Would you call your ex up to let them know you'd started dating someone new?
According to Katie Thurston, that's not what normal people do. The Bachelorette star shared a video on Instagram on Friday, Dec. 17, to respond to online criticism after going public with boyfriend John Hersey about a month after news broke of her split with fiancé Blake Moynes.
"It's hard thing to navigate," she said, while discussing her "regret" for her "12 Days of Messy" series, which revealed her feelings about John. "People are always like, ‘Well, you should have told Blake.'"
Katie reflected, "And it's like, look, we talked about that. We talked about giving Blake a heads up." However, she ultimately decided against it.
"Here's the thing that people, I think, forget: We're just normal people trying to live normal lives. And when have you ever had to tell an ex that you're seeing someone new?" Katie said. "And like, how would you tell them that? And would I still have received the same amount of hate even if I did give Blake a heads up? I don't know."
The reality star continued, "All I know is in the moment, I was and am still the happiest I've been and I wanted to make a big, grand statement about where I'm at and who I'm with and that's all I can do is live my truth, live my happiness."
She said she wouldn't repeat the mistake if she could go back. "It wasn't worth it," she said of the shady list about her exes. "What I didn't like is the amount of people who thought there was no way that John and I could have a connection, that John is so friend-zoned that it's, like, so sad."
John jumped in, saying, "I loved that. That was hilarious."
"I hated it," Katie revealed. "You can love it and that's fine. I didn't like that. I wanted to really show that, to me, John is my world. John is handsome. John is romantic. John is everything. And I wanted to really make a big, grand gesture to show that. Was there a lot of hate that came with it? Yeah."
She and Blake announced their split in October, only a few months after their engagement aired on the ABC dating show.
"It is with mutual love and respect that we have decided to go our separate ways," Katie wrote. "We are so grateful for the moments we shared together and the entire journey that has unfolded this year, but we ultimately have concluded that we are not compatible as life partners, and it is the most caring choice for both of us to move forward independently."