The Bachelorette alum Blake Moynes has revealed why dating has been a challenge post-reality TV and what he's trying to avoid after his split from ex-fiancee Katie Thurston.
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Over the last three months or so since announcing his split from Katie in late October 2021, Blake has been trying to move on, and he said things are "really good now," although he's currently single.
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"I'm focusing on myself, which I needed, and things are good," Blake shared during a Thursday appearance on "The Ben & Ashley I: Almost Famous Podcast."
In order to get to this healthy mindset and place in his life, Blake admitted he needed to "take a step back" from being so "wrapped up" in "trying to find" his perfect partner and instead focus on his family, bettering himself, and pursuing his passion of wildlife conservation.
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Blake, seemingly not interested in a return to reality television and dating on The Bachelor franchise, said he wants to go back to dating "like in the old days" when he may stumble across a woman "in-person" on any random occasion.
Blake, however, admitted he may be "too picky" now after learning from his failures and realizing exactly what he does or does not want in a partner.
Blake also told Ben that he blames social media for giving him false hope about women who appear incredible.
"Social media gives us a false indication of what people are, and I realized that... You can lay out all your best cards on social media so we see that, and so you're almost always going to be let down," Blake explained.
"And so, I'm done with being scammed in a way... We are the best version of ourselves on social media, and so I'm just taking a step back from that... and [from thinking prematurely], 'Wow, all the boxes are checked here.'"
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Blake admitted he had "built [Clare Crawley] up for sure" in his mind before competing on The Bachelorette's sixteenth season based on her social-media accounts but "maybe not the other two," referring to the second star of Season 16, Tayshia Adams, as well as Katie, who starred on Season 17.
"You get attached to [an idea of a person] and think you know somebody based on an app or social media or photos or video, and they can come to real-life. And it's not organic, the vibe isn't there, the energy isn't there," Blake shared.
"You set yourself up for failure because it's not organic."
Blake therefore said, "I don't want to put an emphasis on what I think you are before I meet you. And so [I'm] taking a step back from doing that going forward."
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About three weeks after Blake and Katie announced they had split and decided to end their engagement, Katie went Instagram official with her current boyfriend, John Hersey, in November.
John was eliminated from Katie's The Bachelorette season during Week 2 of the process, and while Blake and Katie were trying to make a long-distance relationship work last year, Blake believed Katie and John were just platonic friends.
Katie and John have both insisted Katie never cheated and they were only friends until romance became an option for them, once Katie opened her heart again after her broken engagement.
But Blake said on the "Talking It Out with Bachelor Nation" podcast last year he's convinced Katie had emotionally cheated on him.
Blake seemed to take a shot at Katie during his podcast interview with Ben when he advised fans not to find a "rebound" and jump into a new relationship after a breakup because it's just like putting a Band-Aid on a broken heart.
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"Things always get better. You learn from it... Even though you feel you've lost the world in a sense, she probably wasn't the world if she's not with you -- and you're going to find something probably better," Blake said.
"And that's what I find in all depressing situations."
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Blake noted how life is short and he'd like to continue on his ambitious path as a Canadian wildlife manager.
"I'd like to find someone who wants to live that ambitious, adventurous life with me. I'm super happy as I am, single and alone, but I know I could be elevated with that right person," Blake shared.
"Until then, I'm not going to chase it. I think I know what I want and I just hope it falls in my lap."
Blake explained that until then, he's going to "continue to focus on the things I love, and that's focusing on wildlife conservation and animals and trying to do some good in the world."
He added, "Hopefully that karma falls back on my lap with the right person one day and I continue to follow that dream and that passion WITH them."
Blake also revealed during the podcast how he's not ready to talk to Katie again despite her recent attempts at communication and their relationship fell apart in September 2021, only several weeks after The Bachelorette 17 finale aired on ABC.
Katie previously hinted on social media that she and Blake were fighting too much during their six-month relationship and broke up due to their different communication styles.
The TikTok star and social-media influencer also suggested that Blake was unable to make her happy and vice versa.
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An insider told The Sun late last year that Katie's "outbursts eventually became too much" for Blake "to handle."
But Blake admitted he was "flabbergasted" and "speechless" upon discovering Katie had begun dating John so quickly after their split on "Talking It Out" in November.
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