‘The Bachelorette’ Finale: Blake Weighs In On Greg’s Surprising Blowout, As Katie Clarifies TikTok Backlash

SPOILER ALERT: Cease no longer read ahead, in case you’ve no longer watched the season finale of Katie Thurston’s season of “The Bachelorette,” which aired Monday, Aug. 9 on ABC.

When “The Bachelorette” began this season, the drama modified into off-shroud, surrounding the now-departed host Chris Harrison. But by the level Season 17 ended, the drama modified into wait on on primetime revolving spherical actuality stars desperately procuring for esteem.

Leading girl Katie Thurston left with a hoop on her finger and a fiancé in ceaselessly-considered Bachelor Nation alum, Blake Moynes.

However the finale didn’t wrap up with out a dramatic skedaddle that integrated a significant twist and a substantial shocker with frontrunner Greg Grippo, who left the expose on his possess accord the week before delusion suites, leaving Thurston and tears and viewers fully disquieted at dwelling.

On closing night’s episode of “After the Final Rose,” Thurston sat down with Grippo for the first time since taking pictures wrapped. She didn’t defend the rest wait on, as she criticized the contestant for “gaslighting” her, after he walked away when she didn’t reciprocate his declaration of esteem. Thurston’s commentary — and Grippo’s response — jumpstarted a flurry of opinions on social media.

Today, for the first time, speaking to Selection, Thurston’s fiancé reacts to Grippo’s behavior, standing in the wait on of his future wife.

Moynes says Grippo’s behavior reminded him of antagonistic memories from his childhood, which “prompted” him. (Moynes’ of us separated when he modified into young, and he modified into raised by his mom, Emily, who’s now a lifestyles coach, running her possess firm that specializes in coaching females to alter into self ample from from poisonous relationships; his mom has said on Instagram that she persisted two “painful divorces.”)

“I mean, listen,” Moynes tells Selection. “The method I peep at it’s if that’s the esteem of your lifestyles, you factual don’t search the advice of in conjunction with her be pleased that. You factual don’t. You wrestle extra difficult and he didn’t plot that.”

Moynes continues: “There modified into speaking down and things. It’s exhausting attributable to I strive to put myself in that role…that’s how I strive to think. And I wouldn’t possess ever approached it that method, so, I factual seen it as unhealthy.”

“I grew up in a household the put that selection of behavior modified into a fixed for 17 years and I seen what that can plot to my mom, in that case,” Moynes shares. “And so, it prompted me a puny bit. It if truth be told reminded me of a brutal previous, to a pair stage…I hope that Katie is conscious of that she’ll never have to hear that from me.”

Right here, Katie Thurston adds her ideas to the Greg drama, and what’s next for her and her fiancé — plus, she weighs in on the backlash she confronted on TikTok throughout her season.

On the finale, you said that your family didn’t know that you were engaged. I retract that modified into one among your first mobile phone calls closing night?

Katie Thurston: They knew we were collectively attributable to I modified into leaving so essential to trail secretly peek him, nonetheless they didn’t know at what level. They were very supportive. We’re no longer a dilapidated family the put I have to put sure they had a heads up or possess a foremost conversation, which is why I modified into contented with them factual checking out the identical method that largely every our families realized.

Creep me thru the previous few months, attributable to you wrapped filming — you clearly needed to veil your relationship, so what modified into that project be pleased?

Blake Moynes: It wrapped up at discontinue of April. I’ve been customarily residing the summer season in quarantine attributable to I needed to trail search the advice of in conjunction with her and then I would have to quarantine for 14 days when I obtained wait on to Canada, and then I’d have to trail search the advice of in conjunction with her yet again and I’d reach wait on in quarantine. So, it modified into complex for sure, nonetheless we survived thru FaceTime.

What’s next for you two? Blake you’re in Canada, so the put will the two of you silent down now?

Thurston: Nicely, I don’t believe we’re settling down finally wherever. We’ve agreed to live with every other, nonetheless chunks at a time, whether or no longer it’s Canada [or] San Diego. He’ll be in Africa at instances and so, if I could per chance per chance be a a part of him, I’ll. There are going to be instances we’re aside, nonetheless we factual possess this freedom of being ready to hop spherical collectively, and I believe that’s potentially we’ll plot for the first twelve months, a minimal of.

Cease you two are searching to have a step out of the highlight and live a extra not fresh lifestyles, or would you be pleased to defend in the leisure enterprise?

Thurston: I don’t believe the leisure enterprise is the put we’re headed. We have fairly a pair of identical alignments by project of the put we’re headed in lifestyles, and what he needs to plot alongside with his advocacy for animals and the planet are things that furthermore excite me and that I’m obsessed with, as successfully. So it’s factual finally thrilling to peek what projects we are able to work on and what extra or much less education we are able to carry wait on to the of us who put collectively us on social media and offers a fresh level of view that folks per chance aren’t utterly uncovered to in the moment.

Katie, before you entered this franchise, you had fairly a following on TikTok. And also you’ve spoken relating to the response from Bachelor Nation on social media — right and contaminated. Are you mad to soar wait on into TikTok, no longer being in the midst of “The Bachelorette?”

Thurston: It’s exhausting to clutch if how necessary I’ll return to TikTok attributable to that modified into extra of a COVID quarantine factor that unintentionally blew up. Now, we are getting out of the condo and we are able to plot things and skedaddle. Attributable to COVID is with any luck going away, I don’t finally know the method necessary we’ll be developing whisper material versus in actuality residing lifestyles.

You modified your TikTok handle. It dilapidated to be “Vent With Katie,” and now it’s factual your name. There had been fairly a pair of rumors that you were getting backlash for being too originate, so are you able to shed some light on why you modified your social media handle?

Thurston: It modified into factual better for the expose and of us being ready to search out me. The expose is representing me and I’m representing them. To mix in a definite label with “Vent With Katie,” it can per chance factual motive fairly a pair of bewilderment, and so, it modified into factual more straightforward to be me representing me and the expose supporting me. The “Vent With Katie” title modified into be pleased a TikTok COVID name. [It’s] in the background for now.

Let’s discuss relating to the foremost elephant in the room. Obviously the proposal modified into the supreme info of closing night, nonetheless what obtained the most headlines modified into all the drama surrounding the Greg storyline. Blake, when modified into the first time that you watched all of that?

Moynes: I would’ve considered it factual before I went on stage, as successfully — factual before the taping of “After the Final Rose.”

Katie, did you look wait on “After the Final Rose?” What were your ideas?

Thurston: Yeah, it’s complex attributable to I watched the episode before every little thing factual before seeing Greg, so those emotions are very new and Bachelor Nation hadn’t considered it yet. I had no notion how heavy this topic modified into going to be, in spite of whose aspect you’re on or what your level of view modified into, so now, provided that it [had] been a week of listening and determining, I believe all I will plot is toughen Greg and his skedaddle for healing and whatever it’s that he’s going thru. I did reach down exhausting and I did possess fairly a pair of anger. If I in actuality possess the different to search the advice of with somebody who anxiety me, I’m going to.

Cease you suspect that Greg modified into performing?

Thurston: It’s exhausting to relate. I mean, I will speculate all day, nonetheless at this level I don’t finally care to possess an opinion if he modified into or if he wasn’t. He modified into in performing college — have that for what that it’s seemingly you’ll also be searching to possess. Indirectly it helped every of us put the factual resolution by project of him leaving and me staying. And I stopped up with precisely who I’m presupposed to be with.

Enjoy you spoken to Greg since “After the Final Rose” taped?

Thurston: No, I in actuality possess no longer reached out to him.

Katie, you went from Greg to Blake. And Blake, that’s one thing it’s seemingly you’ll per chance be ready to expose to attributable to there modified into Clare and Tayshia and now clearly Katie. A spread of viewers are announcing, ‘How is it that it’s seemingly you’ll per chance be ready to believe that it’s seemingly you’ll per chance be ready to fall in esteem so mercurial, after pondering you’re in esteem with somebody else? ‘Can you every uncover what it’s be pleased being on this vacuum of the expose and the method in which that can also affect your emotions?

Thurston: You’ve all distractions removed and all it’s seemingly you’ll per chance be ready to plot each day is focal level on the connection. I’ve been very originate from the very initiating that I plot fall in esteem greater than once. I plot believe that’s that it’s seemingly you’ll per chance be ready to believe. It wasn’t till in direction of the discontinue that I in actuality needed to originate evaluating the boys… I saved every relationship particular particular person. Each guy had one thing utterly different to offer. Of us demand Justin being there, and it’s finally miserable attributable to there’s a motive he modified into there. But must you’ve two hours a week, there’s only so necessary it’s seemingly you’ll per chance be ready to expose… that it’s seemingly you’ll also no longer ticket how I will esteem Blake, nonetheless there’s factual so necessary that you didn’t salvage to peek, sadly.

Moynes: The foremost time I went on, it modified into for attempting out the expose and that modified into Clare. Then Tayshia got right here in and you are attempting to separate the two, which is incredibly exhausting to plot in a transient duration of time, and so, that’s why you seen the very tedious transition with Tayshia, which finally didn’t amount to necessary… I in actuality modified into into Katie [but] there modified into no method I modified into going on to plot this “Bachelorette” factor yet again — it’s no longer that enjoyable; it’s finally no longer. But I modified into be pleased, “I believe about on this, and let’s factual meet her and peek the method in which it goes.” And I’m so pleased I trusted my intestine, stopping for somebody I in actuality had a right instinct for attributable to now we’re sitting factual right here.