The Bachelorette alum Katie Thurston reportedly hasn't given up on love or marriage even though her split from fiance Blake Moynes apparently broke her heart.
ADVERTISEMENT
Katie took to her Instagram Stories on Wednesday and posted a photo of a dog in a sweater.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)
"Dexter forcing me out the house this morning," Katie wrote, suggesting she's still trying to heal her heart and mend after her Blake breakup announcement.
But according to a source, "Katie's really an open and honest person. She knows what she wants. I'm sure she won't have trouble moving on -- she's been through heartbreak before," Us Weekly reported.
ADVERTISEMENT
The source insisted that the 30-year-old former bank marketing manager "won't give up on love and still hopes to get married one day."
The Bachelorette Season 17 star and Blake, who proposed to Katie after she selected him as her final bachelor when the season's finale aired on ABC in August, claimed they had decided to go their separate ways "with mutual love and respect" because they are "not compatible as life partners."
And according to an Us insider, Katie and Blake did not call it quits for any "bad reason."
"They just couldn't make the long-distance [relationship] work," the insider explained, adding, "[Katie] didn't want to put on a facade if they truly weren't on the best terms."
Katie just moved into a new San Diego, CA, apartment in August, and Blake -- a wildlife manager who lives in Toronto, Canada -- often travels to Africa for his endangered-animal conservation efforts, most recently involving the rescuing of rhinos.
ADVERTISEMENT
"Katie really missed Blake once he left and they would get into little arguments, but at the end of the day, Katie wished he would be with her more," the insider shared with the magazine.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW: WHOM DID 'THE BACHELORETTE' STARS AND THEIR BACHELOR PICKS ULTIMATELY END UP WITH?! (PHOTOS)
When the pair released their joint breakup statement on social media, they called themselves "grateful" for the moments they had shared together and their entire journey that unfolded this past year.
"But we ultimately have concluded that we are not compatible as life partners, and it is the most caring choice for both of us to move forward independently," they wrote.
The pair ended their brief statement asking for "kindness and privacy" as they navigate "this transition" from being an engaged couple to being single again.
ADVERTISEMENT
"Both of us will forever want the best for one another and ask you to please support us in our decision," the statement concluded.
Katie and Blake's breakup announcement came only days after Katie admitted she had been "totally winging" her relationship with Blake following their televised engagement.
"I'm, like, totally winging my life right now," Katie had told the magazine.
During the interview, Katie -- who originally competed for Matt James' heart on The Bachelor's 25th season -- had sounded somewhat indifferent about her relationship with Blake, who had competed on The Bachelorette's sixteenth edition in 2020 before joining Katie's season several weeks later.
"We're figuring it out," Katie had said. "We don't know. This is very new to us still. I'm just focusing on myself, he's focusing on him, and if we work doing that, great."
ADVERTISEMENT
RELATED LINK: CLAYTON ECHARD'S 'THE BACHELOR' SEASON 26 BACHELORETTES ANNOUNCED BY ABC -- MEET THE WOMEN! (PHOTOS)
Katie had added she was most looking forward to a time when she and Blake could stop "traveling back and forth" and stated she'd like to settle down with Blake "eventually."
The couple's breakup may have shocked many fans because less than two weeks ago, Katie had taken to Twitter and clapped back at speculation she and Blake had broken up.
On October 15, Katie tweeted a screenshot of one of her recent Instagram comments that read, "You and Blake are not liking each other's posts. Is all OK?"
The screenshot showed that Katie immediately responded to the fan, "Yes," with a tears-of-joy emoji.
Katie tweeted alongside the image, "Imagine your fiance has been on his [Instagram] stories for weeks in Kenya working his ass off and yet this is what some people notice," in addition to another tears-of-joy emoji.
One of Katie's followers wrote, "But 'liking' posts = love I thought," to which Katie replied in a snarky manner, "I guess that's love in 2021."
But when Blake left for Africa to focus on saving animals, Katie reportedly wrote on Instagram earlier this month, "It can feel lonely moving to a new state... I've had trouble sleeping lately... I'm still trying to navigate this new life and city while seeking normalcy."
Katie and Blake had said they were in no rush to wed and intended to travel together and learn more about each other's backgrounds, interests, hobbies and hometowns before deciding on an "anchor spot," or city in which to put down roots as a couple.
"I don't think people fully understand what it's like to date someone from another country and the rules behind that and the visas behind that," Katie said in a series of late-August videos posted to her Instagram Stories.
"I think right now Blake can only be here for 60 days before having to go back to Canada. So we really do have a lot we have to look into -- and we just haven't yet."
ADVERTISEMENT
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)
Interested in more The Bachelor news? Join our The Bachelor Facebook Group!