The Bachelorette star Katie Thurston has insisted she truly meant it when she said she wanted to find love with her person and leave the show as an engaged woman.
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Since being announced as The Bachelorette's seventeenth-season star back in March, Katie has received some flack for allegedly starring on the show to further her entertainment career and expand her social-media following as an influencer and Tik-Tok phenomenon.
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But the 30-year-old former bank marketing manager from Washington is now shutting down those trolls.
"I just know where I'm at in life, and it really shows how serious I am about falling in love and finding my person," Katie told Us Weekly in a video interview.
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"And if the thought of being engaged scares you, then you're not ready to be with me."
The Bachelorette viewers watched Katie express a similar sentiment to her group of guys during a preview that aired at the beginning of Season 17's premiere episode that aired Monday night on ABC.
In the preview, Katie stood in front of her bachelors in tears and shouted, "If you are not here for me, if you are not here for an engagement, then get the f-ck out!"
While Katie clearly faced drama and heartbreak during her season, according to a few intense The Bachelorette promos, she said she was ultimately able to relinquish control and allow herself to fall in love.
"[Letting go of control] was something I struggled with... I think it's the biggest thing when you go through this -- let go of control, surrender to the process and trust that everything works out the way it's supposed to," Katie shared.
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And Katie did, in fact, catch feelings for more than one man during her journey to find The One.
RELATED LINK: BACHELORETTE SPOILERS: WHO DID KATIE THURSTON PICK AND END UP WITH? WHAT HAPPENS ON THE 2021 SEASON OF 'THE BACHELORETTE' (SPOILERS)
Katie told Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest during Monday night's episode of Live with Kelly and Ryan, "I definitely fall in love more than once."
Katie insisted it's "absolutely" possible to love more than one person at one time.
"I think there are different types of love. That's what I had to remind myself at the end of the day, is that I'm looking for that one who is forever and my one and only," Katie explained.
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Ryan therefore asked Katie if she had found "lasting love" on the show.
Katie smiled, shrugged her shoulders and replied, "That has yet to be determined!"
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.
Filming began on March 22, according to Reality Steve spoiler blogger Steve Carbone, and wrapped about a week "ahead of schedule" on April 24 because Katie was reportedly a decisive Bachelorette who meant business.
"Katie was in control and made sure the men she wanted were there and the men she wasn't interested in, she sent packing," an insider revealed to Us in late April.
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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 currently airs Monday nights at 8PM ET/PT on ABC, and Katie was shown narrowing down 30 bachelors to 23 suitors in the show's premiere.
Click here to read spoilers on Katie's The Bachelorette season and whether she did truly leave her season engaged to the winner.
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