The latest episode of The Bachelorette introduced a new contestant who is a familiar face for Bachelor Nation—and, surprisingly, this isn't the first time Katie Thurston has interacted with him, either.
Most of the drama throughout the Monday, June 28 episode focused on lingering tension involving Thomas, especially with Tre telling Katie that the unpopular contestant admitted he wanted to be the Bachelor. Thomas appeared to have talked Katie into keeping him on the show, but she ultimately cut him in dramatic fashion when she called his name at the rose ceremony before chastising him as "selfish, unkind and a liar," and then letting him go. Ouch.
Amid all that, she also learned that a guy from Tayshia Adams' past was interested in joining the season midway through, and viewers eventually found out it was Blake Moynes. As fans recall, he competed for both Tayshia and Clare Crawley's affections last year on The Bachelorette, ultimately making it to Tayshia's final eight guys.
When he finally surprised Katie by showing up, he apologized for throwing a "wrench" into her plans but explained he "knew this was the only way" he'd get to meet her.
"I've been pretty vocal, I think, from the beginning, as soon as you stepped out of that limo, about what I thought about you," Blake told her, referencing her time on Matt James' season of The Bachelor. "You intrigued me, and you continued to, all through everything that you did on that season. Your openness, you're bold, you're confident, but you have this playfulness to you, and a humor that I can really relate to, for sure."
Katie confirmed during her confessional that there was a preexisting connection between the two of them, which is reminiscent of Blake also having sent DMs to Clare before he began filming her season. Additionally, Katie expressed she was having trouble figuring out what to do, given that she knew the other guys would be unhappy to see Blake show up, not to mention this would be the third Bachelorette who Blake has wooed.
"I'm, like, so flustered right now," Katie told the camera. "I, obviously, have seen Blake on Tayshia's season. In fact, Blake and I have talked through the DMs. Blake reached out to commend me for my bold personality. And, I mean, he's a very handsome guy."
Ultimately, she told Blake she would let him know at a later time whether he'd be allowed to participate in the season. But after disposing of Thomas, the star told the camera about Blake, "My gut's telling me, 'Explore this,' and I have to follow my heart."
After surprising Blake at his room, Katie told him, "For me, I have to really follow my gut and everything, and given where things are at and how I'm feeling, if you wanna stay, I'd like you to join and see if this becomes something."
Blake, of course, was delighted, and he learned he would be moving into the house the following day. Based on previews for next week's episode, Blake is not going to be a welcome presence among the other guys.
For her part, Katie has yet to post about Blake on social media since the episode aired on the East Coast. However, Blake shared plenty of his own thoughts to Twitter as the action played out.
"F--k I feel pressure," he tweeted just after the start of the episode. Ivan Hall, a fellow standout from Tayshia's season, replied, "Built for this [flexing emoji]," leading Blake to respond with a fist-bump emoji.
As to be expected, viewers posted plenty of quips to social media about Blake returning to the show. One fan tweeted, "So Blake has been ready to marry 3 women since the start of the pandemic and I haven't even committed to going back to the office yet."
Another individual posted, "When the guys think Thomas is their problem and then Blake Moynes walks in," adding a meme of a confused child.
The Bachelorette airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on ABC.