The Bachelorette alum Katie Thurston has appeared to soft launch a new relationship after failing to find lasting love on FBoy Island's third season.
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"Take things slow those first three months," Katie replied, sharing a video of herself holding onto a mystery man's hand while lounging on a couch.
The Bachelorette Season 17 star also set her post to "Found You" by Kasbo and Chelsea Cutler.
Katie was last romantically linked to Vince Xu, whom she met and fell in love with on FBoy Island, which aired last year.
"I just wanted to let you know that I definitely found love. And I love you, Vince," Katie said during the December 2023 finale, according to Us Weekly.
Katie and Vince, 31, split the $100,000 prize after Katie learned he was one of the show's "nice guys."
After the Season 3 finale aired, Katie took to Instagram and expressed how she was pleased with her final decision of selecting Vince over her runner-up Benedict Polizzi.
"To [Vince] -- I'm thankful our paths continued to cross and that you are now part of a chapter I'll never forget," Katie wrote via Instagram alongside selfies of the former couple. "Glad we finally experienced those bottomless mimosas we dreamt about while on the island."
Hours later, Katie confirmed she and Vince had broken up and were no longer an item.
When asked if she and Vince were still in a relationship, Katie told her followers on Instagram Stories, "That's what everyone wants to know."
"No. That being said, if I'm ever asked to go on reality TV to date again, please just cancel me," The Bachelor alum quipped. "Three times and [it] doesn't work out? Maybe reality TV isn't where your husband is, just a thought."
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Katie, who is now also a standup comedian, found fame when she appeared on Matt James' season of The Bachelor in 2021.
Matt selected Rachael Kirkconnell as his winner, and then ABC promoted Katie to The Bachelorette star of the series' seventeenth season, which wrapped on ABC in August 2021.
Katie got engaged to Canadian wildlife specialist Blake Moynes during her season finale, but they announced their split only a couple of months later in October 2021.
Katie then went public with her romance with John Hersey, whom she had eliminated during Week 2 of her The Bachelorette journey, in November 2021. She was accused of moving on from Blake quickly with "a rebound" and emotionally cheating on her ex-fiancé.
Katie and John split after less than one year together in June 2022, and Katie expressed on numerous occasions how John had dumped her after she allegedly gave the relationship everything she had. She apparently felt like she was never enough for him.
After ending her relationship with John, Katie decided to look for love on FBoy Island because she thought it was a unique opportunity.
"There were so many different [reasons I signed up for it]," Katie told Us in October 2023.
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The Bachelorette alum added at the time, "Yeah, there's a chance I fall in love, there's a chance I win money, there's a chance I make new girlfriends. It was just a win-win-win all the way around."
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Katie also made a cameo on Bachelor in Paradise's ninth season last year. Katie showed up to the beach in Mexico when her ex, Blake, was dating Jess Girod.
Blake and Katie apparently squashed any beef or tension that had been between them and became friends again. They also still seemed to have chemistry and possibly lingering feelings for each other, which prompted speculation in November 2023 that they were dating again.
But according to Blake, the former couple's relationship was purely platonic after their Paradise reunion.
"You saw in the episode, it was a very cordial, mutual, mature conversation that allowed us to essentially connect again in the outside world, but in a very friendly manner -- to the point where now, it just feels truly just supportive," Blake shared during the November 21 episode of the "Bachelor Happy Hour" podcast, which is co-hosted by Paradise spouses Joe Amabile and Serena Pitt.
Blake elaborated on where he stood with Katie, "She bounces ideas off me. Like she was going on that other show [FBoy Island] and we were able to connect in the outside world in a way where we can have a healthy relationship with an ex. And so that's where that is."
Blake explained how he had invited Katie to an event in San Diego because other "Bachelor Nation folks" were coming as well.
"It was a lot of fun that night and I'm glad she came and it was a good support," Blake said.
"Because I think prior to that, in our relationship, there was a lot that maybe rocked the boat a little bit. I think there was a little bit of spite there with me traveling a lot and not being able to spend as much time together as we maybe would've liked."
Blake, who travels the world for his work in animal conservation, added, "So her coming around, in a sense, and really supporting that work now was really nice and I appreciated it a lot."
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
