No mistletoe? No problem.
Bachelor Nation's Katie Thurston and John Hersey shared a kiss on the red carpet at the First Noelle Ball event, which took place at the Mavericks Beach Club in San Diego, Calif.a on Thursday, Dec. 2. For the occasion, the reality star wore a black dress, while her new boyfriend wore a navy blue suit.
The Noelle Ball marked their first public appearance as boyfriend and girlfriend, with a guest telling E! News all about the couple's date night. "Katie and John were so cute at Mavericks Beach Club Thursday night," the eyewitness shared. "They definitely have chemistry and it was so cute to see. They look so happy together and seem to have such a nice bond."
Technically, the Bachelorette star has walked the red carpet with John before, but she was dating final rose recipient Blake Moynes at the time. Since then, she and the Canadian have gone their separate ways, paving the way for Katie to date John, who she sent home in week two of season 17.
One month after Katie and Blake announced they were calling off their engagement, the reality star said she was dating John.
This announcement was met with surprise from Blake, who said on the Talking It Out With Bachelor Nation podcast, "Everyone's asking me questions like I have the answers. I don't. I have no idea. When everyone heard this, I heard the exact same thing."
He added, "There was speculation, I think, obviously. But I really thought there was no way. Just based on timeline."
Blake went on to say that he didn't think there was any "physical cheating" between John and Katie, "but there's clearly emotional for it to transition as quickly as it did."
At the time, a source told E! News that "Katie and John were mutually in the friend zone for months" but her split from Blake changed "a lot."
"It's been wild but exciting for those closest to them to witness," the source continued. "It's clear Katie has never been happier."
John has also spoken out about the swift pace of their romance, defending Katie from critics on Reddit. "I'm sure there's no question why I've chosen this moment to speak up," John wrote on the Bachelor subreddit. "This has been a wild couple days to say the least. I am absolutely in favor of everybody having their own opinion, voicing that opinion, and hell, arguing and yelling about that opinion. What hurts me, however, is watching SO many of you build assumptions and throw around accusations based on very limited knowledge of a situation."
The 27-year-old bartender added that he always treated Katie, 30, with the "respect" she deserved as an engaged woman, insisting, "Neither Katie nor I would ever cheat, push someone to cheat, or be involved in cheating. It is not in our nature. It is not acceptable. It is not okay."
For her part, Katie has not publicly commented on their romance.