of falling in love. Fans will have to wait to see how Thurston and Moynes’ rekindled romance plays out, with new episodes of Bachelor In Paradise airing weekly on ABC.