The Bachelorette alum Kaitlyn Bristowe says she's "disappointed" in how her ex-fiance Jason Tartick handled recent chatter she's dating Zac Clark.
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"I'm a little bit disappointed. I'm going to try to not get emotional -- because I cried all day yesterday -- but it's really disappointing to me, the way that Jason's kind of leaning into the victim mentality," Kaitlyn, 38, shared on the Thursday, January 4, episode of her "Off the Vine with Kaitlyn Bristowe" podcast.
"I don't want to dismiss that he's hurting. I don't want to dismiss that his feelings are valid and his feelings are hurting. But I have talked to him so openly and honestly… And I am [hurting too]. We have been so transparent with each other to have respect for one another."
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The Season 11 The Bachelorette star hosted a New Year's Eve party at her home in Nashville, TN, on Sunday, December 31, and she invited several Bachelor Nation members -- including Zac -- who was previously engaged to The Bachelorette's Season 16 star Tayshia Adams.
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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 had her arm around Zac's neck while he had his hand on her back. The footage sparked gossip they're currently dating -- and that Kaitlyn possibly cheated on Jason before they officially announced their split in August 2023.
Jason seemingly responded to the noise via Instagram on Monday, January 1, only hours after Kaitlyn issued a public statement denying she had ever cheated on her now ex-fiance.
Jason posted a picture of his smiling face and captioned it, "Happy New Year," along with a heart emoji.
Jason's upload prompted many comments from Instagram users about Kaitlyn's apparent new romance with Zac.
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"Let's just pretend 2024 starts tomorrow. Kid deserves a true FRESH start to the year," one follower wrote.
Jason responded, "I support this ha."
Jason subsequently shared a screenshot of that comment via Instagram Stories on Monday, adding, "Jan 2, 2024 the first official day of 2024."
Jason also posted a video of the two dogs he shares with Kaitlyn, Ramen and Pinot, and he wrote, "When in doubt... go to the puppy park."
After Kaitlyn and Jason announced their split, Kaitlyn moved out of the Nashville home they had shared together.
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Kaitlyn vented on the latest episode of her podcast, "I personally thought that Jason and I were in such a good space. He came over the other day and I gave him a house tour."
"I have found myself to be, like, 'I want to invite him in, I want to show him the new house,'" she recalled.
"And he was like, 'I'd love to see the house!' We speak kindly about each other, we had the best time at Chris Harrison's wedding. And so I think I get really confused."
Kaitlyn said when thinking about the situation, one word keeps coming to mind.
"The word disappointment keeps coming up," Kaitlyn said. "I feel so disappointed that someone could use a false narrative, like a false-narrative accusation to garner sympathy for themselves."
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The "false accusation" appears to fan speculation that Kaitlyn had been unfaithful to Jason with Zac.
"Here to say that there was never an ounce of cheating happening and I will not stand for this rumor. Y'all are NASTY in here. Anywho. Swear on my dogs lives," Kaitlyn clarified in an Instagram comment on January 1.
"No cheating went on. So we can just put that to rest. Thank you!! Happy new year everyone. Go donate some blood or somethin!"
Kaitlyn concluded on her podcast, "I'm holding back now because I still want to protect people and not throw them under the bus. This is my platform, my Instagram, my podcast -- I should be able to just say and speak my truth, but so many times I want to protect people and I don't want to take them down."
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Kaitlyn therefore suggested she's just trying to keep her mouth shut.
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 since her party.
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 unloaded on her haters.
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"Some of you [are] treating me like I murdered someone," Kaitlyn wrote in a series of posts.
"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."
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 haters 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."
In another slide, Kaitlyn wrote via Instagram Stories, "Y'all wanna feel big, loud and important, but you are small-minded and sad. Thank you to everyone who is kind on my platform. Love you guys. You the real ones."
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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.
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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."
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, 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.
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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.
However, Jason and Kaitlyn -- who was engaged to her The Bachelorette 11 winner Shawn Booth before getting involved with Jason -- split this past summer.
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.
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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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