The Bachelorette alum Blake Horstmann has admitted Becca Kufrin really hurt his feelings when she allegedly downplayed the extent of the relationship they had prior to her stint on Bachelor in Paradise this summer.
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"Honestly, at this point, it's just, like, something I don't know if I even want to waste my breath. I just feel like at this point, it's just a waste of time. Listen, I was hurt by the podcast -- and like you said, it's no secret that we were hanging out prior," Blake, 32, said, according to Us Weekly.
"I don't think it was some secret -- like, [it] wasn't at all. More than anything, I was hurt by it."
Becca, 31, essentially insisted she and Blake have just been friends, and she suggested Blake had lied about or exaggerated the depth of their pre-Bachelor in Paradise relationship.
But Blake hinted something definitely went down with Becca, whether it be emotional or just physical, and she's allegedly the one not being truthful.
"My friends certainly know the truth. I think most of the people in Bachelor world know the truth. Her friends sure as sh-t know the truth. So it's like, it is what it is," Blake reportedly claimed.
"The one thing I'm gonna say is maybe Becca is protecting something or someone, and for that I respect her."
Blake, who finished as the runner-up on Becca's The Bachelorette season in 2018, didn't specify whether he thinks Becca is trying to protect a relationship she began on Bachelor in Paradise's seventh season, which is currently airing Monday and Tuesday nights on ABC.
"But it just sucks that it happened the way it did... I'm just never gonna talk about her again. Because anytime I do, sh-t gets written in everything, and it just gets everything blown up more so," Blake explained.
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Blake added of his former love that he "just never expected that from her" and Becca's claims "really, really hurt" him.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW"But it is what it is, moving on. At least I know now so I can move on," Blake concluded.
Following Becca's split from her The Bachelorette winner, Garrett Yrigoyen, Blake said on the August 20 episode of the "Reality Life With Kate Casey" podcast that he and Becca "did kind of chat here and there" and "were back in touch within the last, like, six months."
Suggesting he and Becca were possibly getting back together, Blake shared, "It kind of came down to if she was going to do Paradise or not... I would be willing to talk, of course. But we'll see how Paradise works out [for her]."
But Becca subsequently told a different side of the story regarding her dynamic with Blake.
"Umm, listen, Blake and I have always been friends. We've always been supportive of one another," Becca insisted on "Click Bait."
"In terms of the 'talking,' yeah, I mean, we've been in touch very sporadically, but nothing that I would say would warrant... a potential relationship."
Becca insisted the term "talking" sounds very misleading, adding, "The conversation [Blake] had [on the podcast] seemed very misleading... Yeah, it was interesting for me, as a listener."
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"Correct," Becca confirmed.
"Like I said, Blake and I have always been on great terms. We've been friends for a while. It's no shock because, like, I've done his podcast. He came on my tour when I was touring for a few shows."
She elaborated, "So nothing romantic [happened] that I think people should be running with right now, if that makes sense."
Rumors have swirled about Becca and Blake dating and flirting for months now, and Blake admitted during his podcast appearance that once Becca and Garrett ended their engagement in September 2020, he wondered if there was something "still there" with Becca.
As a result, "Click Bait" co-host Natasha Parker asked Becca if she'd consider dating Blake in Paradise had they reunited on the beach in Mexico.
"Would you have explored something? Is something still there for you?" Natasha questioned.
"No," Becca replied, "No."
Becca said another "interesting" part of Blake's interview was when he claimed The Bachelor production wouldn't want to see Becca and himself together and may try to keep them apart.
"That show can change you and those producers get a hold of you," Blake alleged.
"The show doesn't like me, the show doesn't want to see us together. She has, like, the ABC podcast ["Bachelor Happy Hour"]. That's kind of her thing. She is very much involved in that show. We'll see."
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Blake -- who appeared on Bachelor in Paradise's sixth edition and came across like a playboy -- also said on his Instagram Stories in July he didn't want to appear on Paradise's seventh season for the sake of his mental health because he believes the franchise "breeds toxicity and emotional abuse."
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"If we're not together, then it's because we chose not to be together. Right?" Becca added. "It can't be put on anyone else. So that was the only part where I was like, 'What the hell?'"
When Becca entered Paradise, she gave a rose to Aaron Clancy, but previews of future episodes show her hitting it off with Katie Thurston's The Bachelorette villain Thomas Jacobs.
In one clip of a future episode, Becca gushes about how she can't stop smiling around Thomas while the pair is on a date.
After competing on Becca's The Bachelorette season, Blake had flings with The Bachelor alums Caelynn Miller-Keyes and Kristina Schulman.
Blake was also romantically interested in Hannah Godwin on Bachelor in Paradise's sixth season, but she chose to pursue a relationship with Dylan Barbour instead.
Becca and Blake's breakup on The Bachelorette finale in August 2018 was excruciating to watch considering Blake said he was madly in love with the show's leading lady at the time.
Blake was admittedly "blindsided" by Becca's decision to dump him because he appeared to be her frontrunner all season long.
"I truly thought that if it came down to me proposing, that she wouldn't say no," Blake told Entertainment Tonight in 2018. "I thought what we had was real."
Blake added it was "incredibly hard" to get over his heartbreak at first.
"It made for some really hard days, but I had a great support system. My family was amazing. We talked through a lot of things and they were there for me," he said at the time.
Becca starred on The Bachelorette after having her heart broken by Arie Luyendyk Jr. on The Bachelor's 22nd season, which wrapped in early 2018.
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
