The Bachelorette alum Blake Moynes has reacted to John Hersey's comments he was "pissed off" about how Blake handled his breakup with Katie Thurston.
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Katie and John, a San Diego bartender whom Katie eliminated during Week 2 of her The Bachelorette journey on Season 17, went Instagram official with their relationship in late November 2021, only three short weeks after Katie and her The Bachelorette winner, Blake, announced they had split.
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John and Katie appeared on Tuesday's episode of the "Off the Vine with Kaitlyn Bristowe" podcast, and John admitted he couldn't stand to hear Blake's November interview on the "Talking It Out with Bachelor Nation" podcast in which Blake had accused Katie of emotionally cheating during their relationship and said he was "flabbergasted" she was able to move on so quickly.
"What really pissed me off about that, like, listening to that podcast was when there started to be a narrative get painted that she was putting no effort in, and Blake was the only one putting effort in at the end," John complained to Kaitlyn.
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During a subsequent Q&A session on Instagram, Blake told his followers that he didn't want to "ignite" drama, according to Us Weekly.
And when asked about John's slam, Blake replied that he and Katie are "allowed to have their opinions and share their side of things."
Blake clearly chose to take the high road and added, "It's all good."
Blake then posted an Instagram Story on Thursday night considering his DMs are overflowing with comments following John's heated interview.
"I read both [the positive and negative ones] because the negative ones are wild and crazy... But I want to say thank you to the ones who are always supportive... I am seeing it and I appreciate all that stuff," Blake said.
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"I appreciate the negative stuff too but it hits me sometimes. The truth hurts sometimes."
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Katie insisted on "Off the Vine" that "there was no overlap" between her relationship with Blake and the start of her new romance with John.
John therefore vented about Blake spinning a narrative last year.
"I tried not to say anything for a while, but when that narrative came to be out, I was just like, 'I can't stay silent about this.' Because I watched her suffer at the end, before there was anything between us. And it just pissed me off," John said.
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Shortly after Blake conducted that November interview, John released a statement via Reddit on Katie's behalf denying any "wrongdoing" on their part. John insisted that Katie did not cheat on Blake and the couple's relationship was "ALWAYS PLATONIC" until Katie officially became a single woman again.
"I met Blake and we hung out with Blake for a solid, what 12 [or] 18 hours? Something like that," John recalled on Kaitlyn's podcast.
"Yeah, I introduced Blake to the people in my life," Katie interjected, "including John [and our mutual friend Stephen] who are a huge part of my life during this whole Bachelorette journey."
"And I did not have a negative opinion of Blake at all," John clarified, "like, we had fun together. We did an escape room and we hung out all day. But that's why when that happened, I was disappointed at first."
John then accused Blake of trying to get Bachelor Nation on his side after his split from Katie.
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"I realized -- I was, like, 'This is him capitalizing on this opportunity,' which I understand. I get how it works, like, seeing this world now for the past almost a year. It's crazy," John conceded.
"But when it was at the expense of my friend, I couldn't [deal]. It was frustrating."
Viewers watched Katie accept Blake's marriage proposal on The Bachelorette's Season 17 finale, which aired in August 2021.
Katie proceeded to move to San Diego, CA, and continue hanging out with John while Blake traveled to Africa to pursue his wildlife conservation efforts.
Katie and Blake attempted to make a long-distance relationship work as people simultaneously questioned if sparks were flying between Katie and John.
But Katie and John repeated on the podcast how they were just friends until a lightning bolt suddenly struck and made the pair realize they had romantic feelings for each other.
John said he and Katie "very, very carefully" decided to risk their friendship for a shot at love together, and John called it "terrifying."
"Once we made that decision [to leave the friend zone], you can't go back," John explained.
And Katie shared how she owed it to herself to be happy and live her truth, without fear of how others may react to her choices.
"At the end of the day, I was like, 'Life is too short. I've gone through so much and I just want to be happy.' And so that's ultimately what we did; we owned our connection not knowing it would take us to this day," Katie explained.
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Katie and John have been defending and showing off their relationship ever since, and Blake recently told Ben Higgins and Ashley Iaconetti on their "The Ben & Ashley I: Almost Famous Podcast" that he's ready to start dating again, but only in the real world.
"I could probably talk to her and have a cordial conversation," Blake confirmed in late March.
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