The Bachelorette alum Kaitlyn Bristowe has lashed out at haters and denied cheating on ex-fiance Jason Tartick with Zac Clark, whom she partied with on New Year's Eve and is rumored to be dating.
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The Instagram account @BachelorNation.scoop posted a video of Kaitlyn and Zac looking cozy as they counted down to midnight together.
Kaitlyn, who had transformed her house into a 1920s speak easy, had her arm around Zac's neck while he had his hand on her back. The footage has sparked speculation they're dating -- and that maybe Kaitlyn had been unfaithful to Jason.
Kaitlyn, who announced her split from Jason in August, commented on the social media video, "Hi! Here to say that there was never an ounce of cheating happening and I will not stand for this rumor."
She added, "Y'all are NASTY in here. Anywho. Swear on my dogs lives. No cheating went on. So we can just put that to rest. Thank you!! Happy new year everyone. Go donate some blood or somethin!"
The Bachelorette Season 11 star posted her cheating denial shortly after uploading a long rant via Instagram Stories about hate and backlash she's been receiving online.
On Monday, January 1, Kaitlyn wrote, "The vibe for 2024 is messy authenticity over fake perfection."
The Dancing with the Stars 29 champion also posted videos of herself pouring champagne into a tower of glasses, dancing on her bar, and getting a tattoo in the middle of her New Year's Eve party.
Kaitlyn asked her followers to guess her choice of ink, and a troll responded, "You are trash. Ew."
The "Off the Vine" podcast host -- who, alongside Tayshia, had co-hosted The Bachelorette seasons starring Katie Thurston and Michelle Young -- then unleashed on her haters.
"Some of you [are] treating me like I murdered someone," Kaitlyn wrote in a series of posts.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW"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."
Kaitlyn went on to write, "You should not be this invested in someone you don't even know or respect. It's actually scary, and I know looking inward might be even scarier for you. But. The bullying is next level. You are allowed to have opinions and feelings."
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW: WHOM DID 'THE BACHELORETTE' STARS AND THEIR BACHELOR PICKS ULTIMATELY END UP WITH?! (PHOTOS)
The Bachelor alum 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 asked those hates to "please feel ashamed" of themselves for "treating someone this way who you don't know."
"I did not kill someone. I had a party with some of my favorite people. Shame. On. YOU. Not me," Kaitlyn vented.
"I am not one dimensional. What you see on people's social media does not mean you know them. And this part might sting... but I would never, ever, want to switch places with you," she continued.
"Your life seems so sad. So I will not take the opinions of someone one who I would not trade places with."
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Kaitlyn then appeared to address her rumored romance 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."
Since word spread about Kaitlyn and Zac's relationship, Kaitlyn has also taken heat for breaking "girl code" since she's good friends with Tayshia.
She concluded, "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."
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' COUPLES NOW: WHO DID 'THE BACHELOR' STARS AND THEIR BACHELORETTE PICKS ACTUALLY END UP MARRYING? (PHOTOS)
Kaitlyn proceeded to post a screenshot of her exchange with someone who wrote to Kaitlyn, "But like they don't know the truth or any backstory. It's wild... Like go volunteer. Go give blood plz."
Several hours later, Kaitlyn uploaded the following quote to her Instagram Stories: "When someone has an opinion about my life choices, I ask myself, 'Is this person where I want to be?' If the answer is no, then I don't listen to their advice. The end."
When @BachelorNation.scoop posted videos and photos of Kaitlyn and Zac's New Year's Eve night together, the account posted the following unverified tea: "Jason caught wind of this and talked to Kaitlyn this past weekend. [She] denied that she was talking to Zac during their breakup (but didn't deny that she is now).
The account also posted some clues that suggest Kaitlyn and Zac are an item now.
According to the Instagram account, Jason unfollowed Zac recently, Kaitlyn began liking Zac's Instagram photos in July 2023 after about a year of no likes, Zac started liking Kaitlyn's photos in May 2023, and Jason stopped liking Zac's photos in early October 2023.
The rumors about Kaitlyn and Zac's relationship began on @DeuxMoi, according to @BachelorNation.scoop.
Jason, who initially 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 Seattle, Washington to live with Kaitlyn in Nashville in June 2019, and then the couple adopted their two dogs together and got engaged in Spring 2021.
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For Zac's part, he got engaged to Tayshia on The Bachelorette's sixteenth season finale in 2020.
But about one year after their engagement aired on ABC, Zac and Tayshia announced their breakup in November 2021.
The addiction specialist and New Yorker recently recalled of proposing marriage to The Bachelorette alum on "The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast" that in the moment, "it felt real" and "it felt right."
Zac insisted, "I wouldn't change anything. I don't live in regret. It's a very special moment in time and in my life regardless of what happened."
Tayshia is currently dating former Summer House star Luke Gulbranson.
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
