Blake Moynes was blindsided by the news of Katie Thurston and John Hersey’s rekindled relationship, especially since he found out online like everybody else. Blake spoke out for the first time about Katie and John’s romance in the November 24 episode of the Talking It Out With Bachelor Nation podcast.
“On Day 12, people were like, ‘Do you think it’s going to be John?’ And I was like, ‘No, it’s going to be about herself and [how] she reinvented and found herself in this [process],’” Blake said. “So when that dropped … I had to pull over because my phone was going nuts. I pulled over in a Best Buy parking lot and everyone was ringing me, they were like, ‘There’s no f**king way.'”
Blake admitted that he wished Katie had told him what was going on before everyone else found out. “I was shocked, too. I just thought that she might at least tell me on the side,” the wildlife manager confessed. “Just because we have had very cordial, easy conversations [since the breakup]. We haven’t had one in a while… But, you know, they’ve been very cordial and very good. So why not reach out to me and tell me that, at least, to give me a heads up?”
Despite their breakup and Katie moving on, Blake doesn’t have any hard feelings towards his ex. However, this latest turn of events doesn’t help things. “I still remember how happy I was in that moment [when I proposed],” Blake said. “But, like, this last little straw is very frustrating for me to want to keep holding on to being like, ‘No regrets, no regrets.’ And that’s what’s annoying… I just want it to go away.”
Blake and Katie got engaged at the end of The Bachelorette season 17. They announced their split in October 2021 after less than a year of dating. “It is with mutual love and respect that we have decided to go our separate ways,” Katie and Blake said in their joint statement. “We are so grateful for the moments we shared together and the entire journey that has unfolded this 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.”
There had been speculation swirling about Katie and John after her breakup with Blake. During the final day of her “12 Days of Messy,” Katie hinted that she was dating John by featuring him in her video. John and Katie confirmed their relationship in a big way when John posted a PDA-filled TikTok video on November 23.