The Bachelorette star Katie Thurston has confirmed she threatened to quit the show and end her journey to find love prematurely while filming Season 17.
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RELATED LINK: MEET ALL OF KATIE THURSTON'S 'THE BACHELORETTE' SEASON 17 BACHELORS (PHOTOS)
But Katie said The Bachelorette Season 17 co-hosts, former The Bachelorette stars Tayshia Adams and Kaitlyn Bristowe, were the ones who changed her mind and convinced her to keep filming and not end the show before she could get her happy ending.
"If it wasn't for the amazing women who have been Bachelorettes before helping me navigate that, I probably would have [quit]. And so, I'm so thankful for all of them," Katie shared, adding that she was so grateful to have a little help during her season.
"I thought maybe there would be people helping with dates here and there, but I certainly did not expect to have both of them. They were with me the entire time, and so I think I was just so overwhelmed. As you [saw in the premiere], I'm like crying with relief and happiness and excitement to have them there to help me."
A source told Life & Style earlier this month that Katie's season was "drama-filled" and an "emotional roller coaster," which resulted in The Bachelorette star contemplating a production shutdown.
"She doesn't hold back and will tell it like it is," the source said.
"At one point, she threatened to quit the show. It really got to her and she couldn't take it anymore. She just walked away from cameras."
In a promo ABC recently released for Katie's season, The Bachelorette star appears to have an emotional breakdown, as she declares she is "done" with the dating process.
RELATED LINK: BACHELORETTE SPOILERS: WHO DID KATIE THURSTON PICK AND END UP WITH? WHAT HAPPENS ON THE 2021 SEASON OF 'THE BACHELORETTE' (SPOILERS)
"Someone book my flight home," Katie cries in the preview as she walks away from cameras.
Despite facing some adversity on her season and a few bumps in the road, Katie teased during a Monday appearance on Live with Kelly and Ryan that she fell in love with more than one guy during filming.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW"I definitely fall in love more than once," Katie told Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest. "I had a great group."
Those feelings must have confused Katie as the process became more serious and time was running out.
"[Katie] kept changing how she felt and her thoughts were all over the place," the Life & Style source said. "You will see later on this season how difficult it was for her."
The source added that Katie had to figure out which guys were really on the show to find love with her.
"Like every season, there's a villain -- guys who are on the show for the wrong reasons, guys who have a secret or some kind of scandal and surprises," the source told the magazine.
Kaitlyn reportedly teased on the April 30 episode of her Off the Vine podcast that Katie's The Bachelorette season will be "the most dramatic season yet."
And Tayshia reportedly called the turn of events during filming "a hot mess express" with "so much drama" during a May episode of her Click Bait podcast.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW: WHOM DID 'THE BACHELORETTE' STARS AND THEIR BACHELOR PICKS ULTIMATELY END UP WITH?! (PHOTOS)
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"But it was so great to be able to be there with her because if there's ever been a time for a Bachelorette to have somebody as a mentor behind the scenes, so this was something that was really special for her and I hope that we helped her out."
Katie was apparently able to receive advice from Tayshia and Kaitlyn and have shoulders to cry on whenever she needed the women or felt alone during her journey.
Katie's entire The Bachelorette season was taped at the Hyatt Regency Tamaya in Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico with quarantine and COVID-19 safety measures in place.
The Bachelorette 17 wrapped production sooner than producers anticipated because Katie's journey to find love ended unexpectedly early -- but not because Katie quit, Us previously reported.
An insider told Us that The Bachelorette "went great and it wrapped a week ahead of schedule" because Katie was a decisive Bachelorette who meant business.
Production reportedly ended on Saturday, April 24, which was earlier than producers had planned, due to Katie being decisive and "in control."
"[Katie] made sure the men she wanted were there and the men she wasn't interested in, she sent packing," the insider revealed.
After taping The Bachelorette, Katie returned to Instagram on April 28 and hinted at how she had started "a healthy relationship."
"Can't start a healthy relationship without being healthy," Katie captioned a video of herself getting the coronavirus vaccine.
The Bachelorette's seventeenth season currently airs Monday nights at 8PM ET/PT on ABC, and Katie was shown narrowing down 30 bachelors to 23 suitors at the first Rose Ceremony in the show's premiere.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
