The Bachelorette alum Katie Thurston has revealed that she was in a very dark place after filming Season 17 and needed to take antidepressants for the first time while the show aired.

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"Last year somehow feels like 3 years of highs and lows. I remember a producer texting me saying 'the old Katie is dead and the new Katie will rise from the ashes.' He was right about one thing. The old Katie did in fact die. But I was not some girl on fire," Katie wrote in a lengthy Instagram post on Friday.

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Katie posted a photo of herself blowing a kiss while rocking a white bathing suit and red-heart sunglasses, and she continued to write in the caption, "If anything, the sparks I once felt for life were doused with the judgement and criticism of not only strangers, but even ones I worked closely with."

Katie admitted that she "was drowning in my tears, unable to even recognize the girl in the mirror."

"Was the old me really gone?" she questioned at the time. "I started taking antidepressants for the first time before my season aired. I thought I knew what to expect. I didn't."

Katie starred on The Bachelorette's seventeenth season last year as a sex-positive and seemingly confident and self-assured jokester.

Katie, however, faced backlash for eliminating Andrew Spencer prematurely and then for not expressing her feelings to frontrunner Greg Grippo after his hometown date.

While Katie had accused Greg of gaslighting her during their breakup conversation and being an actor, Greg fans scolded Katie for being too focused on her starring role and treating Greg like "a number" or just another rose to hand out.

"I thought I was strong enough to handle the negativity. I wasn't. But they say time heals everything," Katie wrote.

Katie eventually accepted a marriage proposal from Blake Moynes during her The Bachelorette season finale, which aired in August 2021, but the pair announced their split in late October 2021.

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Katie then went public with her new romance with John Hersey, a San Diego bartender who had been eliminated during Week 2 of Katie's The Bachelorette season, a few weeks later in November.

Blake alleged on the "Talking It Out with Bachelor Nation" podcast last year that Katie had emotionally cheated on him and he felt disrespected by her fast-moving romance with John, and Katie had to deal with trolls who claimed Blake had meant very little to her and John was a "rebound."

"As time went on, I was quick to block the hate," Katie shared on Instagram.

"And I don't mean mentally. I mean in the most literal sense. Unfollow accounts that encouraged it. Limit my screen time usage with a password only John knew. Anything I could do to bring myself out of a dark place."

Katie therefore advised fans to "show kindness," and she thanked the people who have expressed positivity and shown her grace.

"Surround yourself by those who love and support you. And for those complete strangers who write positive DMs and comments, I want you to know. I see them. I feel them. And there were times I even needed them. So thank you," Katie wrote.

"If you're reading this and you ever said something mean to a stranger online, I hope you reflect for a moment and reconsider hitting send next time."

"At the end of the day, we are all just people trying to coexist on this earth and make the best of our short lives. You'd be amazed on the impact putting positivity into the universe will have on your own life. Stay kind," she concluded in her Friday post.

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Katie has never appeared happier now that John is in her life, at least based on her last few months of social-media posts.

The pair just celebrated her birthday in Cabo San Lucas and even reunited with her The Bachelorette suitor Michael Allio.

Prior to starring on The Bachelorette, Katie competed for Matt James' heart on The Bachelor's 25th season. Matt's season filmed in late 2020 and premiered in January 2021.

RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)

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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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