After the first episode of The Bachelor: The Greatest Seasons—Ever!, a.k.a. the lovefest that was Sean Lowe and Catherine Giudici, we're on to fan-favorite Kaitlyn Bristowe. And now we're getting into more interesting territory, because (spoiler alert for five years ago, I guess?) Bristowe's not with her final rose selectee, Shawn Booth, but she is with another Bachelorverse alum. Her season of The Bachelorette has plenty of that crazy, crazy drama fans love so much—starting from the very beginning, in which Bristowe was one of two Bachelorettes that the men voted on (Britt Nilsson left in tears, which, I mean, same). Then there's also all that guy drama—I think I'm least excited to watch Ian Thomson, ugh—and all that Nick Viall steaminess to look forward to. But what is the podcaster, entrepreneur, TV personality, and former spin instructor up to these days?
Bristowe and Booth broke off their engagement in 2018.
After the Final Rose, Bristowe and Booth were together for three years before calling off their engagement in November 2018. And, speaking to also-ex Viall on the Viall Files podcast, Bristowe finally did get honest about why. She explained they'd almost broken up two years prior, when Viall was named the Bachelor. "Shawn almost broke up with me and said that you won," Bristowe said. "And I was like, ‘What do you mean?’ That hurt me so badly. And he said, ‘That guy won. That’s what he wanted. That’s why he came on the show and he won.'" (The two men were not fans of each other on the show.)
She went on to say that the show "damaged" the relationship and the trust between the two. "I just wanted him to believe how much I loved him. And it just never came through. It was always about something else…At the end of the day, I chose him...and it just never felt like he chose me back." She added that she "really lost confidence in myself in that relationship."
There are still traces of the two on her Insta, if you go far back enough:
Bristowe and Booth do at least keep in occasional contact, if Instagram is any indication. Most recently, she expressed her sorrow and condolence after Booth's dog Tucker passed away in April.
Bristowe is now dating Jason Tartick from Becca Kufrin's season.
Tartick appeared on Bristowe's feed shortly before the breakup, as he appeared on her Off the Vine podcast—apparently that's where the two met:
And then the romance-y post appeared in February 2019. "Choose to move forward, into the kind of story that fulfills you, into the kind of person that holds your heart just as carefully as you hold theirs, into the kind of happiness that exists because you chose to fight for it, and never stop fighting for it," she wrote:
Aside from that weird hookup story, the two are apparently going strong, with two adopted pups and talks of getting engaged. And they just shared the story of how they met (aww!):
In case you're wondering, Booth has apparently been on a few dates but is focusing on his fitness career, as of January 2020.
Bristowe is a little nervous about her season airing.
In an amusing Insta post, Bristowe wrote, "Let’s re-air seasons of #TheBachelorette, they said. It will be fun, they said. *Insert nervous smile." Commenters noted how tough it might be to watch a season in which you fall in love, choose a guy for your happily ever after, and then literally the whole world knows you broke up.
If the first episode was any indication, we'll get to hear from Bristowe and Tartick directly (as well as maybe Booth?)—and at least get to hear about her post-season happy ending.
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