The Bachelorette star Katie Thurston has broken her silence following her split from fiance Blake Moynes less than three months after their engagement aired on ABC.
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On Wednesday, Katie, 30, broke her silence on the split by posting a photo of her cat resting on a chair.
Set to "Superficial Love" by Ruth B., Katie wrote on her Instagram Story, "Thank you to everyone who has shown their love and support. You can either spend every day convincing yourself things are fine. Or you can accept what is and learn and grow from it."
"And remember," she added. "You don't [owe] anyone anything. Life is too short. Surround your personal universe with joy."
Just hours earlier, Katie suggested she's still trying to mend her broken heart by revealing a dog named Dexter had come to her rescue.
"Dexter forcing me out the house this morning," Katie shared.
But Katie's spirits were apparently lifted when she discovered she's been nominated for a People's Choice Award.
Katie is up for the award of "The Competition Contestant of 2021" for her stint on The Bachelorette's seventeenth season.
"Well this made me [cry]," Katie wrote on Instagram, along with a crying emoji and heart.
"Thank you so much for the nomination! If you feel like showing some love, feel free to vote now through 11/17! VotePCA.com."
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW: WHOM DID 'THE BACHELORETTE' STARS AND THEIR BACHELOR PICKS ULTIMATELY END UP WITH?! (PHOTOS)
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOWA source recently told Us Weekly that Katie "won't give up on love and still hopes to get married one day."
According to another insider, Blake and Katie "just couldn't make the long-distance [relationship] work" and "[Katie] didn't want to put on a facade if they truly weren't on the best terms."
Katie just moved into a new San Diego, CA, apartment in August, and Blake -- a wildlife manager who lives in Toronto, Canada -- often travels to Africa for his endangered-animal conservation efforts, most recently involving the rescuing of rhinos.
"Katie really missed Blake once he left and they would get into little arguments, but at the end of the day, Katie wished he would be with her more," the insider shared with Us.
When Katie and Blake released their joint breakup statement on social media, they called themselves "grateful" for the moments they had shared but said it's "the most caring choice" "to move forward independently."
The pair ended their brief statement asking for "kindness and privacy" as they navigate "this transition" from being an engaged couple to being single again.
During a Wednesday appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, The Bachelorette co-host Tayshia Adams said the news of Blake and Katie's split made her "really sad."
After all, Tayshia got to know Blake pretty well considering he had competed on her edition of The Bachelorette last year, Season 16, which also starred Clare Crawley.
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"I did not see it coming," Tayshia admitted, according to People. "I, truthfully, thought that they were meant for each other and thought they complimented each other quite well."
Katie and Blake's breakup announcement came only days after Katie admitted she had been "totally winging" her relationship with Blake following their televised engagement.
"I'm, like, totally winging my life right now," Katie had told the magazine.
During the interview, Katie -- who originally competed for Matt James' heart on The Bachelor's 25th season -- had sounded somewhat indifferent about her relationship with Blake, who joined Katie's season several weeks into the process.
"We're figuring it out," Katie had said. "We don't know. This is very new to us still. I'm just focusing on myself, he's focusing on him, and if we work doing that, great."
The couple's breakup may have shocked many fans because two weeks ago, Katie had taken to Twitter and clapped back at speculation she and Blake had called it quits.
On October 15, Katie tweeted a screenshot of one of her recent Instagram comments that read, "You and Blake are not liking each other's posts. Is all OK?"
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' COUPLES NOW: WHO DID 'THE BACHELOR' STARS AND THEIR BACHELORETTE PICKS ACTUALLY END UP MARRYING? (PHOTOS)
The screenshot showed that Katie immediately responded to the fan, "Yes," with a tears-of-joy emoji.
Katie tweeted alongside the image, "Imagine your fiance has been on his [Instagram] stories for weeks in Kenya working his ass off and yet this is what some people notice," in addition to another tears-of-joy emoji.
But when Blake left for Africa to focus on saving animals, Katie reportedly wrote on Instagram earlier this month, "It can feel lonely moving to a new state... I've had trouble sleeping lately... I'm still trying to navigate this new life and city while seeking normalcy."
Katie and Blake had said they were in no rush to wed and intended to travel together and learn more about each other's backgrounds, interests, hobbies and hometowns before deciding on an "anchor spot," or city in which to put down roots as a couple.
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"I think right now Blake can only be here for 60 days before having to go back to Canada. So we really do have a lot we have to look into -- and we just haven't yet."
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
