The Bachelorette alum Kaitlyn Bristowe and Zac Clark appear to definitely be dating, as they were just spotted hand-in-hand dancing at a bar in New York City.
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In a clip uploaded by the @Bachelornation.scoop Instagram account, the Season 11 The Bachelorette star and Zac were holding hands and dancing to "Wasted" by Tiesto.
At the end of the video, Kaitlyn pulled Zac in for a tight hug, wrapping her arms around his neck.
Kaitlyn was smiling big during her outing with Zac, which apparently began with a dinner date at West Village.
Kaitlyn appeared to be visiting The Bachelorette 16 alum and Tayshia Adams' ex-fiance for his 40th birthday celebration, which was '80s themed.
Fans didn't waste any time weighing in with their thoughts in the comments section, and most of the posts appeared to be negative opinions.
"Zac doesn't drink and Kaitlyn heavy [drinks]. Doesn't match," one person wrote.
Another Instagram user slammed Kaitlyn for breaking girl code given she and Tayshia are friends and had co-hosted back-to-back seasons of The Bachelorette together. Those seasons had starred Katie Thurston and Michelle Young.
"If she was ever truly friends with Tayshia, this is a trashy friend move. Everyone co-signing this in the comments would be pissed if their friend was with their ex finance. Let's be real," wrote the person.
And another hater commented of Kaitlyn, "She changes fiances like changing clothes. Not my favorite."
Some fans, however, pointed out how Kaitlyn and Zac deserve to have fun together and not have their privacy invaded because they're both adults who happen to be single.
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Rumors have swirled about Kaitlyn and Zac being in a relationship ever since New Year's Day.
Kaitlyn had hosted a New Year's Eve party at her new home in Nashville, TN, on December 31, and she invited several Bachelor Nation members, including Zac.
@BachelorNation.scoop had 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 that a new Bachelor Nation romance was blossoming -- and that Kaitlyn possibly cheated on her now ex-fiance Jason Tartick before they officially announced their split in August 2023.
Jason seemingly responded to the noise via Instagram on January 1, only hours after Kaitlyn issued a public statement denying she had ever cheated on her now ex-fiance.
In addition to wishing his followers a Happy New Year, Jason also wrote via Instagram Stories, "Jan 2, 2024 the first official day of 2024," which pretty clearly pointed a finger at Kaitlyn's actions.
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."
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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 shared on the 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."
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 January 4 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 kept 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."
The "false accusation" seemed to be 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!"
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Kaitlyn unloaded on her haters in part, "Some of you [are] treating me like I murdered someone. You would think by now I'd be used to the hate. I'm not. Your words hurt. Your shaming hurts."
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... Shame. On. YOU. Not me."
Kaitlyn also 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."
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 suggested Kaitlyn and Zac had become an item.
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.
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 last 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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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
