Kaitlyn Bristowe's thoughts and prayers are with Clint Arlis' family after his untimely death.
Earlier this week, the former Bachelorette contestant—who appeared on Kaitlyn's season of the reality show in 2015—passed away at the age of 34. "It is with great sadness, to tell you that my family has lost my best friend and older brother Clint on the morning of January 11th," Clint's sister Taylor confirmed on her Facebook page the following day. "Please respect our family's privacy as we try to cope with this great loss. Details on the service will follow. Thank You."
After news emerged about Clint's passing, Kaitlyn took to social media to pay tribute to him. "This is an Instagram Story I did not think I'd be doing tonight," she said in a video message early Friday, Jan. 14. "Clint, who was on my season of The Bachelorette, I'm gonna say tragically, he's tragically passed. 34 years old. I'm not sure what happened, how it happened."
As Bachelor Nation fans may recall, Clint—who along with pal JJ Lane coined the phrase "villains gotta vill"—was eliminated during the third week of Kaitlyn's season after fellow contestants claimed he might not be there for the right reasons.
However, as Kaitlyn noted during her Instagram Story video, "Even though things didn't end on the best terms for us, from his time on the show to today, I have heard nothing but incredible things about that person. From his peers, his students, his coaches, his teachers, his friends, his family, Clint was very well respected in his world."
Kaitlyn went to call Clint's death a "tragedy" and reminded her followers that she doesn't know "much" about the circumstances surrounding his passing.
"And it's none of my business," she noted. "This Instagram Story is literally to just say to anyone who knows him who might follow me that I am so sorry. It's such huge loss and I'm honestly just beside myself with this news."
Kaitlyn then asked her followers to let her know if there's "anything" she could do. "And let's all just say a prayer or be there for Clint's family during this time," she concluded. "Gosh, I'm just so sorry."
Nick Viall, who appeared alongside Clint on Kaitlyn's season of The Bachelorette, also took to social media to remember him. "Just heard about the passing of Clint Arlis. I got a chance to get know Clint a little after our time on Kaitlyns season," Nick tweeted Jan. 13, noting he always enjoyed their conversations. "A very kind, unique, and talented person who was taken from this world far too soon. RIP Clint."