The Bachelorette alum Kaitlyn Bristowe has reacted to her ex-fiance Jason Tartick and TikTok star Kat Stickler going Instagram official with their new relationship.
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Kaitlyn took to Instagram Stories on Thursday, June 13 to send fans the message that she's feeling "strong."
The former The Bachelorette Season 11 star posted a video of herself cuddled in bed with her two dogs, Pinot and Ramen.
"Good morning. We're going to have a really great day today. We are all very loved, and we're a little family. We are going to just go hour by hour today and be present and in the moment," Kaitlyn said.
"We are not going to think too much ahead or get in our heads. We are just going to take the day as it is and appreciate what's in front of us because we are lucky, we are healthy, we are loved, and we are strong!"
Kaitlyn noted at the end of the clip that she and her dogs perform that ritual "every morning."
Kaitlyn subsequently uploaded a selfie at the gym, writing, "She strong."
Kaitlyn first commented on the big news via a Facebook group designed to support her "Off the Vine with Kaitlyn Bristowe" podcast, according to Us Weekly.
One Facebook user wrote, "We need to let go of the narrative that KB is hurt/saddened by Jason's relationship. She has very clearly moved on. And truthfully, based on some of her cryptic comments, there's no love lost on her part."
Kaitlyn replied, "It's more of some held on anger and resentment that I'm working through!!! Not hurt."
Kaitlyn thanked fans who had written kind words about her, saying they "meant a lot" to her, but she also slammed trolls who had suggested Jason's new romance probably wouldn't upset her since she appears to be dating The Bachelorette alum Zac Clark.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW"Y'all are making some wild assumptions in here," Kaitlyn wrote in the thread.
Rumors of Jason and Kat's relationship first sparked in March when the pair had been spotted out to dinner in Chicago, IL, following the taping of a "Trading Secrets" podcast episode, which has since been released.
Jason acknowledged the online "chit-chat" he was hearing about his love life during a March interview with People.
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At the time, Jason said his new book, Talk Money To Me, was his main "focus," largely in part due to his highly publicized and scrutinized August 2023 breakup with Kaitlyn, who had co-hosted two seasons of The Bachelorette alongside Tayshia Adams.
"I think due to such a public breakup, even when I think about the idea of talking openly about my dating life, I get like, 'Oh, That scares me,'" Jason admitted.
"The whole idea of dating is relatively new to me, [because] really, there's been some gaps of course, 100%. But from 2017, when I started talking to The Bachelor franchise, and in between there, there was a few months, and now I've been single for about 9 months... And it's all still pretty new to me."
But Jason gushed of Kat at the time, "Kat is an amazing person. She's lovely and a great mother, and she's a hilarious content creator. I only have incredible things to say about her."
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And that's because Jason explained on the "Scrubbing In With Becca Tilley & Tanya Rad" podcast that he wanted to keep things "a little bit more private" this time around.
"[My split from Kaitlyn] was so public, and there's a lot that comes with that -- good and bad," Jason told Becca Tilley.
"And so, the whole dating aspect, which I'm relatively new to, I'm like, 'You know what? For right now, today, I'm gonna kind of keep things private,'" he said, "until things become [more serious]. But right now, I'm keeping things a little private. But more to come."
Jason seemed to be over Kaitlyn and healed from their breakup in February. At the time, he told his fans via Instagram Stories that he was thriving and feeling "truly euphoric."
Jason shared, "I can say with certainty, I have never felt better. I have put so much effort, time and work into understanding myself at the deepest levels and further understanding others."
"The liberation of knowing yourself to the core," he continued, "and then being able to see others for who they really are and why is truly euphoric."
The Bachelorette 14 alum went on to share his "biggest takeaway" from his heartbreak.
"First, keep pointing the thumb at yourself and do everything in your power to hold yourself accountable," Jason wrote.
"Know exactly who you are and why. We all have experienced traumas from our first memories that impact who we are today. Lean in!" he concluded.
Jason, a Buffalo native who had competed for Becca Kufrin's heart on The Bachelorette's fourteenth season in 2018, asked Kaitlyn out on their first date in January 2019, and their romance moved quickly.
Jason moved from his place in Washington to live with Kaitlyn in Nashville, TN, in June 2019. The couple then adopted their two dogs together and got engaged in May 2021.
Jason ultimately moved himself out of Kaitlyn's Nashville home into his new place after their breakup last summer. (Kaitlyn also subsequently moved into a new house for a fresh start after her back-to-back broken engagements to The Bachelorette 11 winner Shawn Booth and then Jason).
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For Kaitlyn's part, rumors she's romantically involved with Zac, who had been engaged to Season 16 The Bachelorette star, Tayshia, began swirling in January.
Kaitlyn and Zac rang in 2024 together at a party in Kaitlyn's new Nashville home, and they were recently spotted attending a wedding together.
Kaitlyn has faced backlash about her apparent new romance with Zac -- including speculation she had cheated on Jason while they were still together and also broken "girl code" with Tayshia -- but the former Dancing with the Stars champion claimed on social media earlier this year that she was never unfaithful to Jason.
"Some of you [are] treating me like I murdered someone," Kaitlyn wrote in a series of posts via Instagram Stories.
"You would think by now I'd be used to the hate. I'm not. Your words hurt. Your shaming hurts. Part of me feels a little sad and honestly embarrassed for you guys because this shouldn't be how you spend Day 1 of a new year."
The Bachelor alum also noted, "But you don't even know the truth, and your HATE should actually come with consequences. I truly worry about some of your mental health. It's not OK. It's. Not."
Kaitlyn doubled down on her cheating denial in February, insisting she never emotionally cheated on Jason either.
Kaitlyn also appeared to address her relationship with Zac by writing, "I wish I could just share my truth and tell you my side. It's hard to bite my dang tongue sometimes... But you just go on and continue to have your own little made up story in your head and believe what you want to believe. Social media la la land. Good lawwwddd."
Jason publicly commented on Kaitlyn and Zac's relationship in early January by calling the second day of the month "the first official day of 2024" after photos had surfaced of Kaitlyn's New Year's Eve bash.
Kaitlyn admitted on her "Off the Vine" podcast she was "disappointed" in her ex-fiance for allegedly playing the victim.
"I don't want to dismiss that he's hurting," Kaitlyn shared. "The word disappointment keeps coming up. I feel so disappointed that someone could use a false narrative, like, a false narrative accusation to garner sympathy for themselves."
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But about one year after their engagement aired on ABC, Zac and Tayshia announced their breakup in November 2021.
Tayshia is currently dating former Summer House star Luke Gulbranson.
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
