The Bachelorette alum Kaitlyn Bristowe has shared an update on her dating life several months after rumors began to swirl she's dating Tayshia Adam's ex-fiance Zac Clark.
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Kaitlyn and Jason Tartick announced in August 2023 they had broken up and ended their engagement, and then rumors began to circulate in January 2024 that Kaitlyn was romantically involved with Zac.
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But Kaitlyn suggested she's single and still searching for The One during a recent appearance on "The Ben and Ashley I: Almost Famous Podcast," which is co-hosted by Ben Higgins and Ashley Iaconetti.
"Yeah, I am [dating]," Kaitlyn shared.
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"So if I know somebody in Nashville who is single and successful..." Ben began.
"Send him my way! I didn't say I was specifically only dating one person," Kaitlyn revealed, before pausing and adding, "For the rest of my life!"
Kaitlyn then asked Ben if he knows of any good looking guys in Nashville who are available, and Ben insisted that his wife, Jessica Clarke, has many male friends who would probably catch Kaitlyn's eye and be considered a catch.
"They are cool... They have good roots," Ben said.
"Ooh, wow, I like roots," Kaitlyn noted. "I am dating, I just feel like I swear... I'm never going to introduce him on the Internet or my [Off the Vine] podcast until I'm married and pregnant."
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Kaitlyn quipped, "I want to be like, 'Surprise!' And then they'll be like, 'What?!' And then [I'll say], 'I just wanted to make sure.'"
Kaitlyn admitted that she doesn't want "to f-ck up another relationship," not that the prior failure with Jason was all of her fault.
"I just feel like the noise is so loud all the time," Kaitlyn noted.
"I understand that people feel entitled to my dating life because of being the Bachelorette and sharing my relationships, and I get that, but I just -- I will [reveal it] as soon as I'm like, 'Okay, this is The One now.'"
Days after her podcast appearance, Kaitlyn was reportedly spotted singing and dancing with Zac while attending the annual gala of The Release Recovery Foundation, a mental health and addiction recovery nonprofit Zac founded in 2020, at TAO Downtown in New York City on May 7, 2024.
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After competing for Chris Soules' heart on The Bachelor's nineteenth season, Kaitlyn starred on The Bachelorette's eleventh season, and she got engaged to Shawn Booth during the season finale that aired in 2015.
While Kaitlyn and Shawn often talked about wanting to get married in the media, they never set a date or planned a wedding.
After more than three years of dating, Kaitlyn and Shawn announced their split in November 2018.
When Kaitlyn and Shawn announced their breakup, Kaitlyn shared how their "important fundamental values" didn't line up. Kaitlyn also revealed in March 2019 that she "wasn't feeling loved" and felt "alone" in her relationship with Shawn for over a year.
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Kaitlyn even confessed to having put on an "act" for her social-media followers before the breakup.
Jason, a Buffalo native 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. The couple then adopted their two dogs together, Pinot and Ramen, and got engaged in May 2021.
Once they split last year, Jason attempted to heal and move on, but Kaitlyn got to that point first.
Kaitlyn rang in 2024 with Zac at a party in her new Nashville home, and they were spotted dancing together and hugging at a bar in New York City, where Zac currently resides, later that month.
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Kaitlyn faced backlash about her involvement with Zac -- including speculation she had cheated on Jason while they were still together and also broke "girl code" with Tayshia -- but the former Dancing with the Stars champion claimed on social media earlier this year that she was never unfaithful to Jason.
"Some of you [are] treating me like I murdered someone," Kaitlyn wrote in a series of posts via Instagram Stories.
"You would think by now I'd be used to the hate. I'm not. Your words hurt. Your shaming hurts.... 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 doubled down on her cheating denial in February, insisting she never emotionally cheated on Jason either.
Kaitlyn also appeared to address her relationship 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."
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According to the Instagram account @BachelorNation.scoop, 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.
When Jason publicly commented on Kaitlyn and Zac's rumored relationship, Kaitlyn admitted on her "Off the Vine" podcast she was "disappointed" in her ex-fiance for allegedly playing the victim.
For Zac's part, he got engaged to Tayshia on The Bachelorette's sixteenth season finale in 2020 but they announced their split in November 2021.
As for Kaitlyn's exes, Shawn is now a father, and Jason is dating TikTok star Kat Stickler.
While Jason and Kat have yet to go Instagram official, they've made several public appearances together.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)
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