Cassie Randolph and Colton Underwood’s split just got a lot messier, despite neither wanting this outcome. After Cassie answered Chris Harrison’s questions about her breakup on The Bachelor: The Greatest Seasons—Ever, which was uploaded to YouTube on July 6, Colton suggested three days later that he’ll not be handling things “as privately” as he did before. Then, just a few hours later, Cassie posted what was essentially the Instagram Story version of a cease and desist.
“I would like to state that I do not wish to create an online petty war. Colton, as you know we made an agreement to not publicly discuss our break up. I have honored this, as have you thus far,” Cassie wrote in an Instagram Story post on July 9. She then defended her decision to appear on The Bachelor: GOAT, saying that she respects that Bachelor gave her a “platform” and that she didn’t “want to make enemies with” or “turn [her] back” on the ABC franchise.
“I didn’t see any harm in doing the interview, as I wasn’t going to dish out details about our relationship to them,” Cassie further explained. On that note, Cassie admitted that her ex’s latest Instagram post — which seemed to be a direct jab at her interview — “saddened” her and left Cassie “frustrated.” She believed Colton was “subtly engaging in a tactic that peppers in aggressive comments” to make her look like “the bad one.”
On the next page of her clapback, Cassie wrote, “I would like to place on public record & ask you politely to refrain from discussing our relationship, as we agreed. I would also like to ask that you don’t cloud our great, 1 1/2 year relationship with a messy breakup. We both know that we had a great relationship and there are not many details to discuss.”
And here is where Cassie made her major claim: “On Monday evening [July 6], you informed me you intend to monetize our breakup by writing a new chapter to discuss your experience with COVID (where you stayed in my family’s house during your recovery) & about our breakup.” Cassie also accused Colton of refusing to give her “any sort of approval on the chapter” that he’ll allegedly be writing, which she said will “heavily feature” her. “This seems a bit unfair to me. Colton, you can do what you want, but please do not have a double standard,” Cassie wrote.
Cassie also pleaded with Colton to “refrain from prolonging our break up, or dragging me, when we both know it’s unwarranted,” and wished that the former football player can “move on peacefully and successfully.”
Colton has not confirmed that he’ll be writing about his breakup with Cassie, after already releasing a memoir called The First Time: Finding Myself and Looking for Love on Reality TV in March of 2020. HollywoodLife reached out to Colton’s rep, who told us, “Her accusations are simply not true.”
However, Colton did say that he is looking forward to the “next chapter” in his life within the message that Cassie called out. “These last few weeks have been challenging because, by now, you all know I’m an open book and I enjoy sharing my life with y’all,” Colton wrote in Thursday’s message, which he shared on Instagram.
He then appeared to shade Cassie by adding, “When our relationship ended we agreed to handle things as privately as possible as we attempted to navigate our new relationship as friends. I chose to do that since we were living in this interim period, but obviously a lot changed this week.”
Colton later added that he has gained “clarity” in what he wants and needs “in a relationship,” and that he’s “so excited for this next chapter” of his life “with new stories and new people.”
Ironically, Colton and Cassie had insisted that they remained on the best of terms after announcing their breakup in separate Instagram announcements on May 30. Colton said that “sometimes people are just meant to be friends,” while Cassie assured that their “special bond” will “always be there.” The pair met on Season 23 of The Bachelor, which aired in early 2019, but Cassie actually left Colton’s season since she wasn’t ready for an engagement. Colton ended his romances with two of the finalists to instead pursue a relationship with Cassie.